Rowing Victoria is set to hold their annual state championships this weekend on the typically blustery Lake Wendouree, and it will be a test of every entry’s technical skill in rough conditions. The schoolboy eight at the recent Rowing New South Wales championships featured many Victorian crews who all raced exceptionally, so the schoolboy eight at the Rowing Victoria State Championships should be a fantastic race. With the Australian National Championships and Associated Public Schools (APS) Head of the River around the corner, this will likely be one of the last hit-outs for these crews before the Australian season’s biggest events. All ten entries are APS schoolboy crews, and each will vie for the top step of the podium.
Scotch College
As usual, the Scotch College crew appears imperious over this entire season. Most recently, they won the NSW State Championships in dramatic fashion, with a four-boat race right to the line. With no changes to the lineup from their recent interstate win, and only minor changes from other victorious results earlier in the season, the crew of Roufail, Baudens, Temple, Richards, Lamont, Simpson, McLaughlin, Jelbart, and coxswain Pagnin is a strong favourite to win the state championship this year. Expect this crew to take an early lead and spend the rest of the race rowing their standard punchy, accurate stroke.
Melbourne Grammar School
Another crew that contested the final at the NSW Rowing Championships was the Melbourne Grammar School crew, which fought hard across multiple boats, ultimately finishing fourth. Only a second down on Scotch College at the 500-metre mark and a length down at the finish, this crew has slowly chipped away at the margins that Scotch were putting into all their rivals earlier in the season. With a further week of improvements under their belt and the drive to overturn last year’s results, the crew of Negri, Mitchell, Mayo, Thomas, Caillard, MacLennan, Adkins, Glover, and coxswain Harris will also fly out of the starting blocks in an attempt to put Scotch on the defensive, a position they have not needed to overcome all season. Only the final on Saturday will tell if this strategy can work, especially with the contrast between the typically calm Yarra River, where Melbourne Grammar trains, and Lake Wendouree, where winds make racing difficult.
Xavier College
Finishing only 0.48 seconds behind Melbourne Grammar at NSW State Championships was Xavier College. Another Melbourne-based school, Xavier, has recently enjoyed success fighting for top steps at local and interstate regattas. Whilst this racing season started off with some rough regattas on the Barwon River, the Xavier crew of Reynolds, O’Sullivan, Spralja, Dwyer, Pawlik, O’Flynn, Reynolds, Glass, and coxswain Liu has changed seating order from New South Wales and some crew members from early in the season, which has helped them move up in the Victorian APS field. They will undoubtedly attempt a similar strategy to Melbourne Grammar School, as their first 500 has been hit or miss this year, and getting the start right in racing ahead of the APS Head of the River and Australian National Championships will be a priority, given the mid-race resurgence they have tended to see this season.
Geelong College
The Geelong College crew started the 2026 Australian racing season strong, with a win on Lake Wendouree at the JG King Holmes Wendouree-Ballarat Regatta. At the more recent NSW Rowing Championships, they narrowly missed out on the final after a tough race against the second Scotch College crew. Similar to the other crews, the Geelong College entry has had no changes from last week’s event, with Rahdon, McColl, Bennett, Manderson, Flannigan, Hart, Connor, McArdle, and coxswain Neate are good contenders for podium spots this weekend; however, I doubt they will be able to challenge the Scotch crew.
Prediction
Undoubtedly, the strongest crew based on recent results is Scotch College. Their relentlessness in racing has produced some remarkable results, and I expect they will once again take the top step at the Victorian State Championships. The race for second place will be much tighter, with Xavier College and Melbourne Grammar School likely to finish second and third, respectively. Note that these minor placings could swap depending on the start Xavier manages to pull off and how well each crew manages probable adverse conditions on Lake Wendouree this weekend. Expect a fantastic race and keep a close eye on the results to see the outcome of this close contest.
