Team Previews - The Victorian Leadbeaters

Logo Background: 

The endangered Leadbeater's Possum is Victoria’s faunal emblem. The species is found only in Victoria and lives primarily in the ash forests and subalpine woodlands of Victoria's central highlands, with a small lowland population to the east of Melbourne.

The 2019 Victorian Leadbeaters roster and reserves with logo designed by Todd Fox | Photo: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography, from State Shield 2018.

Team History: 

The Victorian Leadbeaters Quidditch Team has been a part of Australia’s state competition since its inception in early 2016 when Quidditch Australia’s State of Origin series first started, eventually developing into what is now State Shield. 2016 saw the Leadbeaters put up a strong performance across three series of three games against the NSW Blue Tongues, going 2-1 and 1-2 in the first two series and winning the decider 2-1 in Sydney. The single competition in Brisbane of 2017 saw the Leadbeaters again victorious in the finals series against NSW, only dropping one game in the preliminary stages to Queensland. Many of the 2017 squad went on to play for the national Dropbears squad in the 2018 Quidditch World Cup. While prevailing against NSW B and Queensland at the 2018 State Shield in Newcastle, the tournament saw a 0-3 loss in the finals series to the NSW Blue Tongues who were consistently able to catch the snitch in all of their nail biting in-range games. This made for only the Leadbeaters’ second series loss since 2016, which the team will be keen to avenge this year on home soil. 

Victorian Leadbeaters at the 2018 State Shield | Photo: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography

Interview with Team Leadership: 

We spoke to Coaches Liam McCoppin and Nicola Gertler, Captain Nathan Morton, and Vice Captain Edward Vienet about their thoughts for the team and upcoming tournament. Here’s what they had to say: 

How are you approaching State Shield this year and what are your goals for the tournament? 

In 2019 Victoria is going in hard from brooms up, landing fierce tackles, jumping on loose balls, pinging beats, and most importantly getting our hands on the golden snitch. Our goal is to catch more snitches this year and bring the Shield back to Victoria.

How have you prepared for State Shield and how confident are you at this point? 

In 2019 Victoria has structured trainings to be longer and with greater numbers to better prepare its sides for playing a two day tournament rather than singular games as per Vic Cup. We’ve worked hard to learn different defences and broaden our offensive plays to help us adapt to whatever NSW and Queensland throw our way. The team has trained almost every weekend for the past few months, and we’re feeling comfortable with our team mates. 

Why should people be excited to watch the Leadbeaters play at State Shield? 

There are a few changes in 2019. Victoria has new uniforms as well as introducing a second team. With some key players stepping back from state playing such as James Osmond and Calum Mayling, spectators are going to see changes in the way that Victoria plays. Additionally people should be excited for the utter chaos in the commentary box and confusion from the opposition, given the high possibility of 3 Maddys being on pitch at the same time.

New Jerseys for the Victorian Leadbeaters 

Analysis and Commentary: 

The 2019 Leadbeaters squad has been noted for the significant departure from the well established core of Victorian players who have featured in many Leadbeaters and Dropbears (national team) squads since 2016. Many household names and world renowned players including keeper-chasers Callum Mayling and James Osmond, chasers like Taya Rawson, Emily Merry, Cassia Menkhorst and Michael “Dundee” Braham, and beaters Dean Rodhouse and Deni Tasman have taken a step back from state level playing.

Nevertheless, this gradual changing of the guard has brought in a new generation of stellar Victorian players who have demonstrated extraordinary prowess at the club level, mixed in with some of the more experienced players. This year’s Leadbeaters features six State Shield debutants, with a further three playing their second state series. 

What is immediately apparent about this iteration of the Leadbeaters is the Muggles core. While historically club teams like the Manticores and now the Ravens have dominated the Melbourne league, the Monash Muggles have been a consistent power over the years. This year they have come well into their own with emphatic victories in the Vic Cup league finals and interstate tournament Melbourne Mudbash, losing only one game all season.

A total of nine Leadbeaters currently play for the Muggles powerhouse, with a further four players having originated from the Monash club, not to mention the three current and one former Monash player on the reserves for the team. Two of these former players include Nicola Gertler and Nathan Morton, who have both represented Victoria at every series in the history of the competition and represent the veteran side of the Leadbeaters. They return this year among other stalwarts of the team such as the dominant Muggles quaffle-carrying duo Dan Leane and Edward Vienet, and Dropbears Clementine Round and James Williams who both hail from the Ravens. The return of championship winning coach, Liam McCoppin who is also affiliated with the Ravens, will also help solidify the core of Victoria’s strength. 

