Water Polo | Round 2
ROUND 1 | SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2022
Overall, it was another successful round of Water Polo for Trinity Grammar School last Saturday. The round proved a strong series of results for Trinity which is encouraging, if only for the rest of the season. I have noticed that many teams have improved immensely since last season. There is a good level of focus and effort at training, as well as strong determination to do well as a team on Saturdays. It is great to see players enjoying their Water Polo and their willingness to improve their own skills, fitness and teamwork. This encouraging attitude augurs well for the remaining three rounds of fixtures. I look forward eagerly to CAS Round 3 against Waverley College this Saturday. I hope spectators thoroughly enjoy this week’s fixtures.
Seamus Rodden | Director of Water Polo
| Team | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 1sts | Aloys | W | 21 – 14 |
| 2nds | Aloys | W | 19 – 5 |
| 3rds | Aloys | W | 15 – 6 |
| 16A | Aloys | W | 23 – 0 |
| 16B | Waverley 16A | L | 5 – 11 |
| 16C | Knox 16B | L | 4 – 13 |
| 15A | Aloys | W | 19 – 2 |
| 14A | Aloys | W | 12 – 1 |
| 14B | Aloys | W | 10 – 5 |
| 13A | Aloys | W | 9 – 2 |
| 13B | Aloys | L | 4 – 7 |
1ST VII | WON 21 – 14
Round 2 of the CAS Water Polo competition saw our First VII boys play St. Aloysius’ College. The game started off well against strong opposition with a 10-5 first half, in which our intensity in defence and spread in attack was maintained at a consistently high level. Two of our pre-game strategies were to have both a strong press defence and a wide attack to give space to the centre forward – both of which were achieved to a satisfactory level in the first half. However, our intensity dropped after the first half, with some laziness in defence and a loss of urgency in our attack, meaning our lead was only extended by two goals. This loss of intensity is an important thing to rectify in the coming weeks as we look towards our strongest opposition Knox in a fortnight.
T. Rathbone | Captain
2ND VII | WON 19 – 5
In a quality display of attacking Water Polo, Trinity ran out winners 19 to 5 against St. Aloysius’ College. The first half of the game saw Trinity completely dominate Aloysius’, both in set play from the centre forward and with speedy counter attack, giving a halftime score of 10 to 2. However, in the third quarter Trinity stopped playing the quality Water Polo of the first half, with poor and inappropriate passing plus very poor shot selection. Trinity, thus, failed to make the most of the opportunities that were presented to them resulting in a three-quarter scoreline of 12 to 3. The final period saw Trinity get back to playing fast break controlled Water Polo and netted another seven goals. Yet again it can be said that all players contributed to the victory and all played well. Finn Ramanuskas (11Ke) was outstanding at centre forward with another nine goal haul; James Robertson (11Du) played very well both in defence and attack, scoring two goals, and was unlucky not to earn quite a number of 5 metre penalties. The other goal scorers for Trinity were Hunter Myliotis (12Yo), Lewis Potter (12Fo) and William Rule (12Ar) with two each, and Samuel Fong (11Se) and Luke de Lisle (12Ke) with one goal each. Lewis Potter (12Fo) and Luke de Lisle (12Ke) both played well with accurate passing and clever defence.
Mr Swinnerton | Coach
3RD VII | WON 15 – 6
Trinity’s 3rd VII made a very strong start to this game against St. Aloysius’ College, thanks to excellent performances from Benjamin Orr (12Ho), Justin Karam (12We) and Joshua Hanna (12Ho). With Harry Parsonage (11La) controlling things in defence and Goalkeeper Lachlan Devlin (11WJ) making some important saves, the men in green were able to dominate proceedings early on and end the first half with a comfortable 12-1 lead. Despite the last two quarters being a much tougher contest, Miles Angus (11WH), Luka Cukeric (11La) and Jack Vine (12Mu) continued to work hard in both attack and defence, allowing the Thirds to close out the game with a 15-6 victory.
Mr Di Paola | Coach
16A | WON 23-0
On Saturday the 16As easily beat St. Aloysius’ College. The team started very strongly in defence, stealing a lot of balls, and with these steals we came out very well on counter attacks, scoring goals very easily. The featured players this week include Sam Maakrun (9Fo), Orlando Mina (9St), and Lachlan Rathbone (9Ke) in attack. In defence, Marcus Cupac (9He) and Bailey Martin (10We) stood out. Euan Potter (10Fo) and Nathaneil Abdekmalek (10Mu) have also surprised me by playing very well. Sam Maakrun has been outstanding, with long passes to counter attacks. Overall, the performance of the team is very good and we look forward to the future intense games.
Mr Bonca | Coach
16B | LOSS 5-11
The 16Bs were up against a tough 16A Waverley side last Saturday, but the team proved well-disciplined in both attack and defence. The boys gave a strong fight in the first half quarter, keeping the score even thanks to a strong press defence and well executed counter attacks. Sebastian Green (10Ta) illustrated this desire to keep pushing by scoring a goal in the second quarter, whilst dealing with strong calf pains. Leading into the second half, the boys were slowly fatiguing, but strong front press defence from Ryan Webb (10Hi) and Joseph Britton (9He) kept the scoreline competitive. This allowed Matthew Newton (10WJ) and Jonah de Groot (10Ar) to make valuable steals and provide scoring opportunities for Xavier Afonso (10We) in centre forward. Overall, though, the Waverley team proved too strong and finished the game 11-5. However, this must not take away from the valiant effort the Trinity 16Bs boys displayed.
