Years 7 to 9 Girl's Cricket

Last Tuesday the Joey's junior girls cricket team played Holy Spirit in a 'friendly'. For most of the girls this was their first experience playing an actual game of cricket so there were more than as few nerves as the girls padded up to bat first. The game structure saw the girls bat in pairs for 4 overs / pair. Kiara S led the way with the bat making 13 off her allocated overs with support coming from Emily H (7), Maya H (7) and Kobi E (5). At the end of the set 24 overs the girls made a handy 75 runs.

Taking to the field the girls understandably took some time to find their grove. Once they settled into their grove the fielding picked up and they started to apply pressure to the Holy Spirit batters. Emily H made the initial breakthrough taking 2 wickets in her first over as did Kobi E in the next over as momentum started to turn. At the drinks break the girls were just behind  but in a very competitive position. Unfortunately the experience of the opposition proved too much in the end and despite the efforts of Lilly W, Emma Lee S and Kiara S who all took wickets Holy Spirit managed to compile a total of 155 to run out comfortable winners.

While the result was not one the team wanted, the girls put in a solid performance against a team that had played a number of games already. With further experience the girls showed enough potential to demonstrate that with further practice and experience they can be a very competitive cricket side. Thanks to Sam, Lucas and Jax from the junior boys cricket team who helped with umpiring and scoring duties on the day. Congratulations to this girls team who are St Joseph’s very first girls cricket team!

Sports Awards 2024

As a school, we’ve had an amazing year in sport. The girls’ hockey team dominated this season, winning the Diocesan championship for the second year in a row whilst the boys’ hockey team did an incredible job too, finishing 3rd despite not being able to field a full team.

We took a massive run of silver in 2024…just missing the podium on several occasions. In Rugby 7s our girls were runners-up at the Illawarra competition and qualified for the NSW State Championships. Both our 7-8 & 9-10 Boys’ netball teams placed 2nd at the NSW Regional Championships, the Junior Boys Cricket Team and Junior Boys Basketball Team took 2nd at the Diocesan Gala Days and we finished 2nd in our U16s Girls Blues Tag and U16s Mixed Touch Tournaments. These results show just how competitive St. Joseph’s is across a variety of sports and a huge improvement from 2023.

This year, at the CDF Sports Awards Night we didn’t place in the top scores of the Vince Villa Cup, however it is worth noting that we were competing against much larger schools. If we averaged our points per student, we would have come in 1st place overall which is an outstanding feat. That, along with our Elite Athlete Program, really shows the strength of our school’s sporting culture.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge some great sporting success by Jacob and Julius Ong who represented our school at Australian All Schools for Judo and placed 2nd for their age and category. Other students who have represented at a high level have been Bianca de Swardt across a range of sports. She also qualified and competed at the World championships multisport in sprint duathlon earlier this year. And last of all Te Ari’i Aperau-Bob who was selected in the Open Men’s Cook Islands Team to represent his country at the Oceania Swimming Championships in Queensland in 2024.

In 2025, we are taking on the theme of this year's Olympics - Stronger, Higher, Faster, Together. We hope that as a school community we can continue to develop our teamwork, resilience and belief as a school to achieve more. Alone we can do so little but together can do so much.

Thank you all for an incredible year of sport.

Miss Power - Sport Coordinator

Major Award Winners

Overall Courage Award

Over the year students have been nominated by their coaches for displaying the values of courage, respect and service in representative sport. Students have accrued points based on these nominations and we will now acknowledge our overall winner of these value awards for each category.

The Overall Courage Award goes to a student who shows leadership in training, who continually gets out of their comfort zone, a student who works hard to improve and someone who is willing to try new things.

Congratulations to Libby Knight

Libby has taken on many new sports this year and she is being recognised for getting out of her Netball comfort zone and giving AFL a go where she was an outstanding Ruck as well as taking on the Girls Cricket Team. She also played in our Blues Tag and Basketball Team this Year. Congratulations Libby.

Overall Respect Award

The Overall Respect Award goes to a student who shows exemplary behaviour towards their coach, team members and also students and staff from other schools. This student is committed to their training and making the team better as well as being a role model of what it means to be a Joey’s student.

Congratulations to Kiara Shelton

Kiara has represented the school in 9 sporting teams this year and her talent not only stands out in each sport she has played but her respect for each player, other schools and the coach go above and beyond. She is a great role model for our sporting teams and students here at St Joseph’s. Congratulations Kiara.

Overall Service Award

The Overall Service Award goes to a student who assists others who are in need. This may be coaching other students, assisting their coach with equipment and training as well as serving the school by refereeing or coaching duties at sporting events.

Congratulations to Mackenzie Best

Mackenzie is one of the most loyal students here at St Joseph’s. Whilst completing her Year 12 studies she has never turned down an opportunity to assist and coach our junior teams. Mackenzie is always the first in line to give back to our sporting community and she is a well deserved recipient of this award. Congratulations Mackenzie.

The Dragons Medallion Winner

The Dragons Medal goes to a student who represents their school with pride both on and off the field, and has made a significant contribution in their schooling life. The medal recognises a student with good character, positivity and teamwork.

This years Dragons Medal goes to Cate Mansbridge

Cate has played in 6 of our school teams this year. She is a player that consistently contributes to a positive team environment and is always willing to give her coaches a hand or help out at any sporting event. Cate goes above and beyond for St Joseph’s and will always give her best no matter what she does. She is a great role model who displays the Josephite values both within competition and off the field. Congratulations Cate.

Sportsperson of the Year

Congratulations to Emily Hollingsworth who took out the 2024 Sports Person of the Year Award. She is an exceptional multi-sport athlete, representing the school in a wide array of disciplines. She plays a pivotal role in the School AFL, Touch, Oztag, Rugby 7s, and Junior Basketball team, where her athleticism, versatility, and leadership shine. In AFL, Emily’s talent extends to the state level, representing both the NSWCCC AFL Team and the NSW All Schools AFL Team, showcasing her elite skills and competitive spirit. Whether on the football field or court she consistently demonstrates her dedication and excellence, making her a standout representative for the school across numerous sports and a well-deserved recipient for this year's award.

Student Sporting Success

Cricket

We wish our cricket boys, Sam Huetter, Mitchell Whalan, Ben Maloney, Ben Gooda, Jaxon Moran, Lucas Glover, Blake Knight and Cody Cartwright who are out at Dubbo this week competing at the Youth Championships for Cricket. We hope they have a successful campaign and are successful in further selection of representative teams.

NSW Indoor Hockey

Congratulations to Max Elliot who has been selected in the U14 Boys NSW Indoor Hockey Team and Maya Huetter who has been selected as a shadow in the U14 NSW Girls Indoor Team. An outstanding achievement and we wish you the best of luck over the summer holidays competing in this team.

2025....Lock It In!