MR - fair to say Scotch has dominated APS rowing in Victoria for a long time. They have won all but 2 of the 1st VIII races at HOR since 2004 (the other 2 were Melbourne Grammar) and their depth (at least the last 5 years) all the way down to Year 9 has been impressive. Brighton Grammar and St Kevins have probably done the most to improve their overall programs over the past couple of years.
Very simply - rowing means everything to Scotch and they will do everything in their power to win each year. And good luck to them! They have allegedly sailed too close to the wind in the past (apparently they were penalised with a "bad" lane a couple of years ago for breaking the summer holiday APS rules) - but they are by no means alone. They start their rowers a year earlier in sculls than some/most of the APS schools. I wonder if they also derive a little bit of advantage (now that so much more time is spent on training) in some key traditional competitor schools having other programs that can get in the way of long term rower development (Geelong Grammar Timbertop for all Year 9s the obvious example) or to a lesser extent MGS "Beyond the Gate" hiking etc in Nov/Dec each year for 3 weeks for all Year 10s - which anecdotally at least I understand impacts conditioning levels and certainly limits time on the river as a 1st VIII crew before the ~ 2 month APS moratorium kicks in each year. (Geelong Grammar and MGS have come 2nd a combined 9 times to Scotch out of the 13 times Scotch has won since it became such a force in APS from 2004).
If Scotch happens to win the SB8+ at the Nationals in 2019 I would basically call it a draw with Shore over the last 9 years (Scotch and Shore would have 4 each and Nudgee 1 win). So they pretty much stand out - at least in SB8+.
I will play Devil's Advocate (or perhaps parochial Mexican) for one moment and post this question - for 2 reasons (neither of which are controlled by AAGPS or its schools), do Shore/AAGPS schools have a bit of an advantage over Scotch/APS schools?
1) I asked the question previously as to whether AAGPS has any sort of moratorium during the Christmas break like the APS do - I can't find any reference to one. Basically, APS crews cannot row in any combination greater than 2 (either School or club) or use school based equipment/boats/trainers between ~9 Dec - 31 Jan each year apart from a max 10 days of rowing camps - with a blanket no row/no school organised training between 20 Dec - 10 Jan each year. See
https://www.apssport.org.au/sports/rowing-2/ .
2) Home ground advantage - the Nationals have been held in Sydney since 2013. No interstate travel, warm up regatta earlier in the month at the centre etc.
6 APS schools, 6 AAGPS schools, Nudgee and St Augustines in the SB8+ this weekend - most bringing 1st and 2nd VIIIs. Hope the weather is good!
Cheers
Mexican
