On Wednesday June 9th, approximately sixty PLHS students attended the annual SANFL Norwood 9-a-Side Football carnival at Ravendale. The competition returned this year after a layoff in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Competing against other school sides in St. Joseph’s School, Tumby Bay Area School, Navigator College and Cummins Area School, PLHS submitted five teams across the Year 8 and 9 and boys and girls divisions.
Our current pre-service teachers in Mr Tyson Collins and Mr Samuel Farmer took the reins of our two Year 9 boys’ sides, with both teams battling valiantly throughout the day. Against some much bigger bodies, our boys were brilliant, narrowly missing out on winning the Year 9 pennant by only a slim percentage margin to St. Joe’s. The first game of the day saw our two sides pitted against each other, which was a highlight for all spectators.
Miss Jess Taylor, Year 9 student Kalea Siegert and Year 10 student Kyla Cullen took the role of coaching our two Year 8/9 Girls’ teams. The girls were wonderful all day and eventually won their grand final in overtime by the barest of margins – one point! Between our two girls’ sides, only one loss came from the entire day; a magnificent effort.
Finally, I had the pleasure of coaching the Year 8 boys, who were outstanding from the first game. A draw with St. Joe’s in Game 1 made it imperative for us to continue winning and by decent margins. Going undefeated throughout the tournament, percentage was the decided between us and the impressive St. Joe’s squad – we finally came out on top by 1%!
Ultimately, our success throughout the five teams saw us take out the overall Norwood Shield as the best school on the day. A huge thank you to PLHS students Jack Meffert and Ella Wiseman, who nominated to umpire games throughout the entire day; they too were absolutely fantastic.
The way in which our students conducted themselves throughout the day was amazing. Their sportsmanship and culture as a group could not be faulted; they were an absolute pleasure to coach, resulting in a fantastic day for the school as a whole.
~ Mr Hayden Bennett (Accompanying Teacher/Supercoach)