Oscar Jones | Coach
16C | LOSS 4 – 13
Last Saturday the 16Cs played the Knox 16Bs at Knox. They won the first quarter 2-0 with goals by Jonathan Ucchino (10WH) and Alec Brigham (10WH). This was achieved with quick offensive sprints and strategic positioning. Unfortunately, the remaining quarters revealed weaknesses in our swim endurance with some of our players struggling to make it back in time for defence. Our swim fitness also impacted on our possession since we did not provide good opportunities for clean passes in attack, allowing the ball to be stolen. Although this was ultimately a loss it was pleasing to see the excellent play in the first quarter revealing the talents emerging in our team this season.
Ms Seeto | Coach
15A | WON 19 – 2
In a very one-sided game, Trinity ran out winners 19 to 2 against St. Aloysius’ College. As a whole, the team played well with very few bad passes and even fewer bad shots, whilst the defence was solid and for the most part all stuck to their respective player. Best for Trinity were Ben Sulyok (9Sc) and David Simmons (9Ar) who both used their speed to great effect, easily being able to get free and create goals either for themselves or their teammates. Once again, Matty Weston English (9Ta) had a strong game in goals. A special mention to Enrico Ciarroni (9WJ) who started as centre back on a very over aggressive centre forward, Enrico did not take a backward step and controlled the centre forward very well. The goal scorers for Trinity were Ben Sulyok (9Sc) with eight, David Simmons (9Ar) with four, Matteo Pezzano (9Fo) with three and Jacob Michail (9Hi) and Zaine Bachir (9Mu) with two goals each. .
Mr Swinnerton | Coach
14A | WON 12-1
On Saturday, against St. Aloysius’ College our team performed very well. The team struggled to settle in defence as they were not aggressive enough to steal the ball. Many need to work on attack, especially with positioning, and be in line to pass or jump in order to steal the ball. Outstanding players have been Jaiden Sivapirabo (8Hi), Taj Young (8We), and hard working Dylan Bell (8Hi) with Hudson Myliotis (8Yo). Moving forward, we will have to work more aggressively in defence and attacking positions. I am very satisfied with the spirit of the team. Keep up the great effort.
Mr Bonca | Coach
14B | WON
The 14Bs had a competitive game against the St. Aloysius’ College 14Bs team. They maintained strong discipline whilst leading throughout the game and did not allow any possible comeback from the opposition. The first quarter was tight with the opposition goalkeeper making many great saves. However, Daniel Vilate-Gallagher (8Ke) and Anthony Manikis (8La) both managed to sneak through and score their own respective goals making the score 2-1 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Trinity boys built up a respective lead by scoring three goals to one by Will Jenkins (8Hi), Alfie Nichols (8Ho) and Oliver Ware (8Yo). Soon though at the start of the third quarter, fatigue set in with the second half of the game becoming much tighter, with Trinity only just outscoring St. Aloysius’ 3-2, thanks to Daniel Vilate-Gallagher (8Ke) (one goal) and Anthony Manikis (8La) (two goals) and the team providing assistance in creating these opportunities. The final quarter started with two more goals: one by Will Jenkins (8Hi) again, and another by Anthony Manikis (8La). Late in the game, the opposition fought back, and if not for big saves from Tom Maloney (8Du) the final scoreline of 10-5 could have been much closer. The boys should be proud of their effort and maintain this positive attitude towards their future matches.
Mr Jones | Coach
13A | WON 9-2
The 13As are continuing to improve as demonstrated by last weekend’s scoreline against St. Aloysius’ College, which was their second game of the season. The most notable improvement from last week was their ball handling and ball control. This allowed the team to safely deliver the ball up the field and allow attacking positions. Although the opposition had some strong players, they played strong goal-side defence to stop them from scoring. Again, they have utilised their speed which is one of the team’s biggest strengths. We look forward to next week’s game.
Mr Glanznig | Coach
13B | LOSS 4-7
We had a very instructive game last Saturday against St. Aloysius’ College. We smashed the first quarter with really well set-up four chances within two and half minutes. Our center forward Lachlan Stewart (7Ho) had great passes delivered. However, he was unlucky to miss all his three shots on target. Unfortunately after this, the opposition had a counter-attack that we could not save and they scored their very first opportunity close to the end of the quarter. While we had an equaliser before the second quarter, St Aloysious’ used the opportunity after our four attempts, and they started to control the game until the last few minutes of the match. Although with the amount of our shots on target, we still need to improve our swimming skills and be able to compete throughout the entire match. We had a few missed chances, but we are confident in fixing them and adjusting our strategy to our skills, while improving the velocity of our swimming.
Mr Malyusz | Coach
