As 2023 draws to an end, the first blog post of our brand new MCC Lacrosse website seems like as good a place as any to reflect on 2023 and all the amazing things we have achieved together as a club.
2023 has been a fantastic year for MCC Lacrosse. Our Junior Program has continued to grow, and thanks to the hard work of our Junior Committee recruiting players from primary school clinics around the Bayside area, many young boys and girls have been introduced to our wonderful sport. The MCC Pavilion at Beaumaris Secondary College has been a fantastic focal point for our Junior Community to hang out and get to know each other. In addition to our Pie Night in July and our Annual Presentation Night in September, we also got together to watch Australia in the Men’s World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego, as well as cheer on MCC’s Marty Hyde and Steve Stojkos as they represented Victoria in the Lacrosse Australia’s Men’s National Championships in Adelaide in July. Next year, we are hoping to host more events at Beaumaris to bring our MCC Lacrosse community even closer together.
2023 has also proven to be an exciting time for our Senior players, no more so than when our Senior Men made the unexpected move up into State League. “We embraced the change and hit it at pace with a determination and resolve, enjoying our underdog status and playing the game on our terms,” said State League coach, Nick Kiloh, adding, “We also debuted a massive 11 players in State League throughout the season, which is a testament to the culture and depth that we enjoy at the club. We saw this year as an opportunity to test our mettle against tougher competition and prove our worth - and prove it we did!” They certainly did! Our State League Men made history this year by reaching the finals in State League for the first time in 15 years. The atmosphere was thrilling and the turnout of MCC supporters was amazing as MCC met Malvern at the Town Hall in the Semi-Finals. We can’t wait to see what next year brings for our State League Men.
Throughout the season, our State League Men also reclaimed the WL Gray Shield from Chadstone in a tough and thrilling game. The WL Gray Shield is in recognition of the contribution made by W. L. Gray to MCC and Chadstone Lacrosse clubs. 2023 also saw the return of the LJ Shobbrook Medal, an award that represents the friendship and camaraderie between MCC and Surrey Park Lacrosse clubs and is presented to the player who contributes to the competitiveness of their team without jeopardizing the respect or friendship of the opposing team. This year’s recipient was Patrick Greene from Surrey Park.
Many of our Senior players have been recognised by Lacrosse Victoria this year. Steve Stojkos was awarded the V.P. Healy Memorial Cup as Victoria’s Best and Fairest for the Men’s State League and Tyler Reynolds was recognised as the State League’s top goal scorer in Victoria. Alex Fagan was awarded Victoria’s Best and Fairest for the Men’s State League Reserves. Fantastic achievements that again highlight the spirit and dedication of our players to the sport.
Beyond our club, many of our MCC players have had the opportunity to play at the State or National level. In September, seven of our U14 and U16 Boys – Jasper Adderley, Ajay Srikarthik, Dan Burrowes, Willem Duncan, Kieran Tarshis, Sid Foxworthy and Zaiden Anastasi - were selected to represent Victoria on the Southern Crosse team in the Lacrosse Australia’s U15 National Tournament held in Ballarat, while Luke Zaph was given the opportunity to play on the Victorian Development Squad. It was a fantastic experience for all involved and the parents had as good a time as the boys hanging out and meeting folk from across the country.
In addition, our U18s Christian Iuliano and Jack Cahill represented Victoria in Lacrosse Australia’s U18 Men’s National Championships held in Perth in April, with Victoria eventually finishing as the 2023 U18s Men’s National Champions and both young men being named as MVPs in different games.
Many of our MCC players celebrated milestone games in 2023 with Alyrah Anastasi reaching her 50th Junior game, while Rosie Awad played her 150th Senior Women’s game, Marty Hyde and Dan Mentiplay played their 200th Senior Men’s game and Alex Fagan reaching his 250th milestone game. There is nothing quite like celebrating your milestone by running through a red and blue tissue banner with your family cheering you on!
MCC Lacrosse hosted its first U12 Mixed Lightning Premiership at The Albert Ground in August. It was so great to welcome all the kids and parents from the other clubs, and get the bbq running and coffee brewing. We had such a fun day and hope to do it all again next year.
In keeping with our values as a welcoming and inclusive club, MCC Lacrosse hosted the Lacrosse Victoria Pride Round at The Albert Ground in May, with our junior and senior teams playing alongside each other and resulting in another fun community event enjoyed by all.
We also had multiple junior and senior teams playing in the Lacrosse Together Cup, a great event held in October that aims to encourage and support LGBTQIA+ participation in lacrosse. Not only was MCC’s Jazz Stout heavily involved in the organisation of this event, but she was also on the MCC team that won their division on the day along with Gareth Caulfield, Tyson Caulfield, Tim Anastasi and Simon Gladman. We hope to see more and more of our club members coming out and supporting this great cause.
The field lacrosse season ends in September, but our club members are still able to get their lacrosse fix by playing Box Lacrosse in the off-season. Unlike field lacrosse, Box Lacrosse is played in a confined court with boards meaning that the ball never goes out of play resulting in a fast-paced, action-packed version of the game. During Box Lacrosse season, teams are made up from players from different clubs giving everyone a chance to mingle and make new friends. This year, several of our U14 and U16 Boys played in the Victoria Box Lacrosse League in Altona, as well as many of our Senior Men. MCC’s Willem Duncan was on team Storm, which were champions of the Junior B League, while Steve Stojkos and Dan Mentiplay were on the winning Rage team for the Senior Men. Dan Mentiplay was also on the victorious Victorian Box Lacrosse team in the Men’s Box National Championships at the beginning of the year.
We also had some international success with Box Lacrosse. Two of our young men, Josh Nicholl and Joe Shobbrook, were selected for the Australian Box Lacrosse team which competed in the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championships, held in Saskatoon, Canada, in August of this year. “I loved my time away and only have positive things to say about the experience,” Josh said of his time in Canada. “My highlights were our win over Poland, training and playing in an amazing stadium and the friendships I made with teammates from different states and the memories made with them. I also loved being able to shop in an actual store that sells lacrosse gear!” He added, “I highly recommend the experience. If you get this opportunity, you should 100% jump on it! I learnt so much that I can bring into my field game and am also looking forward to the spring Box lacrosse season down in Altona!” Josh certainly did use his new-found box lacrosse skills in Altona, playing in the Finals on team Thunder together with Joe Shobbrook, Gareth Caulfield and Tyler Reynolds against Rage.
So there you have it. An awesome year for our amazing club! We can’t wait to see what 2024 brings.
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