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By Tasmyn Haynes
College cleans up on day one thanks to its secret weapon: a top coach
The Ridge Sporting Complex at Barden Ridge was lit up by a sea of fluorescent pink and green tags as Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) launched its largest Oztag Competition to date.
With an abundance of students and coaches yelling from the sideline, one voice in particular could be heard booming across the fields. It belonged to a legend of the sport: Peter Harris.
Off the back of his win at the 2022 International Tag Series and Most Valuable Player award, Peter poured his knowledge and passion into the St John Bosco College Engadine Intermediate Boys team.
The Australian Mens’ 50s player coached his team to victory against De La Salle College Caringbah in game 1 of the SCS competition.
When asked about his top tips and Oztag strategies, Peter said “I’m a big fan of compressing the defence.”
“I’m massive on getting in front of them and having two targets for the tags. If you try to tag with one hand you rely on timing and it’s not as effective” he said.
“As a school, Engadine came off the fields smiling after the boys and girls teams in all other Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions got the job done and secured the win.”
“I coach them to go forward early and we share the work around. I don’t let the guys in the middle do all the work.”
When half time rolled around the score reflected Engadine’s skilful play and attacking attitude at 8 tries to 1.
However, Peter wasn’t letting Caringbah get off easy.
“I don’t want to win this game 8 to 3 or 4. It’s game 1, let’s make a statement,” he said. By the end of the match Engadine registered an impressive score of 13 to 4.
As a school, Engadine came off the fields smiling after the boys and girls teams in all other Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions got the job done and secured the win. It’s clear its students are gunning for a spot in the combined conference finals.
In response to the high demand for the sport, the SCS Oztag Competition will run weekly throughout the term.
Top teams from each conference will go head-to-head for the finals, with SCS offering one team in each division a chance at glory and the title of overall Oztag Champions.