Little League Winter Sport Reports Round 9

Rugby Round 9

6A Rugby – Cranbrook

The 6As resumed their rugby season with an afternoon fixture against Trinity. Playing before the senior school 2nd and 1st XV, the boys were excited to showcase their ability in front of a large crowd. Cranbrook started strongly, with exciting continuity between the forwards and backs resulting in tries to both wingers. The second half saw Trinity begin to claw their way back, with a few moments of individual brilliance keeping the game tight. Cranbrook made numerous errors and were unable to capitalise on their opportunities, leading to a last minute try for Trinity. The game ended in a draw; Cranbrook boys devastated with letting that game slip. The boys will be eager to finish the season on a high and rectify this result next week. 

6B Rugby – Cranbrook 0 defeated by Tudor House 47

Overall, the boys played well in a game where the score line did not reflect how they played.

Standout players today were Hugo H, Finn B, Arch P, Hugh T and Liam N (played exceptionally well on the edges)

Unfortunately, we still let in numerous tries while held to nil. Areas to work on include commitment to ruck, identifying opportunities out wide and holding their line. Looking forward to finishing the season with a win next weekend.

5A Rugby – Cranbrook defeated by St Pats

The Year 5A’s had another tough away fixture last weekend against St. Pat’s. Unfortunately, the boys continued their habit of getting off to a sluggish start, conceding two early tries. The Cranbrook pack then started to gain parity, some bruising carries from Carter M and Jamie R setting the tone. The backline, led by the vocal Oliver K, looked a lot more organised, testing the St. Pat’s defence out wide. Ultimately, this good play failed to trouble the scoreboard, with St. Pat’s registering late tries to take the game away from Cranbrook.

5B Rugby – Cranbrook 0 defeated by St Pats 45

The boys were looking to avenge a defeat earlier this year against St Pats. A cold morning saw a few handling errors from both sides. Unfortunately, Pats took an early lead, Cranbrook struggled to come back from the deficit. The boys tried hard but were physically outmatched against a much larger Pats side. On the bright side the boys were able to string together a few good minutes of footy at the death, showing everyone the potential, they have. Final score 45-0. Player of the match goes to Jasper L, our resident ruck thief. The boys will look to bounce back next week for the final game of the year.

4A Rugby – Cranbrook 7 defeated by Waverley 31

The 10As has their first loss of the season on Saturday, going down to Waverley 31-7. The boys unfortunately could not stick to their structure and were unable to make the important tackles count. This game was exactly what the As needed, showing them that there is still a lot of improvement needed both individually and as a team. With only one game left against Scots, the boys will be focused and ready for their final game of the season.

4 7s Rugby – Cranbrook

As Koola park was closed, the mighty Year 4 team took part in an internal competition mixed with the Year 3s and a select from Sydney Grammar.

The boys played approximately 4 games and thoroughly enjoyed their mornings work which could be seen by the freedom and carefree nature in which they played.

Final round at Koola park this Saturday to wrap up a terrific terms work.

3Red 7s – Cranbrook

On Saturday the 30th of July the Year 3 Reds had a great day of rugby with an internal round robin being played at Woollahra oval against the blue and white squad, along with a couple of Sydney Grammar’s finest young teams. The Reds started off with a huge game against Grammar coming off strong with a 5-1 win. This win setting the tone for the remainder of the day’s fixtures. Secondly, came a game against Cranbrook’s best Year 4’s where the boys continued to dominate, successfully focusing on their passing and space awareness. Leading to an abundance of tries being scored in the corners and great defensive pressure, resulting to an impressive final score of 7-0. 

Finally came the highlight of the day, where the boys played an intense match against their closest competition, the Year 3 blue team. This game was a mixture of intensity and fun, where the boys had a great hit-out against each other up until the final whistle, focusing once again on passing and working as a team, where the final call, “last try wins’” resulted in the red team coming out on top. Overall, it was a great day of rugby down at Woollahra oval. 

3White 7s – Cranbrook

The Year 3 White team put in a great effort this weekend showing some good spirit against strong opposition. The internal round robin saw the boys progress well with each game to finish with a strong result against Grammar. The boys implemented the focus of the week by having good ball movement and support in attack. Additionally, in defence the boys showed promise making the majority of one-on-one tackles. However, one area to work on for the coming week ahead is spacing. This will help in attack and defence as it will prevent teams from running around our defensive line whilst also opening up more space in attack. Overall great job, onto next week!

3Blue 7s – Cranbrook

The Cranbrook Blue team had a very enjoyable morning down at Woollahra, the boys were very excited to not have to drive all the way to Koola Park. The boys kicked off the day with a narrow loss to Sydney Grammar but returned with a strong win against the Cranbrook White team.  I hope the boys had a great weekend and are keen to get back into their training this week.

Football Round 9

6B Football – Cranbrook 0 defeated by Tudor House 1

The 12Bs put in another gutsy performance against Tudor House. Oscar was rock solid in defense alongside Aaresh who also put in another great performance. Well done boys!

6C Football – Cranbrook 1 defeated by Tudor House 3

The 12Cs were outstanding once again, with wholehearted efforts across the team. Great leadership in the midfield by Henry alongside Will who put in another top performance. Well done boys!

5A Football – Cranbrook 2 defeated Trinity 0  

The boys put in a first-class performance, with incredible teamwork, great ball rotation and energy from all – it was a joy to watch. A great training effort led to a great display, the midfield led by Edward N, was superb, dominating the tackle and releasing the ball early, for players like Eamonn R to showcase their technique and speed. All-round great performance, with Lachlan K making a great late save to keep a well-deserved clean sheet. Inspiring day.

