Heres some interesting Waratah Shield tidbits for you. I *think* the last time Marist won the Waratah Shield was against Oakhill College in 1993, and the last time Oakhill won was in 1994 against Marist (Joe Roff in 1993 side) . The last time Marist made the final was in 1996 against St Pats College strathfield and thought they had won the game when the ref blew full time, Marist up by 2, the ref didnt see the touch judge put his flag out when the Marist lock infringed at the ruck, 45 metres out, to the right of the upright. The crowd had already run on the pitch celebrating a marist victory, the ref had to clear the pitch and award st pats a penalty.
St Pats kicker took a shot from a difficult position (not unlike Kurtleys shot against South Africa a couple of years ago) and nailed it sparking scenes of jubilation in the St Pats camp for their one and only Waratah Shield win.
In 1998 i was at the final between St Edmunds and Cromer Hiigh and remember seeing one George Smith take a 100m intercept try.
I hope Marist give a good crack (I'm an old boy before I moved to an ISA school) , as the Waratah Shield once was such a prestigious tournament in the 90's but I felt it lost it a bit when they excluded the ACT schools. I remember as a young tiger , playing (and winning) the waratah shield used to be a big deal . Heres hoping a Marist v St Augustines final which will see John Papa rekindle his old rivalry with the boys in Blue and Blue from Pearce.
and have a wealth of footballing talent!