A huge congratulations to our Open A Netball team, Somerset has again claimed the State Championship. The Team brings home the Vicki Wilson Cup, in what was an unbelievable netball tournament for our team!
Somerset won the trophy for the first time in history back in 2018, and then in 2019, won the QISSN (Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball) Cup.
2021 was shaping up to be the best year ever with the team taking out the APS premiership for the fifth consecutive year, winning the Wallas-Bassingthwaighte trophy (All Saints/Somerset Headmasters' clash) and taking out the HDNA Division 1 opens competition on Monday night.
QISSN was the team’s first scheduled state event held in July, and it was hoped that we would have a good shot at defending our title (2020 cancelled due to COVID). Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be with the tournament being cancelled on Day 3 due to a COVID outbreak. It was very disappointing for all involved – especially Somerset with an undefeated run of six from six, sitting top of the pools and knowing there was no opportunity to bring back the silverware.
With the Vicki Wilson Cup All Schools state event only a month later, it was time to regroup, refocus and get back to training.
Unfortunately COVID continued to be a menace, forcing a reschedule of the Vicki Wilson Cup Finals to September. The girls continued to stay strong in the lead up in what was challenging times as our NSW students negotiated border crossings and faced uncertainty of being able to participate.
With a full team lined up, the first game for the tournament was against Matthew Flinders QISSN and VW Grand Finalists, but it wasn’t a problem for the team with a good first win of 48 to 35.
Throughout the two day tournament the girls went undefeated with some big wins and set to play Southport in the Grand Final! And what a grand final it was!
Without the services of inspiring GK Trinity Toia due to a sprained ankle, the defensive end had to reshuffle. Ellie Muir moved to GK, Bayley d'Hotman de Villiers to GD, Georgia Wilson to WD and Jemma Clements at C, all outstanding, forming a dominant diamond of complete pressure forcing Southport into uncharacteristic errors.
The Somerset attacking starting lineup felt the defensive pressure from Southport also making some early changes with Marika Ransfield coming off the bench to WA, making an immediate impact by gaining some valuable intercepts. Charli Pearse moved into the GA position to speed up the circle to alleviate some of the pressure on Elsa Sandholt, finishing the first half with a low scoring 11 to 6 lead.
In a hard fought out match it was evident that our Captain Amaris Toia wasn’t playing to be runners up. Introduced to the final as a WA for the first time all year, she grabbed the opportunity and looked right at home. Her feeding was superb and timing was with perfection as she had no trouble delivering the ball to her shooters in style.
The defensive effort was outstanding, never giving up and with such determination. The shooting team of Elsa and Charli was heartwarming to watch as Charli’s speed and accuracy was the key to freeing up the strong, athletic, dominance of Elsa as shooter.
The absolute determination and workload of our Year 12s Amaris, Georgia and Jemma was obvious. All played season best games and led the way for the rest of their team to follow, in what was one of the best team performances Somerset has had in a Grand Final.
As coaches, we watched in awe as the girls battled away in true Spartan style, patient and crafty on attack, and relentless on defence, winning the Grand Final comfortably in the end 27 to 15.
CONGRATULATIONS TEAM!
Game scores
vs Mathew Flinders - 48 to 35
vs Downlands - 56 to 27
vs Ipswich - 56 to 18
vs Mackay - 60 to 18
vs Townsville - 56 to 18
vs St Peters - 34 to 34
vs Southport - 27 to 15
Somerset were well represented at the recent Queensland Netball Vicki Wilson Cup/Shield Finals with our Academy team, made up of Year 8 and 9’s qualifying for the first time since the competition started. State representation rewarded our next generation of players, by taking the court for the first time in the prestigious white dress, alongside the Open A team.
Ongoing improvement and consistency was the goal for the competition, on top of enjoying the experience of playing in State Finals. They certainly did that with some great netball skill on display as well as some strong individual and team performances.
