Inspired by a hat-trick from Xavier Guy and two goals from Zander Fraser, the King’s College Boys' Hockey team beat Scotch College (Melbourne) 7-0 in a powerful performance in the final of the Melbourne Grammar School International Hockey Tournament at the Hawthorn Hockey Centre in Melbourne on Friday, 10 April. There were also goals from Maxwell Rasmussen and Oliver Paterson. Midfielder Zander Fraser was recognised for a string of good displays by being awarded the Player of the Tournament trophy.
It was an excellent performance from the team who improved steadily throughout the Tournament and produced a stylish and impressive performance in the final to beat a team they had only narrowly beaten 1-0 in the pool stages. To produce such comprehensive performances against some strong Australian schools will give the team considerable encouragement ahead of the upcoming season. The team won all six matches at the Tournament, scoring 36 goals and conceding none.
The final began in glorious sunshine and it was Scotch College who dominated the early exchanges and took the game to King’s with a series of attacks but intelligent defending by Shaan Kesha and Jordan van Riele kept Scotch College at bay. It was not long before King’s started to take control of the game but a tendency to rush in the final third meant that a number of chances were spurned. It was Xavier Guy who opened the scoring from the team’s first penalty corner with a low flick in the 16th minute. Eight minutes later, Xavier Guy doubled his tally to make it 2-0 with a well-taken effort rounding off a good team move.
In the second half, King’s stepped up a gear and started to dominate the match, helped by their hard pre-season fitness work that has given them the edge in the second half of all their matches at the Tournament. The goal of the match was the third goal in the 32nd minute, which demonstrated King’s ability and speed to transfer defence into attack. Excellent defensive work by Shaan Kesha, Harrison Langrell-Read and Jordan van Riele neatly tidied up a Scotch College attack and released Oliver Paterson, whose excellent pass into the circle was neatly turned into the net by Maxwell Rasmussen to make it 3-0. Zander Fraser made it 4-0 from the team’s third penalty corner and added his second and the team’s fifth after good approach play by Daneel Ovtcharenko with Zander Fraser neatly rounding the goalkeeper to flick into an unguarded net. With five minutes to go, Oliver Paterson added the sixth after a good pass from Daniel Easton and then Xavier Guy put the icing on the cake with a well-taken penalty corner flick to complete his hat-trick and seal an emphatic 7-0 victory.
Earlier in the Tournament, the team had secured victories in the pool matches with a 7-0 victory over Melbourne High School (Arthur Rasmussen 2, Oliver Paterson 2, Maxwell Rasmussen, Keiran Patel, Zander Fraser); a 1-0 victory over Scotch College (Melbourne) with a goal from Arthur Rasmussen; a convincing 13-0 success over Marist College from Canberra (Nic Hamlin, Zander Fraser 4, Arthur Rasmussen, Oliver Paterson 3, Jordan van Riele, Xavier Guy, Daneel Ovtcharenko, Daniel Bayly) and a 6-0 win over St Kevin’s College, Melbourne (Xavier Guy 4, Arthur Rasmussen 2). In the semi-final, goals from Daneel Ovtcharenko and Xavier Guy saw the team fight to earn a 2-0 win over Trinity Grammar School from Melbourne.
The team also had some time to explore Melbourne on the tour including going to the Aami Stadium to watch the NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and Auckland Warriors, and go on a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The team would like to thank the parents who came across to support the team and, specifically, Flemming Rasmussen who generously sponsored the tour gear for the team.
On the first Wednesday of term, the Boys' First XI Hockey team plays Tauranga College at home in the annual sports exchange and in the second week of term, the team commences its Auckland Secondary School Championship campaign.
The results at the Melbourne Grammar School International Hockey Tournament are as follows:
Tuesday, 7 April
Pool match 1 v Melbourne High School – Won 7-0
Arthur Rasmussen 2, Oliver Paterson 2, Maxwell Rasmussen, Keiran Patel, Zander Fraser
Pool match 2 v Scotch College – Won 1-0
Arthur Rasmussen
Wednesday, 8 April
Pool match 3 v Marist College – Won 13-0
Nic Hamlin, Zander Fraser 4, Arthur Rasmussen, Oliver Paterson 3, Jordan van Riele, Xavier Guy, Daneel Ovtcharenko, Daniel Bayly
Thursday, 9 April
Pool match 4 v St Kevin’s College – Won 6-0
Xavier Guy 4, Arthur Rasmussen 2
Semi-Final v Trinity College – Won 2-0
Daneel Ovtcharenko, Xavier Guy
Pool Standings
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Points |
| King’s College | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 12 |
| Scotch College | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| St Kevin's College | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| Melbourne High School | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
| Marist College | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
Friday, 10 April
Final v Scotch College – Won 7-0
Xavier Guy 3, Max Rasmussen, Zander Fraser 2, Oliver Paterson
Team
Daniel Bayly, Daniel Easton, Nate Flacks, Zander Fraser, Hamish Glen, Xavier Guy, Nic Hamlin, Shaan Kesha, Harrison Langrell-Read, Daneel Ovtcharenko, Keiran Patel, Oliver Paterson, Arthur Rasmussen, Maxwell Rasmussen, Daemon van Riele, Jordan van Riele and Max Ruffell
Coaches
Keith Rowley and Cameron Gibbons
