Rowing Down Under
Catch-up on all the action from the Australian Rowing Championships
Image Credit: Rowing Australia
The King’s Cup is the single most sought-after prize in Australian Rowing. The trophy first won by the Australian Defence Force at the 1919 Henley Peace Regatta has been contested between the best eights from each state and territory yearly since. The chance to don your state’s zootie is a privilege that is cherished on every occasion. With no heats and only one chance at victory each year, there’s no room for error in this event.
Western Australia
The only state to break the dominance of NSW and Victoria since the turn of the century, Western Australia will bring an exciting mix of youth and experience to the 2025 running of this event. The last time WA saw the podium in the King’s Cup was 2022. Since then, they’ve struggled to fight for the top three. With the loss of Josh Hicks and Sam Marsh, this crew might struggle to compete with the firepower of the eastern states this year.
Victoria
The rivalry between Victoria and New South Wales in this event is as long as the Hume Highway from Sydney to Melbourne. The current holders of the King’s Cup, Victoria, have brought a formidable combination down to Lake Barrington. Last year’s stern pair of Olympians Jack Robertson and Angus Widdicombe return after some time off post-Paris, contributing some horsepower in the centre of the boat. Nick Smith, Fergus Hamilton, and Rohan Lavery will all bring some confidence to this race after securing podium finishes in the open men’s pair against some stiff competition. Victoria will surely miss the horsepower of Alex Wolf and Hamish Wynn-Pope, but despite illness sneaking into this lineup, it looks like Victoria will be placed well in defending their title.
New South Wales
The state that’s won the majority of contests in this event since the turn of the century, New South Wales have brought a fresh-faced lineup to this event as they strive to win back the King’s Cup from arch-rivals Victoria. Only two crew members from last year’s challenger are back in the form of Nik Pender, Jackson Kench, and coxswain Kendall Brodie. Kench and Brodie both have experience winning this event on multiple occasions and will be able to share their experiences of what it takes. The loss of Alex Nichol to illness is a major blow to the Welshmen, who will need to pull something special out of the bag to claw back the trophy they lost last year.
Queensland
Despite producing countless Olympians over the past decades, it may come as a surprise to many that Queensland have not finished in a top-two position in this race since 1939. Yep, 86 years since a Gold or Silver medal. This year’s combination will have designs on changing that statistic with the best lineup they’ve fielded in recent memory. Paddy Holt returns for his fifth crack at the event in an attempt to finish one place higher than the third place secured in 2022. With a strong squad of University of Queensland athletes who dominated the U23 coxless four at the NSW Championships, backing up the experience of Holt and Salisbury, this crew could possibly give NSW some trouble in this event.
South Australia
South Australia executed a great race last year to secure the third spot on the podium but may have a more challenging time in 2025. The loss of Alex Hill due to injury and Angus Dawson as he returned to the University of California, Berkeley, represents a significant drop in horsepower for the boys in red. No doubt, the presence of both the U23 and open sculling champions Adam Holland and Oscar McGuinness will boost confidence for the young guns jumping into the crew.
Prediction
The King’s Cup can be an unpredictable race. Passion and pride on the line are often known to elicit performances that go beyond the boundaries of an individual’s potential. For this year, I can’t see anyone challenging the might of Victoria in this event. It takes experience to win this race; the Big White V has that in spades this year. As for second, I think we’re going to have the tightest race for silver we’ve seen for a long time. Queensland will want this badly, but I think the small-boat form in the New South Wales crew this year indicates they’ll be able to hold off the challenge.
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