Parade powers to second-straight senior Herald Sun Shield; St Kevin's inter boys champs

Parade College completed a dominant 2024 Herald Sun Shield campaign to win back-to-back Senior Boys Division One titles with a resounding 73-point victory over Emmanuel College, Warrnambool in the Grand Final at ETU Stadium, Port Melbourne on Wednesday. 

Earlier in the day, St Kevin's College completed an ultra-impressive run through the Intermediate Boys Division One competition by trouncing Western Heights College, Geelong by 64 points, 11.19 (85) to 3.3 (21) to win the title. St Kevin's qualified as the outstanding team from the Associated Public Schools (APS) competition and defeated Associated Grammar Schools representative Assumption College in a Play In game before overwhelming 2023 champions Parade College in the Semi-Final. 

Senior Boys Division One Grand Final recap

Parade College 17.11 (113) def. Emmanuel College Warrnambool 5.10 (40)

Played in warm, dry conditions with a blustery breeze, Parade's skills and teamwork were on show from the start with a superb first quarter putting 7.2 on the scoreboard to open up a 31-point advantage. An even second term meant Parade maintained the same lead at half time, with Emmanuel forward Charlie McKinnon looking dangerous and helping to keep his side in the game. 

Parade, coached by former Essendon player Ricky Dyson, put the foot down with a five-goal-to-zip third quarter to open up a 62-point lead at the final change and the game was over. 

Captain Zak Johnson, a recent Victoria Metro U18 representative, sparked his side with a fantastic first term on the ball and continued that form throughout, finishing with two goals and the medal for best player on the ground. Johnson's Northern Knights teammate Kristian Lawson was a driving force out of the midfield while Noah Scott, who plays Coates Talent League for the Calder Cannons, also had a huge game and Angus Smith was dangerous up forward throughout with three majors. There were stars everywhere for Parade, with others to impress including Dylan Constantin, Tyson Gresham (brother of Essendon's Jade), Seb Murphy (three goals after winning the best-on-ground medal in Parade's Inter Boys title win last year), Aaron Doyle and Riley Ormerod. 

Emmanuel's McKinnon, who has represented Victoria Country at U16 level, finished with three goals and his GWV Rebels teammates Reggie Mast and Talor Byrne played some excellent footy. 

Parade qualified for the Herald Sun Shield after winning back-to-back Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC) premierships when it defeated St Patrick's College Ballarat in the 2024 Grand Final and then demolished Padua College by 118 points in the Herald Sun Shield Semi-Final. The Bundoora school's recent success in the ACC and the Herald Sun Shield has confirmed its status as a truly dominant force at the top of Victorian schoolboy football and has returned the school to the heights it achieved in the 90s when it won five senior Herald Sun Shield titles (93-94 and 96-98). 

• WATCH REPLAY on KommunityTV.com: CLICK HERE (Herald Sun subscriber content)
• Full set of results from 2024 Senior Boys Division 1: CLICK HERE 

Intermediate Boys Division One Grand Final recap

St Kevin's College 11.19 (85) def. Western Heights College 3.3 (21)

St Kevin's proved itself to be the premier year 10 schoolboy football side in the state by completely overpowering Western Heights College. A four-goal-to-nil opening term gave St Kevin's a great platform and the game was over by half time when the scoreboard showed a margin of 53 points. Only inaccuracy prevented a much bigger margin with St Kevin's booting the first 11 goals of the game to lead by 77 points at the final change, with Western Heights snagging three final-term majors after going goalless in the first three quarters. 

For St Kevin's, key defender Archie Fogarty played a superb game with his intercepting and contested marking setting up numerous forward forays for his side. He was duly rewarded with the medal as best-on-ground. Ben Baker kicked two early goals and was a constant threat up forward while Gus Texiera, Toby Round, Albert Macgowan and ruckman Alex Dreaver proved a formidable midfield combination. 

Western Heights players who made a strong contribution included Rhylee Luca, Will Pryor and Blake Keating. 

To make the Grand Final, St Kevin's came through the APS Year 10A competition where it beat rivals Xavier College to qualify, then as the fifth seed in the Herald Sun Shield, defeated the AGS's best side Assumption by 31 points before taking down Parade by 46 points to book a Grand Final spot. To Western Heights' credit, they had to beat traditional Herald Sun Shield power St Patrick's College to progress to the decider after qualifying as the representative of School Sport Victoria. 

• WATCH REPLAY on KommunityTV.com: CLICK HERE (Herald Sun subscriber content)
• Full set of results from 2024 Intermediate Boys Division 1: CLICK HERE