AN ALL-Victorian semi-final will determine one of the two School Sport Australia 15 & Under Boys Championship grand finalists, while Western Australia and South Australia will face off in the other semi-final. The matches take place at Frank Bourke Oval tomorrow from 1:20pm and 3:00pm respectively, with the victors to advance through to the Gold Medal match.

1st-4th Semi-Finals:
Victoria Navy vs. Victoria White
Western Australia vs South Australia

5th-8th Semi-Finals:
New South Wales vs. Australian Capital Territory
Queensland vs. Tasmania

The four teams one traditionally sees as standalone ones at higher junior levels made it through to the final four with each of them defeating the other states in their Pool. Victoria Navy finished on top of Pool A with the day three win over New South Wales by 58 points. It was the tightest result of the week for the top ranked side, but Navy still kept their opponents to two points for three quarters before finishing off with a 10.12 (72) to 2.2 (14) win.

Lachlan Hicks kicked three goals in the win, as Mitch Toner (two) and Matthew D’Amico (two) were the other multiple goalkickers for Metro. Cody Walker and Jack Surkitt were also named among the best for the Vics. Mason McGroder and Maclean Coble kicked New South Wales goals, as Benji Hanrahan was nominated as the Bluebirds’ best.

The other match in Pool A was much tighter as South Australia had a scare against Tasmania before booting the last two goals of the game to win by five points. It was a promising performance from the Apple Isle boys who had been blown away in their first two matches. However, they showed they were up for the fight against the Croweaters, leading by eight points at the final break, only for South Australia to kick the last two goals of the match to win, 5.6 (36) to 5.1 (31).

Memphis Webb slotted three goals in the low-scoring win, while defender Jack Gordon was again the star, named among the best with Ethan Herbert and Jermaine Miller. Ted Banks-Smith booted two goals for Tasmania, while Ewan Dillon and Brodie Speed were nominated as their side’s best players.

In Pool B, Western Australia inflicted Victoria White’s first loss of the carnival with a commanding 41-point win. Though Victoria led at quarter time by seven points, it was all Western Australia after that, piling on 10 goals to two in the final three quarters.

Thatcher Simmons and Koby LeCras both kicked four goals, while Kye Ormerod and Jai Debono were the Sandgropers’ best. For Victoria White, Blake Newton had another best on ground performance, booting two goals and was a prime mover. Angus Tippett and Henry Thomas also impressed in the loss.

Queensland was far too dominant for Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in the last match of the Pool, slamming on 29 scoring shots to three in a 111-point victory. The Maroons never looked like losing with eight goals to nil in the opening half, and finished with a 17.12 (114) to 0.3 (3) win.

Hamish McPherson was unstoppable in the match, booting eight goals in a clear best on ground performance. Hawthorn father-son prospect Cooper Hodge was also impressive, while Matthew Owen and Thomas Levi had their moments in an all-round team effort. For ACT, Aiden Watts and Ben Turvey tried hard all day.