Next week our Maribyrnong College U15 Boys and Girls football teams (Soccer) will make their way up to Newcastle for the Semi Finals and Final of the Bill Turner Cup, the largest football competition for secondary schools in Australia.
Around 850 school teams from NSW, Qld, ACT and Victoria participate each year, with all players 15 years and under. The comp is a knockout format with early round matches starting in Term 1 each year. Bill Turner valued fitness, fun, fair play and the competition pays tribute to these values. The Bill Turner Cup (open) is in its 44th year. The Bill Turner Trophy (girls) is in its 32nd year in 2023.
MSA Football Head coach Adrian Mazzarella says it’s been a fantastic opportunity for our young Football athletes to play at such a high level of Competition. “It’s been a few years waiting and we have been unlucky in previous years, with Covid lockdowns really hurting our chances when competition was cancelled. In the past few years, we have had trouble getting out of the Victorian pool, but we have done well this year, with both our boys and Girls teams getting through. It’s a huge achievement for the program and it’s so exciting for the boys and girls going, because they will be playing against the best schools in the country, and it’s the first time in history we have had both boys’ and girls’ teams together in Newcastle for the finals. “
Our Boys team have made it through to the Semi Final by winning their way through the Albury Final 32 competition. They beat Marion College 1-0 in their first game before defeating St John Paul II College 4-0 in the round of 16. A quarter final win 2-0 over St Gregory’s has Maribyrnong playing Ipswich Grammar in the Semi Final. A win in that game will have the boys playing either St Joseph’s Regional or Endeavour Sports in the final, the first time Maribyrnong College will have been in the final since 2012 where they went on to win the Bill Turner Cup that year.
Boys coach Brody Crane praising the effort of his boys in the tournament so far. “ It’s hard to say how the boys might perform next week because they will be coming up against the best sides in the comp from Queensland and New South Wales, and I expect they will be all tough sides. They have done a great job up to now, they are trying to play football the way I think that will help them be successful moving forward. This team has risen to every challenge thrown at them so far, so hopefully we can keep playing the way we want to play and keep getting results. “
Our Girls team have had a much easier run through to the semis, they won their lead in matches quite convincingly. First up their group of 32 match and a 7-0 win against St Matthews Mudgee before a 10 goal plus win over Marian College. Their quarter final match was also a 10 goal plus win over Holy Spirit, putting the Maribyrnong girls into the semi-final against Kelvin Grove, before a possible final match against either Westfield Sports or Merewether. A Maribyrnong College Girls football team has never made it to the grand final of the Trophy competition.
Coach Mazzarella says his Girls team has been so powerful in the leadup games. “The girls’ team is extremely strong with very good players getting the chance to play together a lot more often, and they are really starting to gel and play some really exciting football on the pitch. I think the girls should be confident about how they will perform next week. The Girls have only made the Newcastle stage once before and finished 4th. “
The Maribyrnong College girls play their semi-final on Tuesday the 5th of September at 10.30 then our boys play their semi at 1.30pm. Both teams will then play again on Wednesday the 6th in their final match of the tournament. A live stream is available for all games out of Newcastle at https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/live-streams. A subscription to the Herald Sun or Kommunity TV is required.