Melbourne Girls Grammar win the 2023 AFL Victoria Herald Sun Shield over reigning champions, Caulfield Grammar.
In Term 2, our Senior AFL team, the Merton XVIII, won the Girls Sport Victoria (GSV) AFL Premiership for the second year in a row. The MGGS team overcame quality opposition time and time again, including Firbank Grammar School, Genazzano FCJ College, and Methodist Ladies’ College. As a founding member of GSV, Melbourne Girls Grammar embraced the inception of AFL from the beginning and have consistently fielded teams in an increasingly competitive fixture. Executive Director of Artemis Programs, Sally Bailey, says “it’s been exciting to see the accelerated development of AFL across all GSV schools. This development is fundamental to the progression of the competition, the game, and opportunities for female players.”
As undefeated Premiers of the GSV AFL competition, the Merton XVIII qualified for the AFL Victoria Herald Sun Shield, which invites the top four schoolgirl football teams in the state to compete in a short finals-like competition in early Term 3. Co-coach Tennille Nash said our footballers “grabbed this opportunity with both hands and ran with it.”
In the Semi Final on Wednesday 26 July, MGGS faced sports academy SEDA College at Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham. There were plenty of nerves, particularly at having to play a full 80 minutes, as they had only been playing 40 during the GSV season. Coaches Tennille and Colin Drake were a calming presence at the pre-game address, reminding our girls that they knew exactly what they had to do and how to do it. They exuded confidence in our playing group and encouraged the girls to run out onto the field, play for each other and not let the pressure of the moment impact them. On the field, we started off strong and the scores were level at quarter time. By half time, our footballers were overpowering SEDA at each contest and converting every effort on the scoreboard. The half time scores read MGGS 4.4 (28) SEDA 3.1 (19). In the second half, the girls really dug their heels in and pulled away winning the game convincingly by 15 points (28 to 43).
This win took us to the Grand Final against top-seeded Caulfield Grammar. Caufield are a very strong side, with a deep talent pool and rich culture. Prior to playing MGGS, the Caufield Grammar team had not lost a game in six years. The gravity of this game was not lost on our players, they knew it would be their toughest contest yet, but Tennille, Colin, Captain Tess Faulks, and senior players like Sophie McKay and Kath Pratten demonstrated unwavering confidence in the team, which calmed all at the pre-game meeting. Colin’s famous words were particularly empowering as he reminded the girls:
‘We are now one of the two best teams in the state. And Victoria is what?’ He asks.
‘The best state in the country!’ The girls reply.
‘And Australia is what?’
‘The best country in the world!’
‘So we are here because we are one of the best two teams, in the world!’
Unfortunately for Caulfield, they severely underestimated our Grammarians, who as Tennille shared “may have not believed in themselves individually,” but wholeheartedly “believed in each other and were determined to show just how good they could be.” Our deadly mix of talent, structure and grit shocked Caulfield from the first minutes of the game. Each quarter, our Grammarians improved and fought for every single ball, which soon enough boosted their confidence to believe they could win. The final score was 6.5 (41) to 3.8 (26) with MGGS leading at every break. The perseverance, teamwork and skill that our Grammarians displayed for the full 80 minutes led them to the School’s first ever Herald Sun Shield win, also the only win by a GSV school.
The School’s support for the team was evident in the huge turnout at the match, with two busloads of students and staff arriving during the first quarter. Chanting loudly and playing the drums throughout the entire game, the Merton Army provided electric support for our girls on the field. At the final siren, they stormed the field to celebrate the outstanding win with the players.
Head of AFL Victoria, Ben Kavanagh, said “the team displayed the strength of the MGGS football program throughout its successful Herald Sun Shield campaign. Through their performances these young women have shown the potential to be on the radar of AFLW recruiters in future years.”
It was a testament to our players’ determination, to put into practice all they had learned together this season in the face of the pressure and history bearing down on them. Head of Sport and Coaching, Anthony Bruhn, spoke of the mammoth individual effort that each player contributed. All of them had different roles to play to give the team the best chance of success, and whether that meant they had to play in a non-preferred position or rotate on and off the bench, everyone played their part selflessly. He said each of the 24 players invested something “significant; their time, energy, bodies, or mental stamina, to be part of the 2023 Herald Sun Shield team” and boy did it pay off. Mr Bruhn thanked the outgoing Year 12 players, Zara Wilson, Jaidah Lowe and Amy Trindade, for their contribution to the program and hoped the memories they had created with the team would stay with them forever.
We congratulate Sophie McKay (Year 11) who was awarded the Best on Ground medal for her performance in the match and the following students who were named as the team’s Best: Grace Perrett (Year 9), Macy Watkins (Year 10), Lulu Burney (Year 11), Sam O’Keefe (Year 10) and Lily Wallace (Year 11). Congratulations also to the goal scorers: Mikayla Berto (Year 10), Sophie McKay, Amy Trindade and Chloe Williams (Year 10).
Mr Bruhn added that the success of the program this year is a result of the dedicated coaching of Colin and Tennille, as well as a structured coaching model that is implemented across all Artemis Programs through the MGGS Coach Education Framework.
“We’ve had a very intentional focus over the past few years on developing well-rounded athletes across a range of sports. Strong, robust, and versatile athletes who know how to train, and are physically and mentally prepared to meet the demands of the sport. Our coaches take a holistic and long-term approach in working with our students, and Tennille and Colin are the perfect examples of this.”
Sally Bailey, spoke of the distinctive versatility of our Grammarians and how their ongoing commitment to their own wellbeing has led them to these wonderful achievements.
“Our [AFL] players are all multi-sport athletes… rowers, swimmers, runners, basketballers, and netballers. Most play for a local footy club. Some have been selected in academy and state teams. They just love the game, and more than anything, they love playing with each other and representing their School. You can see it in the way they train and play, each player brings a different level of skill and experience, but there is a cohesiveness in the way they work together, there’s an enormous amount of respect, and most importantly, they have fun.”
Seven Old Grammarians have gone on to play football at AFLW level; Phoebe McWilliams (GWS Giants, Geelong Cats, Carlton Blues), Bonnie Toogood (Western Bulldogs, Essendon Bombers), Abbie McKay (Carlton Blues), Olivia Vesely (St Kilda Saints), Eliza McNamara (Melbourne Demons), Jackie Parry (Melbourne Demons, Geelong Cats) and J’Noemi Anderson (St Kilda Saints.) Phoebe, Bonnie, Olivia, and Eliza have all played inspiring and valuable coaching roles in our program, Sally said, “they can all claim a piece of this Shield win.”
Principal Dr Toni Meath shared her pride in the team’s impressive victory. She said “the fearlessness, commitment and competitive spirit our team has demonstrated in this competition is a great representation of our student body. We aim to educate girls to be bold and feel empowered to succeed in whatever field makes them feel passionate, but we also want them to not only excel as individual but in team environments, with hard work, self-discipline, collaboration and communication, skills we cultivate with our students in and out the classroom.”
We cannot wait to celebrate the wonderful achievement of the Merton XVIII with our community at the upcoming Celebration of Sport on Monday 9 October in the Artemis Centre. If you would like to join us for the evening, please click the link below to purchase tickets.