Independent Schools’ winter season kicks off
Independent Girls Schools Winter Competition
On Friday, 29 April students from Barker College, Mount St Benedict College and Redlands will commence the inaugural Independent Girls Schools Winter Competition. The first round will see games played at Barker College and Macquarie University with girls from Year 7 to Year 9 involved.
This is the first year the Barker College and Mount St Benedict have offered AFL as a sport and it has seen girls with a range of sporting backgrounds eager to give AFL a try.
Independent Boys Schools Competition Open Division
Friday, 29 April will also see the first match of the Independent Schools Open Division 1 being played at Bat and Ball Oval between Waverley College and Newington College. Both schools have strong AFL programs and will be looking to start fast after solid 2021 campaigns.
On Saturday the other 3 matches in the Open Division 1 competition. Barker College will hope it’s home advantage will get them over the line at the school’s Main Oval against a Trinity College team looking to improve on last year. Knox Grammar will host Cranbrook at Acron Oval and St Aloysius College will play Saint Ignatius at North Narrabeen Reserve.
Teams to watch
Competition Manager, Phil Spratt, believes both Knox Grammar and Newington College are the teams to beat in the Open Division 1 competition. Both have multiple players in the Swans Academy and depth across there teams.
Waverley College and Saint Ignatius will be looking to push for the final spots within the top four.
It is also great to see St Augustine’s College participate in the Winter Competition for the first time. It will field teams in the Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 competition and will be a school to watch in its first year of AFL.