The Head of the River is the pinnacle for every AAGPS rower. The first Junior VIII event is the race that has provided countless star rowers who later featured in first VIII’s, state crews and even national crews. The first Junior VIII race is one that is heavily looked at by supporters to get a gauge on who will dominate the GPS crews in the years to come. It seems that this year, there will be a two-horse race for who will get bragging rights on March 22.
St Ignatius College, Riverview and Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) seem to be the crews to beat in all divisions and ages this year. Whether it be the Year 8 or 9 quads, the junior eights, or the GPS crews, Shore and Riverview have seen strong success this season. The rivalry between these two schools first began in 2018 when the Riverview first eight upset the Shore first eight to win the AAGPS Head of the River. Since this race, Shore and Riverview have developed a fierce rivalry, giving it their everything every time they line up with each other. This is no different with the 2024 first junior VIIIs.
St Ignatius College, Riverview
The boys on the Lane Cove River have once again been contending this event and look to be the favourites to claim the title this year. Coached by Olympic Gold Medallist Jack Hargreaves, they have been undefeated since the season’s first regatta. Having arrived at St Ignatius, Hargreaves has brought along a brutal style of racing to the regattas this year. Their commanding middle kilometre of the race has seen them push out in front in the second 500m and extend their lead in the third 500m in various regattas this season. They are always one of the crews to beat in the first junior eights, but have fallen short to Kings in the last few years. The big question is this: is this the crew to break Kings’ three-year winning streak?
Sydney Church of England Grammar School
After taking two wins in the first regatta of the season, Shore haven’t been able to knock off their long-standing rival, Riverview in the proceeding regattas. Although this is the case, they have still been nipping at their toes all season. Strokeman Matthew Jureta has been critical in setting up a long and powerful rhythm and will be a key component if Shore wants to win this race. Shore will look to go haywire in the first 500m and hope to break contact from Riverview. If Shore can do this, the clawback for Riverview may prove too big, leading Shore to their first win in this category since 2019. The two opposing racing styles is fascinating to see here, but which will prevail?
Prediction
Shore will go out hard and try to end the race early like we have seen them do. I think the middle 1000m is where the race will be decided for these two crews and will be a test of mental grit, power, and composure. My prediction is for Shore to upset Riverview by less than half a length. Whatever happens though, it will be a close spectacle.
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