The shooting percentages were impressive with a total of 90% across all games. Outstanding effort from Marley Burns, Roxi Brown, Ruby Partridge and Cienna Bailey. The midcourt combinations of Maddi Jones, Rio Burns and Ariana Ransfield was impressive, displaying a range of skill, speed and teamwork interchanging the midcourt positions with ease. Defensively we were equally impressive throughout the court with Daisy Webber, Kinari Patel, Millie Cotton and Giovanna Basile all working tirelessly to interrupt play and gain valuable possession.
All games were hard fought, winning 5 of their 7 outings, finishing the tournament in 5th place – an amazing achievement from our young girls.
Game Results
vs Canterbury College - 38 to 28
vs The Cathedral College - 41 to 21
vs St Peters Lutheran - 37 to 21
vs Xavier College - 38 to 19
vs St John Fisher - 34 to 39
vs All Hallows - 30 to 24
vs Lourdes Hill College - 35 to 23
VW Shield Team
Cienna Bailey, Giovanna Basile, Roxy Brown, Marley Burns, Rio Burns, Amelia Cotton, Maddie Jones, Ruby Partridge, Kinari Patel, Ariana Ransfield, Daisy Webber
The Year 6 Boys Team competed in the Competitive Division against the best school teams in the state. After losing their first game they fought back to win their remaining pool games beating last year’s champion team, Aspley, in the process. They finished equal top of their pool but unfortunately missed out on finals and semi-finals on a countback by 0.015. They regrouped and won the play off finishing fifth overall in the state.
The Year 5 Boys/Girls Team competed in the Competitive Division. After pool play they made the semi-finals beating the top team from the other pool and advancing to the final. After a hard fought final they came away with the silver medal, making them the second best Year 5 school team in the state. They were the only team in this division with girls in the team, a fantastic effort.
The Year 5 Boys Team competed in the Participation Division. They won three games overall to finish fifth in their division.
A great effort overall by the students as this was the first time Somerset entered teams in this event. A massive thank you to Lauren Grocott and Chris Moy for their effort not just on tournament day but over the entire training season. I can’t thank them enough. The students simply would not have this opportunity without them. Also, Issy Garland who helped out and guided the students during the tournament.
Their current inquiry, 'Understanding the Past Connects to the Present' is a wonderful way for our students to make connections to the history of our college and local community. Students began the inquiry by participating in walks around the school discovering the many legacies of Somerset College. Gabriella was amazed that, “Mr Sands used to love taking the Prep children for rides across the Wyangan creek on the boat." Facts including Grace Veivers being married to Isaac Andrews shocked many a friend!
The annual highlight continues to be the visit from Mr John Aitkenhead, who kindly shares his photos and stories of Somerset College and the local area. We are ever so grateful to learn from our Founding Fathers. What a joy it was to see the student’s faces light up when they made connections to the many legacies of Somerset College. We were also lucky enough to reschedule our excursion to the Gold Coast Hinterland Heritage Museum in Mudgeeraba, where many kind volunteers of the local community give up their time to share their knowledge of how times have changed in our local area. What a treat it was this year to have Neil and Pam Sands to be our guides. Learning from our local community helping us to make meaningful connections!
Students in Year 4 studied the changing landscape in the Springbrook mountains on Tuesday as part of their recent inquiry. They improved their understanding on how, 'Earth surfaces change as a result of natural processes and human activity'.
The students hiked to Purling Brook Falls and observed the rock formations, vegetation changes, rainforest plants, erosion and weathering and finally human impacts on the stunning ancient landscape.
From the vista of the Best of all Lookout, students looked out to notice the caldera formation from Mt Warning and how the landscape looked from above with noticeable differences to soils and rocks, vegetation and of course the impacts of weathering and erosion over millions of years.
Our newest Fitness Member of the Month winner is, Greg Seymour! Greg started Personal Training over two and half years ago and is one of the most driven, reliable and hardworking clients a trainer could have.
There is never a shortage of laughter and banter when Greg is around. He brings enthusiasm and competitiveness to any class he participates in, that his fellow gym members enjoy and embrace.
He is truly an asset to the Somerset gym community.
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