Live stream: Western Heights College v St Kevin’s College, Herald Sun Shield intermediate boys grand final
Traditional Australian football powerhouse St Kevin’s have stormed to Herald Sun Shield glory off the back of a brick wall in defence. Watch the grand final REPLAY.
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A dominant display from intercept king Archie Fogarty has led St Kevin’s College to a Herald Sun Shield intermediate boys crown, convincingly defeating Western Heights College by 64 points at ETU Stadium.
St Kevin’s burst out of the blocks, peppering the Western Heights defence from the get-go and whenever Western Heights surged it forward it was Fogarty who stood in their way.
WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY ABOVE
Dangerous St Kevin’s forwards Ben Baker, Ashwin Currie, Max Mahoney and Louis Lefoe wreaked havoc in attack, with Baker controlling the air early with three big pack marks and also having an impact in the midfield.
St Kevin’s ruckman Alex Dreaver gave his side first use and took a couple of nice grabs, while Gustavo Teixeira found plenty of the ball in the midfield.
The 11.19 (85) to 3.3 (21) scoreline flattered Western Heights in the end with St Kevin’s missing gettable chances in front of goal.
The stingy St Kevin’s defence didn’t give Western Heights an inch with the Geelong school scoring their first goal late in the last quarter through tall Nathan Howe, who fought hard all day.
But Western Heights didn’t give in, adding a couple more majors and winning the last quarter as they kept St Kevin’s goalless.
KICK IT TO FOG
Western Heights mustn’t have got the memo that Fogarty wasn’t on their team.
It appeared Fogarty was attracting the ball with a magnet on him as every time Western Heights surged the ball forward, he was there waiting.
The promising Oakleigh Chargers key defender couldn’t be stopped, taking a whopping seven intercept marks in the first half alone as his exceptional reading of the play and strong hands overhead stood out.
He took another couple of marks off the opposition in the second half to cement his best-on-ground display.
BOYS BEHIND THE FENCE
Plenty of St Kevin’s students came down to sit behind the goals and they saw most of the play throughout the match, with most of the match spent inside their forward half.
The blue and green cheersquad banged on the billboards whenever Western Heights took a kick in – which was often given the inaccuracy of St Kevin’s – and got around their teammates for all of their goals.
SCOREBOARD
WESTERN HEIGHTS 3.3 (21) def by ST KEVIN’S 11.19 (85)
WHC goals: Howe, Pryor, Nicholls; Best: Howe, Smith, Keating, Davidson, Black
SKC goals: Baker 2, Mahoney 2, Lefoe 2, Tesoriero 2, Currie, Duray, Meadows; Best: Fogarty, Baker, Dreaver, Currie, Teixeira, Mahoney, Lefoe
Preview
Western Heights College is embracing its underdog status as it prepares for a historic Herald Sun Shield intermediate final against the might of St Kevin’s College.
A public school which has only had a football program for a few years, Wednesday’s clash with the prestigious private school in the intermediate boys competition at ETU Stadium marks Western Heights College’s first Herald Sun Shield final.
WATCH THE HERALD SUN SHIELD SENIOR BOYS GRAND FINAL
The clash will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV from 10am as part of our coverage of the Herald Sun Shield finals in 2024.
The Western Heights program is led by former Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney and includes the experience of ex-Geelong premiership star Matthew Scarlett.
Coached by Charlie Perks, the school’s intermediate side upset Herald Sun Shield powerhouse St Patrick’s College by 22 points to advance to the final, with Barwon V-Line Cup star Bodhi Black, wingman Luca Lossino and captain Rhyee Luca pivotal.
Assistant coach Will Sexton said that the key to their success has been sticking to their game plan and that will be no different against St Kevin’s College.
“We were the second team on talent (against St Patrick’s) and still got the job done, and if you’re looking at raw talent then St Kevin’s would be the favourite,” Sexton said.
“But what we have told the boys is it is all about hard work and buying in to work for your teammates.
“I know for a fact that our kids do far more footy than the kids at St Kevin’s do even though it is a pretty good school with a prestigious history. You are never going to be able to compete with the reputation that they have, but at the end of the day it is just a game of footy and the team that cracks in the hardest generally gets it done.
“I reckon our kids get to crack in every day with some really good staff around them, ‘Macca’ is at the school, Matthew Scarlett is down there as well – one of the most competitive players ever.
“So they have a really good grounding on what the game looks like, so hopefully they are up for the occasion.
Sexton said making the final has been a credit to the investment in the program from both the school and their players.
“It would be unbelievable, even the opportunity to play a school like that is something the school has never had before,” Sexton said.
“The school has been getting a bit more airtime since the sports program has started up – particularly with the other sports as well, basketball netball and soccer.
“If they were able to get the win it would obviously show the work that the kids are putting in, the support that they are provided by the staff and the footy program at the school is working really well.”
The match kicks off at 10am in Port Melbourne on Wednesday.
Originally published as Live stream: Western Heights College v St Kevin’s College, Herald Sun Shield intermediate boys grand final
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