Knox take title for second year in a row

In weather reminiscent of Melbourne, players competed in a round-robin competition through heavy rain, blistering sunshine and howling winds. Each team would play three pool games, before the top teams in each pool would not only progress through to the semi-finals, but also automatically qualify for the State Paul Kelly Cup Final, to be held in September.

In the boys competition, the dominant teams in each pool quickly came to the fore, with Knox Prep, Neutral Bay P.S., St. Mary’s St. Joseph and Willoughby P.S. progressing to play in the semi-finals. Unlucky not to qualify were Killarney Heights P.S., who went down 15-14 to eventual winners Knox Prep in the pool stage.

The semi-finals in the boys saw an all North Shore affair, where a dominant Neutral Bay P.S. defeated Willoughby P.S. 25-2. Both teams had some quality talent, but Neutral Bay’s cohesion in the midfield and artistic flair up forward saw them overcome their valiant opponents.

In the other semi-final, Knox beat St. Mary’s St. Joseph 42-8. However, it must be noted that the final scoreline does not reflect the tight contest, as scores were close to level at halftime. Knox’s game finally started to come together to run away with it in the end.

In the final, the individual brilliance of a number of players from Neutral Bay was, in fact, neutralised by Knox, who strung many good passages of play together to gain an early lead. The match see-sawed for a few minutes, before Knox again started to gel and became unstoppable. The end result saw Knox, representing the North West, come out winners 40-22, and claim their second Sydney Harbour Regional Final in two years.

In the girls competition, the North Shore again dominated the pool matches, with Neutral Bay P.S., Willoughy P.S., and Clovelly P.S. qualifying for the finals. Avalon P.S. was unlucky to not qualify for the semi-finals, missing out on percentage.

The semi-finals saw Willoughby and Clovelly account for their opponents to qualify for the final. In a hotly contested affair, with a great showing of skill and athleticism, Clovelly defeated Willoughby by the smallest of margins to take out the Girls’ Regional Final 15-14.

Congratulations to all teams who competed in the day for making it this far. Special mention must go to the following schools who have now qualified for the Paul Kelly Cup State Final to be held at Blacktown Olympic Park on the 6th (Girls) and 7th (Boys) of September:

Boys
– Knox Prep
– St Mary’s St Joseph, Maroubra
– Netural Bay P.S.
– Willoughby P.S.