New to the Leadbeaters but certainly not new to quidditch is Andrew Hull, a keeper for Willows Quidditch Club and originally of Quidditch UK where he was one of Team UK’s lead keepers. Hull, alongside State veteran Dan Leane, will form the new keeping core of the Leadbeaters. Madeleine Bell, who made her debut at State Shield last year, is now also joined by a further three Madelines on the team, including Vic Cup’s Division 1 highest female goal scorer, Madeline Fitzgerald of the Monash Muggles. Fitzgerald is being hailed as the new Caitlin Thomas, also receiving acclaim as the best new talent at Victorian Fantasy Tournament earlier this year and will certainly be a player to look out for. 

Madeline Fitzgerald playing for Monash Muggles in the 2019 Vic Cup Grand Final | Photo: James Layh

Also of the Muggles is the notable dynamic beater duo, Sam Kilpatrick, who joined the Leadbeaters in 2018, and Zach Giofkou, on debut though he played on series in 2016. This pair caused major strife for eventual finalist University of Sydney Unspeakables at last year’s National Championships, many players who are on this year’s NSW Blue Tongues state team. Indeed, Kilpatrick and Giofkou also ran circles around the mixed NSW teams at Mudbash and will likely be critical to the Leadbeaters’ success at the 2019 State Shield.

While the Leadbeaters’ trial and selection process began substantially later than their rivals in NSW this year, the cohesion that the Muggles core will bring to the team, combined with the intense training regime the team has undergone, will make them a force to be reckoned with. One of the challenges of state teams has always been the melding and synergy of different elite players from across a number of different teams and the Victorian side has gone to great lengths to combat this. Furthermore, while 2018 saw the major change in the female chaser line for the Leadbeaters with a significant influx of new names replacing Dropbear veterans, these players including Jessica Cooper and Madeline Bell, as well as Emily Kirsh in the beater line, now approach the tournament much more experienced at State-level play. 

Nevertheless, the loss of Mayling, internationally regarded as being one of the best quidditch players in the world, a major driving threat for Victoria, and the best tackler in Australia, along with Osmond, another major driving and seeking threat, leaves a major gap in the Leadbeater line up that players like Leane, Vienet, and Allan must fill in with their physicality. With two Dropbear drivers, Brandon Frison and Dameon Osborn, missing from NSW Blue Tongues as well, there is much scope across the two rivals for new players to step into those roles or for a new style of play less focused on physicality and driving. 

Dan Leane keeping for Monash Muggles | Photo: James Layh

Victoria’s snitch-on-pitch game will also of course be critical and substantial change after losing so many in-range games last year will need to be seen. A lot will be riding on debut state seeker Massimo Galli, as well as returning seeker Dylan Waller, who notably caught the National Championship winning snitch for the Melbourne Manticores last year.

With the training the team has put in and their solid core of established and new players, the Leadbeaters should be able to gain control of the quaffle and bludger game enough to keep their most competitive matches in range, but they will need a superior snitch-on-pitch plan, especially in the beater game, if they want to win the title back from NSW. 

NSW Blue Tongues certainly remain the Leadbeaters’ greatest challenge and threat in the tournament, as the two states are the oldest and most established, with the most history and experience and depth of players to draw on, and the rivalry between these two teams has been the hallmark and driving force of state representative quidditch since the beginning. Nevertheless, the younger Queensland, who were able to best the Leadbeaters once before, will be equally keen to do so again this year, and have been growing in strength year by year. The NSW B team, newly rebranded to the Bluebottles, are also now facing their third State Shield, with a number of returning players from a rapidly growing NSW playerbase. While the Leadbeaters have dominated NSW B in the past, they should not underestimate the more experienced team this year. With the debut of a Victorian B team now as well, what is more certain is that the future of the Leadbeaters is much more secure. 

Find out more about the other teams as we introduce them over the course of the next few days in the lead up to the 2019 State Shield, and get excited to see the Leadbeaters in action on home ground at the Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Oval as they fight to reclaim the Shield and win their third State title. 

Australia Quidditch Championships 2019: Team & Player Exemptions, Gameplay Requirements

With the Australian Quidditch Championships fast approaching, appeals are now open for teams or players to submit exemptions to the event's gameplay requirements.

