Each year we honour the legacy of dedicated teacher, excellent person and football coach Stephanie Scott, who was killed 11 years ago. The gala day between Leeton High (Stephanie’s former school), St Francis Regional High, Yanco Agricultural High and Hillston Central is a chance to commemorate and celebrate her memory.
Leeton’s No. 2 oval hosted the annual gala day celebrating Stephanie Scott’s ethos of friendship, on Wednesday 13th May, as part of the Bill Turner Cup (boys) and Bill Turner Trophy (girls) competitions (u15 schools football-soccer).
The day was special in more ways than one, as this is the eleventh anniversary year of Stephanie’s untimely death.
Four schools, Leeton High (Stephanie’s former school). St Francis Regional High, Yanco Agricultural High and Hillston Central ( Riverina Access Partnership Schools -RAPS) vied for the Stephanie Scott Shields.
The games were played in a spirit of fun, friendship and fair play, with Leeton High girls playing St Francis girls in the Trophy final and Leeton High boys also playing St Francis in the Cup final, after both Leeton High teams had played Hillston and St Francis had played Yanco.
Leeton High girls won the girls Stephanie Scott Shield for the second year in succession with a comprehensive 3 – 0 win over St Francis.
From the start, Leeton applied immense pressure, with a majority of the early part of the game in their forward half. St Francis defended gallantly, but eventually Leeton High broke through, with Amethyst Ward-Contreras scoring first. The 1/0 scoreline was maintained into half time.
Leeton High picked up where they left off after half time, producing a number of opportunities. Following a brilliant ball from her sister, Ava Weymouth took her opportunity, scoring the second goal for the day. A little later, Leeton High captain, Myah Weymouth capped off an excellent tournament by scoring a penalty to make the final score 3/0 and make the win safe for her team.
St Francis boys reversed the result, running out winners 5 -1 over Leeton High in the Cup and retaining the boys Stephanie Scott Shield.
The game opened with both teams displaying immense energy. Leeton High looked dangerous early when Jack Crowe embarked on a blistering run from inside his own half, breaking through the defence. However the St Francis goalkeeper, William Famador, made a crucial one on one save to keep the game scoreless.
Shortly afterwards, St Francis attacker, Isaac Sayer-Roberts, opened the scoring with a composed, calm finish. Leeton High responded quickly, with Jack Crowe taking a penalty and expertly sending the keeper the wrong way to level the score.
The deadlock didn’t last long. Kaweera Senevirathme pounced on a loose ball in the box to restore St Francis lead.
Just before half time, Ben Brennan calmly despatched a penalty to make the score 3/1.
The second half saw no dip in intensity. While St Francis continued to push, the Leeton High goalkeeper, Parker Hutchinson, made a string of crucial saves in a heroic performance, which kept his team within striking distance.
Despite the resistance, Isaac Sayer-Roberts found the net again after some slick build up play.
The highlight of the match however, was the last goal as Ben Brennan unleased a “screamer” from outside the box which flew into the top corner to give a 5/1 final scoreline.
These were two highly anticipated clashes that brought the Leeton community together in friendly competition. The Stephanie Scott Girl’s Final saw a commanding display from captain Miah Weymouth as she deftly organised Leeton High’s girls.
A similar scenario played out with St Francis boys as captain, Ben Brennan was instrumental throughout the match.
The day was run exceptionally well by Kim Robertson from St Francis and thanks go to the volunteer referees and lines.
Jacob Storer, a teacher from Stephanie’s Leeton High, conducted a memorial ceremony involving everyone present. The teams were arranged in a large circle, then the students were asked to honour Stephanie’s memory by interacting with other players they didn’t know, in the spirit of friendship which was Stephanie’s ethos.
Stephanie had been an influential figure in the game, as well as a great example and mentor for the young people she came into contact with.
She had coached Bill Turner Trophy (u15 girls) and senior teams for Leeton High and had played for Leeton United. She had also started a women’s team for Tolland Football Club while studying at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.
Leeton High girls now go on to play Marian Catholic College in round three of the Bill Turner Trophy and St Francis boys have played Deniliquin High in round three of the Bill Turner Cup, with a “nail biting” finish, going down 5/4 on penalties after being 1/1 after full-time and extra time.
Player of the Final in the Trophy, judged by the referees, was Miah Weymouth (third year in a row) from Leeton High.
Player of the Final in the Cup was Ben Brennan from St Francis with Parker Hutchinson best from Leeton High.
Best and fairest for Hillston (RAPS) were Hayley Felton (Trophy), Jai Coles (Cup) and for Yanco Zahli Menzies (Trophy) and Blake Davidson-Miles (Cup).
The day was about more than just the results. It was a fantastic occasion for Leeton and the surrounding areas, showcasing great sportsmanship and bringing the local community together to celebrate a special day of school spirit and football.
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In the Riverina area, the Bill Turner Cup and Trophy pay tribute to former teacher and coach Ron Anschuetz.
The Riverina Anglican College have won both Ron Anschuetz Shields for the second time in the eleven year history of the Shields as part of the Bill Turner Cup and Trophy competitions.
The first round of both boys (Cup) and girls (Trophy) provided friendly but intense competition in the ethos of Ron Anschuetz.
In the first round of the boys, Wagga High defeated Mt Austin 3/2 and Riverina Anglican defeated Kooringal High 2/1 with a golden goal in extra time, while in the girls Wagga High defeated Mt Austin 6/0 and Riverina Anglican defeated Kooringal High 2/1.
The first round clashes between Kooringal High and Riverina Anglican proved to be the most influential in the competition for the Anschuetz Shields, as the evenly matched teams played out end to end football and the winners took out the second round Anschuetz Shield games 6/1 and 10/0.
Player of the match in round 2, for the boys was Atticus Pavitt and for the girls, Nyah Leung, both from TRAC.
The Riverina Anglican College teams thus qualified for round 3 of the Bill Turner Cup (boys) and Bill Turner Trophy (girls) www.billturnersoccer.com.au
The boys have played Marian College from Griffith, defeating Marian College 5/2 for the first time and the girls are yet to play Temora High.
Each team requires two more wins to reach the Southern Inter Area Finals of the Bill Turner Cup and Trophy to be held in Albury on 29th and 30th July. The winning teams from Riverina, Victoria, South Coast and Western Areas will be involved in these playoffs for quarter finals positions over the two days. From there the winners progress to the semifinals and finals to be held at Lake Macquarie’s Speers Point in early September. www.billturnersoccer.com.au
Ron Anschuetz was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable science teacher and longtime football coach at Wagga Wagga High School. He believed that football is enjoyable, fulfilling and connects people by breaking down the barriers between them.
He was an excellent guide for youngsters on the path to adulthood, but died under tragic circumstances at a relatively young age – a great loss to society and particularly the youth of Wagga Wagga.
Thanks go to Bianca Miller from Riverina Anglican College for organising the day and to Liam Dedini from Football NSW for his help.
The shields were provided by Bill Turner Football as a testament to Ron’s work and influence on young people.
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