Melbourne Grammar School’s first interschool soccer matches occurred either 50 or 51 years ago, depending on how you look at it.
Soccer had been played informally on School ovals for many years but in 1973 the first interschool matches were played. Grimwade House teams played two Wesley College teams, and one from Scotch College in that year. (Grimwade House was a Prep to Year 8 campus at that time.)
A year later two teams were fielded by the Senior School for a similar interschool competition – an Open team which had a squad of 13, and an U16 team of 15. Matches involving Wadhurst students came a year or two later.
From these humble beginnings, the popularity of soccer in the School has steadily risen over the years, perhaps aligned with its increase in popularity across the broader Australian population, with 22 teams playing in the APS competition this year across Grimwade House (6 teams), Wadhurst (6 teams), and Senior School (10 teams).
Soccer clubs have existed in Australia since the 1880s, with the first national soccer competition beginning in 1977. However, soccer didn’t become an official APS Premiership sport until 1991. The First XI (Open) team had finished top of the unofficial ladder two years before this, their best result since second place in 1974, their first year of interschool competition. Since then, the team has achieved second place only once more in 1996.
Although there had been annual soccer matches between the First XI teams of Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College since 1974, the introduction of a name and trophy – The Rose and Thistle Cup – only occurred in in 2008. The name symbolises the heritage of each school – the Rose of England (symbolising Melbourne Grammar School’s origins) and the Thistle of Scotland (symbolising the roots of Scotch College).
The first international tour occurred in 1989, the same year that the Old Melburnians Soccer Club was established. This inaugural tour to New Zealand has been repeated in 1992 and 2005, with interstate tours now being an annual practice.
In 2024, members of the Senior School soccer team squads travelled to Europe for the first time, playing against club teams from Belgium, the Netherlands and England.
As is the case with most Melbourne Grammar sports, the coaches and team managers play a vital role in supporting and developing young players. Fred Dobberstein was the Master in Charge of Soccer for more than 15 years (1981 – 1996) and Nick Konstantatos held the role albeit with a different title from 1997 until 2002. Staff members who coached over many years include Michael Shaw (1992 – 1994, 1996 – 1998) and Andy Near (2007 – 2013).
Notable coaches drawn from outside the School community include then Head Soccer Coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport, Ernie Merrick (2002 – 2004), former Danish professional footballer, Jesper Olsen (2014 – 2019) and, perhaps most famously, Ang Postecoglou (1995), current (correct at the time of printing!) Head Coach at Tottenham Hotspur.
