St Francis of the Fields footballers make presence felt at state championships

The 21-player squad, which qualified for the School Sport Victoria State Primary Girls Finals with their regional tournament victory at Swan Hill a few weeks earlier, won one of three matches played at JL Murphy Reserve in Port Melbourne on Thursday, with their two losses coming by a goal or less.

Coach and a grade 6 teacher at the Strathfieldsaye-based school, Josh Hann, said the girls did their school and themselves proud and would cherish the experience for a long time to come.

"It was highly competitive. Going from the first carnival, where a few of our wins were on the bigger side in the pool games, these games were all really tight," he said.

"There were eight teams - two pools of four. We were in the same pool as teams from Gippsland, Bellarine and East Melbourne.

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"We knocked off St Therese Primary School Torquay by a couple of goals; got beaten by a point by the Gippsland school; and Canterbury from Melbourne, which ended up playing in the grand final, knocked us off by a goal.

"Playing on a full-sized ground for the first time during the carnivals was a real learning experience. But the girls had a great day and that's the main thing."

With a handful of grade 5 students in the side to bolster numbers, Hann said those girls would get the chance to be part of next year's team.

"It was an awesome opportunity for them to be involved and see what the competition looks like and where they could potentially end up," he said.

"All the girls were amazing and they did the school proud.

"We've set the bar high for next year, but it's more about the fun and enjoyment."

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