Herald Sun Shield returns with defending champs on show
Top secondary school football teams from across Victoria will be out to be crowned the state’s best when the annual Herald Sun Shield interschool competition kicks off next Tuesday 30 July, with a number of sides back to defend their titles.
All four Boys and Girls Division One premiership teams from last year have earned the right to represent their school associations again in 2024, giving them the opportunity to go back-to-back.
Parade College has again won through as premiers of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC) and will be the top seed in each of the Senior and Intermediate Boys Division One age groups, after the school did the double in 2023. Essendon young gun Nate Caddy led Parade to the Senior Boys title in 2023, when he was named best-on-ground in the final.
Melbourne Girls Grammar won its place as the representative of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV) in the top age group, while fellow defending champions Sacred Heart College will represent Geelong Independent School Sports Association (GISSA) as the top seed in Intermediate Girls Division One.
First played in 1977, the 2024 competition will be the 46th edition of the Herald Sun Shield (not played in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic) and will comprise eight divisions – four boys and four girls. Senior divisions are open age while the Intermediate divisions are for students in year 10 and below.
The fixtures for the Boys and Girls Division One competitions have been confirmed and can be viewed on PlayHQ here, or below. Division One matches will be played at Skinner Reserve (used by the Western Bulldogs as their training ground in 2023) and VFL club venues Trevor Barker Beach Oval in Sandringham, DSV Stadium in Williamstown and ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne. Girls and Boys Division One Grand Finals will be contested at Port Melbourne on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 August, respectively.
In Division One for Intermediate Boys and Senior Girls, there is a ‘Play-In’ game for each division, featuring the fourth and fifth seeds, with the winners progressing to the Semi Final stage. The Play-In Games will get the 2024 Herald Sun Shield underway on Tuesday 30 July.
Seedings have been determined based on finishing positions of school associations in the previous edition of the Herald Sun Shield.
Live streaming
Long-standing AFL Victoria and Herald Sun Shield partner News Corp Australia will continue to support the competition and provide exclusive live streaming coverage via its KommunityTV platform (www.kommunitytv.com).
Head of AFL Victoria Greg Madigan said: “It is exciting to have the Herald Sun Shield back for 2024 to showcase great school footy teams and their players from across Victoria.
“The Herald Sun Shield is rich in history, dating back to 1977, and for many school teams it presents an opportunity to compete against the best teams from other school associations in the state. There has been a great deal of enthusiasm and passion shown by competing schools in recent years, so this year’s competition promises more great interschool football.
“I would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of News Corp, who will continue to exclusively live stream the Herald Sun Shield via the KommunityTV platform. This coverage provides the competition, schools and players involved with outstanding exposure.”
Herald Sun editor Sam Weir said the exclusive live stream coverage of the Herald Sun Shield would showcase the elite footballing talent which will feature in years to come at senior AFL and AFLW level.
"For decades the Herald Sun Shield has been lauded as one of the most prestigious school football competitions in Victoria with many of today's superstars having played in the competition as juniors," Mr Weir said.
"Past AFL heroes such as Tony Lockett, Matthew Lloyd, Shane Crawford and Trent Cotchin all played in this tournament as juniors while current stars such as Christian Petracca, Hugh McCluggage, Daniel Rioli and Tom Stewart also represented their schools in this event.
"It will be fascinating to spot the superstars of the future at this year's competition and the only place you can watch it live is with KommunityTV.
"AFL is one of our core sports at KommunityTV and our extensive coverage, from the grassroots to the top flight, continues to get better year on year."
Division Two matches will be played in later August and early September following the conclusion of the Division One competitions. Division Two competing schools will be confirmed soon.
SENIOR BOYS DIVISION ONE
Seedings:
1. Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC): Parade College *2023 PREMIERS*
2. School Sport Victoria (SSV): Emmanuel College, Warrnambool
3. Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS): Ballarat Grammar
4. Southern Independent Schools (SIS): Padua College, Mornington
SENIOR GIRLS DIVISION ONE
Seedings:
1. Girls Sport Victoria (GSV): Melbourne Girls Grammar *2023 PREMIERS*
2. Associated Public Schools (APS): Caulfield Grammar
3. School Sport Victoria (SSV): SEDA College Victoria
4. Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS): Ballarat Grammar
5. Geelong Independent School Sports Association (GISSA): Sacred Heart College, Geelong
INTERMEDIATE BOYS DIVISION ONE
Seedings:
1. Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC): Parade College *2023 PREMIERS*
2. School Sport Victoria (SSV): Western Heights College, Geelong
3. Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS): St Patrick’s College, Ballarat
4. Associated Grammar Schools (AGS): Assumption College, Kilmore
5. Associated Public Schools (APS): St Kevin’s College, Toorak
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS DIVISION ONE
Seedings:
1. Geelong Independent School Sports Association (GISSA): Sacred Heart College, Geelong *2023 PREMIERS*
2. Associated Public Schools (APS): TBC
3. Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS): Ballarat Grammar
4. School Sport Victoria (SSV): Rowville Secondary College
2024 HERALD SUN SHIELD DIVISION ONE FIXTURE (Click here for fixtures on PlayHQ)
Tuesday 30 July - Skinner Reserve, Braybrook
Inter Boys Div 1 Play-In (4th v 5th seed) – 9:30am
Assumption College v St Kevin’s College
Senior Girls Div 1 Play-In (4th v 5th seed) – 11:30am
Ballarat Grammar v Sacred Heart College, Geelong
Tuesday 6 August – DSV Stadium, Williamstown
Senior Girls Div 1 Semi Final 1 (1st v 4th seed) – 9:30am
Melbourne Girls Grammar v Winner of Play-In (Ballarat Grammar / Sacred Heart College, Geelong)
Inter Girls Div 1 Semi Final 2 (2nd v 3rd seed) – 11:30am
APS representative (TBC) v Ballarat Grammar
Inter Girls Div 1 Semi Final 1 (1st v 4th seed) – 1:30pm
Sacred Heart College, Geelong v Rowville Secondary College
Tuesday 6 August – Trevor Barker Beach Oval, Sandringham
Senior Girls Div 1 Semi Final 2 (2nd v 3rd seed) – 9:30am
Caulfield Grammar v SEDA College
Wednesday 7 August – Trevor Barker Beach Oval, Sandringham
Inter Boys Div 1 Semi Final 1 – 9:30am
Parade College v Winner of Play In (Assumption College / St Kevin’s)
Senior Boys Div 1 Semi Final 1 – 11:30am
Parade College v Padua College
Wednesday 7 August – DSV Stadium, Williamstown
Inter Boys Div 1 Semi Final 2 – 11:00am
Western Heights College v St Patrick’s College, Ballarat
Senior Boys Div 1 Semi Final 2 – 1:00pm
Emmanuel College, Warrnambool v Ballarat Grammar
Tuesday 13 August – ETU Stadium, Port Melbourne
Inter Girls Div 1 Grand Final – 10:00am
Senior Girls Div 1 Grand Final – 12:30pm
Wednesday 14 August – ETU Stadium, Port Melbourne
Inter Boys Div 1 Grand Final – 10:00am
Senior Boys Div 1 Grand Final – 12:30pm