5B Football – Cranbrook 0 defeated by Trinity 2

The Year 5Bs showed courage, determination, and fantastic spirit throughout their penultimate game of the season against Trinity Prep. Unfortunately, the Bs conceded two goals late in the second half. Chances were created and there were good passages of play from defensive through to attack. Man of the Match was awarded to Michael M, who was closely followed by Van G as the runner up. Rocco B’s kicking game from the floor is improving and was once again a leader throughout the match. Each boy should be very proud of their efforts, and development throughout the season.

5C Football – Cranbrook 0 defeated by Trinity 1

The Year 5 Cs were at home to Trinity Prep for the penultimate round of the season. Unfortunately, they walked away with a 1-0 loss however played with great spirit and determination. Man of the Match was awarded to Harry R after a faultless display from the back clearing his defensive lines and distributing the ball to Raffy S, who also played excellently. An honourable mention to Fynn W who played goalkeeper for the first time and Lachlan S put on a show with his skills and attacking threat. It was also good to see Ishi S on the field stringing some passes together and we look forward to seeing more of this in the future. Overall, a great game of football.

4A Football – Cranbrook 6 defeated Newington 1

The Cranbrook 4As had one of their best games of the season, defeating Newington 6-1 on away turf. Despite both Kaspar B and Rhidian S netting hat-tricks, the real star of the show was the team’s passing as they broke down their opposition through switches of play and bouncing off the centre forward. The team is developing their football intelligence in leaps and bounds and will continue to develop due to their positive and focused attitudes. Beyond winning, they had fun. Learning and enjoyment are the recipe for long term success.

4B Football – Cranbrook 5 defeated Newington 1

The Year 4B Team displayed a hard-fought effort against a strong Newington side, with the boys taking home a 5-1-win, courtesy of 4 goals from Jacob B and one goal from Oscar R. It was very clear from the beginning of first half our boys played more stable, yet lethal game than our host. A hard work from Ashton D and Felix S boosted our attackers to play without worries and a special mention goes to Aurelius S and Rembrandt T for volunteering for taking goalkeeping role. Without a doubt, a great performance from all boys involved.

4C Football – Cranbrook 3 defeated Newington Wyvern 1

The Cranbrook 4Cs showed their quality at Newington on Saturday, winning 3-1 and dominating the match. While Matthew Z and Rory M highlighted their talent on the field with foot skills, passing and tackling, the highlight of the day was undoubtedly the third goal: a Christmas tree goal! After some discussions about Christmas trees (formation) and the presents a wider Christmas tree would reap at half time (you can’t fit many presents under a narrow Christmas tree!) the team opened the field and worked the width to secure a brilliant team goal. Pep Guardiola would have been proud of the lads!

4D Football – Cranbrook 2 defeated Newington 1

The Cranbrook 4Ds displayed a valiant effort against a strong Newington side, winning very tight 2-1 match courtesy of Ryan M, who scored the two goals. The 4D boys had very difficult start to the match with Newington’s goal within first 5min. The equaliser came towards the end of first half through a fast switch up from the half-line to the Wyverns’ goal area. Leo C and Alec R worked hard against Newington players throughout the second half and eventually Ryan M netted the winning goal just before the full-time whistle. Overall, a hard-fought win from the boys.

3A Football – Cranbrook 6 defeated Scots

Our team was short of a few players today, so Oliver P stepped up from the Bs side to deliver a stellar performance at centre back. Our usual stalwarts at the back Robert Z, Minato Y and Freddy F were dominating all game – their markers couldn’t get close enough to them. Santiago D and Xander R as strikers/attacking mids were so clever in their movement off one another, and as lone attackers they contributed a hat trick each. Special mention to Freddy F and Robert Z for going in goals!

3B Football – Cranbrook 4 defeated Scots 1

The 3Bs were comfortable winners in a game where they could have easily doubled the score-line with some tidier finishing. From the outset, the boys were threatening, finding space in behind with Henry R and Joseph R, the latter scoring the game’s first goal. Despite a quick-fire Scots reply, the boys soon left them behind, with Xavier L and Christian K driving the boys forward and seeing returns in the form of a Sebastian R double and a cracking finish from Leo M. Overall a great performance from the boys.

3C Football – Cranbrook 5 defeated Scots 0

The 3Cs were dominant as they ran out comfortable winners on the Dangar carpet. Oliver L was on fire, rinsing defenders left and right as he scored a hat trick, while Tully S and Gus T were rocks at the back. Oliver D and Mason P rounded off the goals, aided by attacking contributions from Jamie S and Oscar M, the latter making his Cs debut. Overall a great performance where the boys controlled the play from start to finish.

3D Football – Cranbrook 4 defeated Scots 1

The boys played a Scots side short of players this week, so we fielded 5 players at a time instead of the usual 6. The extra space awarded to our strikers and central midfielders was excellent for our aggressive runners like Jack F and Ziggy S, who both earned goals for their efforts. Carlitos C selflessly guarded our goal area for much of the game, while Raffy L braved the chills to keep the back 3 involved all match. Final score was 4-1, the boys are a real cohesive unit and should be proud of their season to date.

Winter Tennis

Winter Tennis – Cranbrook 54 defeated Grammar St Ives 14

Well done to our competitive winter tennis team. They came together to represent their school in both sportsmanship and high energy. With our coaches away, our team captains, Peter M and Zachary S stepped up to offer the team some very useful tips and moral support. We had some great umpires making loud and clear calls for all the hear.

Winter Multi-Sports

The boys continued to develop their kicking skills through skill-based activities and games.  On Saturday, the boys were split in four teams for a game of ‘Four Corner Soccer’. Hugo C displayed excellent engagement with a non-stop approach to winning the ball back for his team. The ‘Four Corner Soccer’ game was won by the Red team with over 20 points scored.