Day 5 & 6 - Tour Match v Camberwell Grammar

The second last day of the tour gave the students the opportunity to either go shopping at the Victoria Markets or play computer games at the ACMI in the morning. We were then driven to our final tour fixture against Camberwell Grammar. Although the players were by now running on empty and/or carrying niggly injuries they still managed to record a clean sweep with all three teams claiming victories. We were then all treated to some wise words and an incredible music performance by our coach driver Justin.

After four intense days of playing football, it was great for the students to then become spectators as we went to AAMI Park to watch the Melbourne City v Adelaide Reds fixture. The home team were also spectators as the Reds made them look ordinary, recording an easy 0-2 victory to claim top position on the ladder (at least until the Roar beat Victory tonight J). The game was almost as entertaining as seeing Salvo losing his head at the below-par performance of the City team, with some especially strong words directed at the keeper Sorensen. It's a good thing that he couldn't understand Italian!

The final day of the tour saw a visit to Melbourne Museum and then Lygon St for an authentic Italian food experience. Coffee, pizza, focaccia and gelato – what more could you want.

The tour was a great success and it will be great to see how the players perform over the upcoming QGSSSA and AIC seasons.

Open Girls v Camberwell Grammar

Yesterday the girls played a great last game against a club called Ashburton. 

In this match the girls set out to play with fun but stay focused and competitive. Girls were able to play in different positions with both Skye and Alyssa standing in for Jessica who scored a fabulous goal in the first half.

Throughout the week Ivor's focus was to teach the girls how to keep some relevant and basic football strategies of keeping their shape, taking a good first touch and staying goal side in defence. All these things were achieved and evident in the final game. The girls have gained some great experience and knowledge from Ivor's coaching.

It all bodes well for the season ahead. 

Mrs Schreiber

Development Squad v Camberwell Grammar

What a way to end a superb tour! Our fourth and final game saw us travel out to Hislop Reserve to play Camberwell College in what would be a most dominant performance by the Saints.

In the first half, the Saints kept possession of the ball and looked to consistently switch the play to move CC's defence out of position. We created numerous chances, however, none of them were piercing the back of CC's net. CC looked to counter attack when we lost possession but some brilliant collective pressing was seen by the Saints to win the ball back as quickly as possible. It wasn't until the 20th minute, where some brilliant lead up play down the left wing by Ethan resulted in a low and hard cross being delivered into the box. The keeper managed to save the initial attempt, however, Mac was on hand to tap the ball into the back of the net making the score 1-0 to the Saints. That's how the score would end for the half with the Saints going into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

The next half saw us take total dominance of the game. 4 goals were scored in the second half. Mac and Charlie both played exceptionally well, both bagging braces (2 goals each), and Emil popped up on the score sheet, much to his delight by making a mazy run from right back and ended up slotting it into the back of CC's net making the final score 5-0.

It was much to my delight to see the gents playing a proactive and possession based style of football. I believe this has been a very positive tour in terms of setting a solid foundation for us to build our team model on once we arrive back in Brisbane tomorrow and look to play our first trial game against BBC next weekend. Bring on the season ahead! Let's go Saints!

Mr Leong

1sts v Camberwell College

The saints first XI boys kitted up and were looking forward to finishing the extremely successful tour on a high. 

From the outset it was evident that the saints boys possessed both the greater technical ability, and the greater footballing awareness, that would allow us to dominate the game. Within the opening 15 minutes, the boys camped in the opposition half, keeping possession well, and getting many great shots on target. The scoring was opened by George Cummins after a silky through ball from Charlie Cunningham. Shortly after, George pounced again; this time with a lethal, left-footed volley from outside the box. George appeared to be a man on a mission, because he again scored quickly after, this time with a cooly placed shot into the corner. 3-0 saints, 20 minutes into the second half. 

Despite the quick 3 goals the opposition appeared to still have a competitive drive in them, and to their credit still forced the saints boys to work. However, the saints boys maintained their dominance going into half time with a scoreline of 3-0. 

Coming out from the break, a different line up saw the introduction of Nathan Boreland, Jack Thompson, Nathan Teale, Hunter Bland, Khoi Pham-Sultan and Adam Coleman in goals. In addition Chris Meyer stepped into the back line for the first time ever - an experiment that required a GPS for the lost midfielder. 

A credit to all the boys in the second half, as we continued to dominate the opposition in all aspects. Goals from Tim Kraft (1) and a stand out second half from Jack Thompson (5) saw an extremely convincing 9-0 performance from the saints boys. 

A brilliant finish to the tour, and a great way to set us up for the season. Well done boys. 

Dougie Mcindoe