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VSSSA STATE SEMI FINALIST
1997 – Year 8 Boys Football
The reigning champs of the 1996 Year 7 comp the year before, and who won again Inas both Year 9s and 10s, were somehow stopped at the Semi Final.
In hindsight if they had won at Year 8, it would have given them 4 State Titles in a row. To this day, no cohort in Victoria has ever gone 4 in a row. We believe only one school has gone e 3 in 4 years – that is Sunbury College, whose boys won in Year 7, 8 and 10 between 1997 and 2000.
The two matches we have record of show them to be just as dominant as 1996 in the early rounds. There was a 108 point demolition (134-26) of Corryong Secondary College in the NEDSSA Final at Wareena Park, and a 54 point win over Shepparton High School in Shepparton, in the Eastern Zone Country Final.
In those write-ups, most of the Big Guns are named in the Best – Steve Johnson, Karl Norman, Joe Doody, Brett Norris, Matt Millar.
However a possible explanation for falling at the Semi Final, may be the noted injuries during the Eastern Zone Counter Final, to Heath Stamp and Brett Norris. Most would rate the future AFL bound Johnson and Norman as the best 2 footballer in the team, but at that age, Norris and Stamp would have likely been just as valuable. Their mature bodies and hardness would have been sorely missed. Maybe those two didn’t play in the State Semi? Up against a strong opponent, it could have been the difference.
If anyone remembers what happened in that Semi Final, who it was against and what the margin may have been, get in touch and help us solve the mystery.
Jud.Mullins@education.vic.gov.au
