The Geoffrey Ryan Cup is the annual night match between the First XVIII football teams from Westbourne and St Michael’s Grammar. Now in its sixth year, the match has become one of the real highlights of the sporting calendar and is characterised by a fierce but friendly rivalry between our two schools.

Geoffrey Ryan AM was Deputy Headmaster and Head of the Senior School at St Michael’s Grammar from 1983 until 1989. Appointed Principal at Westbourne in 1990, he served our school with great distinction for the next two decades, becoming a key player in the establishment of the Association of Coeducational Schools (ACS) sports competition in 1998 and a tireless advocate for education’s independent sector.

First contested in 2012, Westbourne won against the odds at Ross Gregory Reserve in Albert Park, Westbourne won again in 2013, but since then the St Michael’s teams have had a bit of a stranglehold on the Cup winning over four successive years from 2014 – 2017.

The 2018 Match was held at Burbank Oval (Williamstown Football Ground) on Wednesday 16 May.  On a fine, but chilly night in Williamstown, in front of a large group of spectators from both schools, Westbourne’s First XVIII was determined to make up for the disappointment of the last few years.

Lead superbly by captain Jack Harrison, our players were brilliant, getting the jump early, kicking with the wind and going on to win comfortably by 99 points. The game as always was played in a great spirit of sportsmanship and was an excellent example of everything that is good about both schools and ACS Sport.

Westbourne              4. 1    9. 3     13. 10       18. 19 – 127

St Michael’s               0. 1   1. 2     12. 11          3. 10 –   28

Goals: Tattersall (5), Szulc (3), Zammit (3), Paspa (2), Smythe, Lishman, Harrison, Costa, Le Grand

Best: Costa, Tattersall, Harrison, Szulc, Tarola, Zammit

Congratulations to both teams.

Andrew McGregor – Associate Principal