Corners, overtaking, long distances and potential inclement weather – the Head of the Yarra has it all. Last year’s event was called off due to the extreme heat while the women’s open crews were making their way to Hawthorn Rowing Club. Thankfully, the weather’s expected to be around 19 degrees on Saturday, so they should get an uninterrupted run to the finish.
With no defending champions, who is going to walk away with the title in 2025?
Note: some names were still to be confirmed at the time of writing, with some rowers listed twice.
Melbourne University
The locals have three crews competing in this event, with the best-credentialed being the crew of Romy Cantwell, Aaliah Dawson, Jean Mitchell, Katie Easton, Georgie Gleeson, Eliza Gaffney, Sara de Uray, Zara Lavery, and Ivy Jones. Cantwell, Easton, Gleeson and Gaffney all rowed for Australia at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, while Mitchell competed at last year’s Paris Olympic Games.
Their second crew isn’t to be underestimated either. Chiara Chiarelli, Bec Joyce, Isabella Rossato, Jacinta Caruso, Yolunda Hooper, Bridgette Harwood, Chloe Nevins, Meg Dumbrell, and Morgan Herbert will know how to move the boat through the Yarra’s bends, with Dumbrell and Nevins winning gold in the open eights at this year’s Australian Rowing Championships (ARC).
Their third crew, comprising of Bec Joyce, Lucy De Gleria Cade, Alacoque Tunny, Portia Koczkar, Therese Mathieson, Leila Hucker, Felicity Murray, Livia Rosaia, and Emilie Coghlan, has talent but may find the going tough in this company.
Mercantile
The second big local hope will be the Mercantile crew of Lindsay Calvert, Jess Hawker, Robyn Shelby Smith, Freya Axten, Ruby Gioulekas, Meg Cartwright, Emmie Frederico, Paige Barr and Hayley Verbunt. Frederico, Barr and Verbunt were 2025 Rowsellas, while Cartwright has experience racing for both Victoria in the interstate regatta and for Melbourne University in the Australian Boat Race. How well the experienced rowers gel with the more inexperienced rowers will be crucial to their chances; having a current Australian coxswain will help with that.
The second Mercantile crew has its own Australian representative in Paris Paralympian Susannah Lutze. She joins Amy Florance, Anna Asano, Romy Minko, Isabella Combes, Ann-Elen Pinneke, Zoe Korr, Mia Harrison and Jess Rawolle in a crew likely to be around the middle of the pack.
Sydney
There are two Sydney crews listed, although some rowers are listed in both at the time of writing. The stronger looks to be Grace Sypher, Ella Spaulding, Caitlin McManus-Barrett, Remy McKay, Nicole Vance, Isabelle Furrer, Lauren Graham, Lila Anderton and Hannah Cowap, with plenty of international experience to draw on. The second listed crew includes Maddison Joines, Emma Sulllivan, Mary Keniry, Lilly Waske, Laura Sypher and Mietta Jones – look for them to challenge the second Mercantile and Melbourne University crews.
Sydney University
There are no names yet for the Sydney University crew, although it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with a decent one. Current Rowsellas Taylor Caudle, Zara Collisson, Jaime Ford, Eleanor Price and Emily Sheppard make up the core of a swift boat; throw in U23 representatives Tiffany Botha and Olivia Nattey, and you’ve potentially got one of the favourites.
UTS
Speaking of favourites, there are some big names in the UTS boat. Olympians Georgie Rowe and Laura Gourley join Sarah Fahd, Imogen Wolstencroft, April Draney, Holly Garner, Olivia Bartram, Sarah Tisdall and Sophie Castellas in another quick boat. Fahd gained international experience in 2025 after rowing for Australia in the U23 women’s quad, meaning UTS should be among the top contenders in the final standings.
Kand/UQ
Making the trek down from Queensland are Millie Campbell, Laura Chancellor, Georgia Campbell, Lily Alton, Ella McKenzie, Eliza Bridgefoot, Grace Turnbull, Madeleine Williams, and a yet unnamed coxswain. Georgia Campbell, Bridgefoot, and Turnbull all won silver for Queensland in the Bicentennial Cup earlier this year, with Alton racing in the Queensland Queen’s Cup crew. It’s a young and talented line-up, although they might be a couple of years away from challenging the top clubs.
Tasmania University
Making the trek across Bass Straight are Imogen Stewart, Bella Wells, Jane Hilliard, Olivia Yeates, Lilly Barker, Olivia Walter, Matilda Cocker, Kate Oliver and Harry Finlayson. There’s plenty of Tasmanian representatives here, with Stewart winning gold in this year’s Victoria Cup. Oliver and Hilliard raced in this year’s Queen’s Cup; Cocker, Yeates, Barker and Walter in the Bicentennial Cup, with Yeates also in the Nell Slatter.
Auckland RA
There’s plenty of intrigue around the Auckland crew of Emma Curnow, Lilah Martin, Lily Dwyer, Savannah Freeman, Jasmine Brake, Isabella Karim, Milan Teinakore, Holly Chaafe,and Jacob Avery. Chaafe was a reserve at the recent World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, while a number were young enough to compete at this year’s Maadi Regatta in Karapiro. While young and talented, this is another crew that are a few years off their peak.
Our predictions
It’s difficult to pick a winner when so many crews are not yet finalised; however, we’re going to go for the locals and tip the Melbourne University crew, stroked by Zara Lavery, to beat Sydney’s top crew, and Paige Barr’s Mercantile crew.
