We were placed in a tough pool and suffered two early losses to St Peter’s College (the eventual runners-up) and Tauranga Boys’ College. However, we were delighted to defeat the team from Hutt International Boys in an exciting 7-5 victory, moving us into the Plate division for the weekend finals.
The next round of competition saw tighter matches, but the boys were able to gain two close wins against Rosmini College, who had previously beaten us by a larger margin earlier in the season, and Western Springs College. This placed us in the Plate final against Westlake Boys High School. Exhausted from a busy week of exams and water polo, the team rallied and played one of our best games yet. Unfortunately, we could not hold them out and we were defeated 6-3 at full time.
Coach Jim Floerchinger and I, as well as our loyal crew of parent supporters, were very pleased with the boys’ achievement at the tournament. Despite facing teams full of bigger, stronger Year 10 students, our younger and less experienced players showed excellent determination and improved a great deal over the course of the weekend. They worked together well as a team to score some important goals and put pressure on the opposition on defence. We look forward to seeing how they get on next year, as much of the team returns to improve on our 10th-place position.
Lauren Lethbridge, Manager