Individual Player Requirements

All players wishing to participate in the Australia Quidditch Championships must meet the following criteria to be eligible to participate; 

(d) Player Requirements:

(i) All players participating at the championship must have played a minimum of three ranked games at any point in the season in question to participate. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that all players understand the rules of the game and can play in a safe manner. 

(1) Exceptions may be given in circumstances of isolation in a similar manner to the team requirements. 

(2) Exceptions may also be given if a team can provide evidence that a player has been sufficiently involved in the sport in past seasons or involved in training or playing in an unofficial capacity to the extent that their safety and experience can be verified. 

(3) These requirements must be met 60 days before the start of the championship. 

Quidditch Australia Gameplay Policies 2019, page 13

Ranked matches refer to official CLUB matches, such as games at the Victoria Cup, NSW Quidditch League or Queensland League. Ranked matches do not include fantasy events or games played for mercenary teams. 

Exemptions for individuals may be made up until October 8th.  Individual player registration for the tournament will open in late September and close on October 23rd. 

Team Eligibility

As detailed in the Quidditch Australia Gameplay Policy document; 

(b) Team Requirements 

(i) In order to be eligible to qualify for the championship, a team must satisfy one of the following criteria: 

(1) Participation in a QA-sanctioned state league, having completed at least five ranked games within that competition. 

(2) Participation in at least two ranked QA-sanctioned tournaments, having completed at least three ranked games in each tournament. 

(3) Participation in at least seven ranked games against at least two opponents, over a period of at least three different days of competition

(A) For the purpose of this regulation, participation in any event which takes more than one day to complete will still only count towards a single unique day of competition.

Exemptions may be provided to teams in the case of;

(ii) If a team has reasonable grounds for which these criteria cannot be satisfied, they may launch an appeal to the Gameplay Department, who may waive these criteria at their discretion. 

(v) Teams, who have fewer than two other QA member teams within their state or three teams total registered with their respective state body for the duration of the current season, may still qualify for the championship without satisfying these criteria provided they seek out and accept all possible opportunities for official play available to them. 

(vi) A new QA team who has never attended previously, is considered to have only come into existence in the 12 months prior to the championship, and who has signed up for their first ever annual QA membership in the second half of the season may not have sufficient opportunity to satisfy these criteria, due to lack of time or sufficient opponents. Such teams may still enter provided they seek out and accept all possible opportunities for ranked play available to them. 

(vii) Any unofficial QA team who participates within a sanctioned state body's formalised tournament structure (e.g. Victoria Cup), will be considered as exposed to opportunity and expected to have made all efforts possible to satisfy these criteria. 

Quidditch Australia Gameplay Policies 2019, page 12

Teams who feel they satisfy the requirements of an exemption may submit an appeal to the Quidditch Australia gameplay committee. Exemptions for teams may be made up until October 1st as team registration will close on October 8th.

Transfers prior to the Australian Quidditch Championships

Transfers must be submitted to the Quidditch Australia Gameplay committee by no later than October 8th for these transfers to be considered. After this date, players are locked into their current team till the end of 2019. Transfers may be submitted here: http://www.quidditch.org.au/player-transfer-form/

Team Referee Requirements

All teams are required to complete their team based referee requirements by October 8th. Quidditch Australia will be using the IQA Referee tests are the method of certificiation. These tests are accessible by visiting

https://www.iqareferees.org/

Teams will not be able to apply for exemptions to these requirements.

The requirements are as follows:

(iv) The certification requirements outlined in Section 3.2.b must be spread across six playing club members attending the championship.

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(b) Expectations for QA-Sanctioned Events

(i) Unless otherwise indicated by the tournament director, it is expected that for all QA-sanctioned events, inclusive of the Australian Quidditch Championships, teams will be able to contribute the following:

(1) one certified head referee

(2) one certified snitch runner

(3) one certified snitch referee

(4) three certified assistant referees

(5) two goal referees

(6) three scorekeepers or time keepers

Please note that snitch runner certification is no longer required and the referee certifications must be spread across five (5) playing members of the team rather than six (6). 

Quidditch Australia Gameplay Policies 2019, page 13 & 17

Exemptions to the Player or Team Eligibility May Be Submitted Here

Questions can be directed to Quidditch Australia's gameplay director, Nicola Gertler, at gameplay@quidditch.org.au