U17 National Netball Champs

The 2022 National Netball Championship were played over the term 1 school holidays at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre in Tasmania and MSA had 2 representatives in the U17 Victorian team.

Year 11 MSA Student Athlete’s Montaya Sardi and Charlotte Morey both played an integral part in Victoria’s efforts at the Championships helping their state get into the Grand final match against NSW.  Unfortunately though NSW won the final 38-35 to win the gold medal relegating Victoria to a silver medal.

Charlotte believes Victoria had every opportunity “During the week when we lost to NSW we lost by 20 points, so going into the Grand Final we weren’t expected to win and while the Grand Final was close all game, I feel that we didn’t play bad but NSW just played a bit better. They stepped up and we didn’t step up with them and they took out the ” Montaya acknowledging the rivalry that exists between the two states, “After our first loss to NSW in the preliminary rounds we were just hungry to get a win…There is definitely a rivalry between the two teams you can really feel it.”

Charlotte reminisced over what was a special week for the girls, “ It was a really exciting week, and there was a lot of adrenaline pumping through the body which helped get you through the week.  The team was really close and we made new friends with teammates that we shared a cabin with, and it was really exciting to get a different perspective from our new coaches and get different feedback on your game.”  Playing with and against the best U17 netballers in the country was a real buzz for Montaya, “ It was hard at the start when you have to start learning to play with a whole new group of netballers, but it got easier once you got used to their different styles.  The Victorian team really connected well on and off the court, and that definitely helped us on court.”

Both Girls have been at Maribyrnong Sports Academy for their 5 years of High School and both credit the work of the MSA Strength and Conditioning staff and high performance coaches and teachers for their rise into being State team competitors, “ I think having lots of training and Gym very close together and being around that high level coaching and players who are all trying to push, has definitely helped with my mindset and also has helped in getting my body through the week”, says Charlotte while Montaya is in full agreement with her teammate “ Yeah I definitely believe that the Maribyrnong staff has helped us like through years 7, 8 and 9 to prepare for this sort of tournament with things like the feedback, recovery, gym and knowing our body and knowing when it’s enough and when to stop and stop if we need too.”

Meanwhile Charlotte has been named in the Australian u17 training squad which will take part in a series of training sessions later in the year. “ It’s really exciting and great to hear that a lot of the hard work that you have put in has paid off. I’m so looking forward to heading off to Canberra for a camp and working with all the great talent from around Australia.”

Both athletes now looking forward to putting into place what they have learnt and taking that knowledge to their local teams.

Alumni Performances We 01/05/22

Once again our Alumni here at Maribyrnong Sports Academy have put in some amazing performances here at home and in other parts of the world.  Here is how they went

A-League

Having signed a 2 year extension with the Newcastle Jets, Arthur Pappas coached his team to a victory over Macarther 3-0. 

Connor Metcalfe has been playing with Melbourne City in their AFC Champions League Group stages which saw City win 3 and draw 3 matches.

AFL

Luke Ryan gathered 20 possessions in Fremantle’s win over Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.

Joel Smith was subbed off at 3 quarter time in Melbourne’s win over Hawthorn. 

Zak Butters had 23 possessions including 5 clearances and 5 inside 50’s in a return to form for the Power who beat St Kilda.

Paul Curtis continues to impress for the Kangaroos and had 12 disposals including 1 goal 1, while Kane Turner had 17 touches also for North Melbourne in their loss to Carlton.

Gold Coast captain Touk Miller had 36 touches 6 tackles and 10 clearances in the Suns loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

Peter Wright also had a great day with 4 of Essendon’s 9 Goals in their loss to the Western Bulldogs

Cam Rainer kicked 3 goals in Brisbane’s victory over the Sydney

Meanwhile Buku Khamis continues to press for senior selection with another 4 goals for the Bulldogs in their VFL side.

Athletics

Celeste Mucci has been named in the Australian team for the Oceania Championships in June.  Celeste is currently competing in Japan where she won both the Oda memorial 100m hurdles in Hiroshima and the Kinami Memorial 100m hurdles in Osaka in the space of 3 days.

Badminton

Gronya Sommerville won the mixed doubles at the Oceania Championships played here in Melbourne.  Meanwhile Jacob Schuller lost in the quarter finals of the men’s singles at the same tournament.  We wish Jacob and Gronya the best of luck in the Commonwealth Games selections.

Cycling

Lucas Plapp finish 18th overall and 1 min 56 from the leader in the Tour de Romandie.  While Lucas won’t be riding for Ineos Grenadiers in the Giro De Italia it is hoped his next ride will be with the team in the Tour De France.

MSA Performances WE 24/04/2022

Over the school holidays our MSA Alumni once again had some amazing performances including AFL Debuts and Badminton Gold medals.  Here are their results

Badminton:

Congratulations to 2020 Olympian Gronya Somerville who won the Gold medal in the Women’s and Mixed doubles at the Australian Championships.  Also congratulations go to Jacob Schuler after he was crowned Australian Champion winning Gold in the Men’s Singles.  A great effort by both athletes and we hope to see them both at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this year

Golf:

2015 graduate Stephine Bunque played in the Australian Women’s classic at Bonville country club in Coffs Harbour and finished 9 shots off the lead at 1 under for the tournament

AFL:

Peter Wright played in his second Anzac Day game for Essendon against Collingwood kicking one goal in Essendon’s 11 point loss

Jordan Boyd continues to get game time for Carlton and has now played 3 games for the Blues this year

We also congratulate 2020 MSA Graduate Paul Curtis who made his debut for North Melbourne on the weekend.  The Roos lost to Geelong in Hobart

Football (Soccer):

Melbourne Victory MSA Alumni Burkan Kidar came on to the park on the weekend and helped the victory take a 1-1 draw in their game against the Brisbane Roar

And congratulations to Naomi Chinnama who played for Australia with the Young Matildas in a friendly series against New Zealand.  The Young Matildas winning the game 5-1

Cycling:

Keep an eye out for Lucas Plapp this week as he rides for Ineos Grenadiers in the Tour De Romandie which is a traditional lead up race to the Giro d’Italia and the Tour De France.