The AAGPS Head of the River is one of the oldest school sporting events in the world. Attracting over ten thousand spectators to the Sydney International Regatta Centre, it’s undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of Australian school racing. In its 128th running, the race for the Major Rennie Trophy is set to be one of the most intriguing yet. Whilst Riverview have dominated the season, there are genuinely seven schools with a realistic chance at standing on the podium come 11 am Saturday.
Shore
The most successful AAGPS rowing program in history, Shore are responsible for 48 wins of the 129 contests for the Major Rennie Trophy, including eight of the past 15 runnings. The boys from North Sydney have had an uncharacteristic period without a win though. For the first time since 1985, none of this year’s crew will have been at school to witness a Shore victory. This year’s combination has thus far been the closest contender to the dominance of St Ignatius. Shore will be hoping to repeat the performance they put on last year, where they came out of nowhere to take a surprise second place. Only one member returns from that crew, Ollie Edwards, who will no doubt be looking to go one better. Coach Jason Baker OAM has a knack for timing his crew’s run to the end of the season well – doing so to perfection to win the 2020 running of this event with Scots. Having run second in every race this year bar one, Shore certainly looks best placed to challenge Riverview on Saturday.
King’s
The reigning national champions in this event, The King’s School certainly have the experience to make their mark on this race. The 2025 crew only contains one returner from last year’s combination in the form of Captain of Boats Will Farrah and cox Otto Gerber. Joining them are three members of last year’s winning first junior eight, and two from the 2024 winning second eight. From the latter crew, Luke Fleet has won both Head of the Rivers he’s competed in, and will surely be determined to put on a show for his final outing in front of the school crowds. King’s have been a part of the tight midfield tussle all season and, like many others, have shown flashes of brilliance. With so much winning experience in this crew, expect a fiery race from the boys from North Parramatta.
St Ignatius College Riverview
The form crew of the season, and perhaps one of the most impressive schoolboy eights we’ve seen in NSW in a long time, St Ignatius College come into this race as firm favourites. Riverview have an interesting history with rowing. They have the distinction of being the only school in Sydney whose boatshed is on the school grounds, yet for so long, they could not convert this advantage into a win. That all changed in 2018 when they broke one of the longest droughts in GPS history with a fantastic sprint finish to seal the Major Rennie. Since then, under the leadership of Matt Curtin, they’ve won once more in 2023, a year in which they also won the school’s first-ever mational title for the Barrington Cup.
The 2025 crew features four returners from the entry that finished fourth last year and world champion coxswain Henry Burton. This core group of returners clearly had the fire lit under them from the first strokes of the season, winning by ten seconds at the first race in November, a margin that has hardly shrunk since. This is a crew that has found itself on par with, or ahead of, some very classy club-level eights throughout the season and has proved itself as a crew capable of some exceptional performances. Whilst every other crew here will have designs on an upset, it will take a very special performance to overturn the boys from Lane Cove.
St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill
The current Major Rennie holders, St Joseph’s College, have been on the back foot this year since taking a spectacular win in 2024 for the tenth time in the school’s history. From that crew, in 2025, only Mackinley Dooley and coxswain Johnny Yates return to defend their title. The battle in the midfield of this event is incredibly tight, with second to sixth often separated by only a length. Joeys have found themselves right in this hunt almost every week but have finished at the back end of it more often than not. Given last year’s jump on the field when it mattered the most, expect to see the Telemagenta Empacher right in the mix.
Sydney Grammar School
The dark horse of this competition, Sydney Grammar School, have been right in the mix on a couple of occasions this season, but out the back or not entered on others. Grammar haven’t been on the podium since 2012, when they finished in a dead heat for third with Newington. With Olympic Bronze medallist Stephen Stewart behind the megaphone, I can imagine that these spikes in performance are according to plan, and we could see something special from Grammar this week.
Newington College
The boys from Stanmore have had a tough time converting good form into HOTR success over the past decade. It’s been 13 years since a Newington first eight stood on the podium, despite producing multiple Australian representatives in that time. Praised for being one of the tidiest crews in the competition with their early square and sharp front ends, Newington have found themselves at the front of the midfield pack throughout the season, securing consistent third and fourth places at most regattas. They’ve also got the most race time of any crew entered, having raced the Schoolboy Head of the River two weeks agoand the Scotch-Mercantile regatta last weekend, where they put in a competitive showing against some high-quality Victorian crews. With one of the loudest and most impressive crowds at the regatta cheering them on, expect Newington to be in the hunt for a podium.
Scots College
Another crew who could challenge the midfield pack, Scots, have had a disrupted season but have managed to hang right on to the very tight race for a podium position. Their top four athletes had a great race at the NSW Championships last month to secure a medal in the U19 coxed four, which will have boosted confidence. With German Olympic gold and bronze medallist Judith Ungemach at the helm, the boys from Bellevue Hill are certainly in a position to ruffle some feathers.
Prediction
This is one of the tightest and most competitive fields we’ve seen in AAGPS racing for as long as I can remember. The only caveat to that is St Ignatius, who have been seriously impressive from the very first strokes of the season. Barring disaster, it’s Riverview who I’d expect to claim the Major Rennie for 2025. Shore will likely give them a good run for their money this year but they may have to wait to see their 49th victory in this event. As for third place, it’s extremely difficult to predict. Any of the remaining crews could find themselves on the podium on their best day, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a photo finish to decide this result. I will go with my heart and predict King’s to take that third step.
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