Water Polo | Round 4

ROUND 4  | SATURDAY 5 MARCH 2022

Trinity Grammar School played Knox Grammar School last Saturday in what was the most anticipated fixture of the season. All Trinity teams knew that this would arguably be their toughest match of the season and I am extremely proud to say that in all ten matchups against Knox Grammar School, Trinity experienced victory in all of the fixtures. This unprecedented set of results is an incredible testament to Trinity players’ determination against formidable opposition. It highlights the strength of players across all grades within the programme from the new players in the 13Bs to the most senior players in the 1st VII. Credit must also go to the Trinity coaches who work hard behind the scenes throughout the week to ensure the players are adequately prepared for these types of matches. Saturday morning started off with the 16As setting the tone for the day. A quality display of Water Polo was on show for all. The positive and determined attitude of this team during this match is to be commended. Following this fixture it was time for the 2nd VII match and this was a see-sawing battle with a few momentum changes. The match went all the way down to the final moments, with Trinity ending up triumphing 12 goals to 11. In these final seconds, the 1st VII were able to cheer on and gain some extra motivation for their own encounter. Going into this match the 1st VII team knew that their match was going to be a close, hard fought and physical contest. After all, the latest result at the U/17 CAS trials was a seven goals to six victory to Trinity, and last year’s match result was a ten goals to eleven victory to Knox. In the beginning of this match a determined and focused Trinity team started exceptionally well, leading four goals to one at the first break. A calm and composed display, with a strong press defence and exceptional shooting saw Trinity clinical in key moments of the quarter. However, as has come to be expected in recent history between the teams, Knox had a revival in the second quarter, out-scoring Trinity two goals to five. A couple of unlucky goals against the run of play to Knox including a lucky back-hander goal meant the half time score was six goals a piece. Pleasingly, at the half time interval, Trinity managed to regroup and in the third quarter – often considered to be the most crucial quarter of the match – a more focused Trinity team regained their composure and focused on their processes which had set themselves up so well in the first quarter, with some exceptional finishing to keep the scoreboard in Trinity’s favour heading into the final quarter. With vocal home support bringing the team home in the final quarter, Trinity managed to seal a memorable one-goal victory which will go down as one of the classic matches played in the Trinity Centenary Pool to date. It was a true team performance with all members of the team contributing to the victory. The courage shown by Trinity players in defence, working together to stop Knox’s relentless attack, was remarkable. This was complemented by a master class of incredible offensive plays and outstanding shooting. It was truly a spectacular match for all those lucky enough to be at the Centenary Pool. These early results certainly set the tone for the day for all teams.

This Saturday in fixtures against Cranbrook School there are six teams who will be looking to gain CAS Premierships, including the 1st VII, 2nd VII, 3rd VII, 16A, 14A and 13As. Good luck to all teams in your final round of fixtures. A special mention to the Year 12 students who will play in their final matches: Thomas Rathbone (12Ke), Jake Varone (12He), Harrison Evans (12La), Riley Martin (12We) and Rhys Williams (12St) in the 1st VII; Luke de Lisle (12Ke), Hunter Myliotis (12Yo), Lewis Potter (12Fo), Eric Mihas (12La), William Rule (12Ar) and Justin Karam (12We) in the 2nd VII; Benjamin Orr (12Ho), Jack Vine (12Mu), Joshua Hanna (12Ho), Curtis Sioulas (12La), Lachlan Devlin (12WJ), Logan NG (12WJ), Jonah Sowmi (12We) and Zachary Lin (12La) in the 3rd VII.

17&U NSW Combined Independent Schools Trials

On Tuesday 8 March, five Trinity students, Lucas Young (11We), Liam Rippon (11La), Harrison Ryan (11Ta), Koliya Van Althuis (11La) and Harper Stewart (11St), attended the NSWCIS 17&U trials held at Knox Grammar School. The CAS team had three late withdrawals with these players affected by Covid isolation. However, the team were able to perform admirably well to record two victories in their first two matches. In the final battle between CAS and GPS, the team managed a draw 8-8. The CAS team had never beaten GPS since the formation of the current trials format. It was a great privilege to coach the team on the day and to see the five Trinity students perform so well at a representative level. A huge congratulations to the following three students who were selected in the NSW CIS team:

Liam Rippon (11La), Lucas Young (11We) and Harper Stewart (11St).

Congratulations to Harrison Ryan (11Ta) who was selected in the shadow squad.

Seamus Rodden | Director of Water Polo

1ST VII | WON 13-12

As premiers of the CAS Competition for the past two consecutive seasons, Knox Grammar School posed the greatest challenge that we would face this season. All of the boys are to be commended on their effort over the past 12 months, building towards this game after our one-goal loss to Knox last season. As a result, the team went into the game with increased composure than we had seen in previous weeks, looking to reinforce our strengths and capitalise on Knox’s weaknesses. Our offensive objective was to show more composure and patience, waiting for opportunities to present ourselves and play a slower game style to prevent a Knox counter attack – one of our major flaws in our 6-7 victory at the U17 CAS trials a month ago. This increased patience was achieved, with Lucus Young (11We) and Harper Stewart (11St) able to put away shot opportunities scoring five and three goals respectively. Defensively, this increased composure allowed the Trinity boys to cover Knox’s counter attack, whilst getting into good positioning to cover for our team mates who were marking stronger Knox players and force a shot from where we wanted them to shoot. This allowed Rhys Williams (12St) to have an amazing game in goals, which with the aid of strong blocks in defence has allowed our set defence to become extremely strong. I commend all the boys for their effort on Saturday, it was truly a team effort and we could not have come out with the win without years of hard work and dedication from all of you. I also thank all the boys who came to cheer us on, as it was a massive help to have a home crowd to support our victory.

T. Rathbone | Captain

2ND VII | WON 12-11

In the first real test of the season, Trinity ran out winners over a very competitive Knox Grammar School team. Trinity were off to a good start, playing some quality water polo and were in full control of the game leading 7 to 3 at half time. However, for the third week in a row, a disastrous third quarter by Trinity, with some very lax and lazy defence, allowed Knox to score six easy goals, which let them back in the game, and gave a three-quarter score-line of 10-9. The final period was a very even contest with both teams netting two goals, giving the final score 12 to 11 in Trinity’s favour. Finn Ramanuskas (11Ke) was at his attacking best, scoring seven of Trinity’s goals, whilst both Lewis Potter (12Fo) and Luke de Lisle (12Ke) played intelligent Water Polo in both attack and defence. Other goal scorers for Trinity were James Robertson (11Du) with two goals and Luke de Lisle (12Ke), Lewis Potter (12Fo) and Hunter Myliotis (12Yo) with one goal each. Whilst it was great to win this game and thus give the team a good chance of finishing the season undefeated, it must be said that Trinity did win, but still can play to their true potential.

Mr Swinnerton | Coach

3RD VII | WON 8-5

As expected, Saturday’s Round 4 encounter against Knox Grammar School proved to be a tough match for the Thirds. With both teams looking to take control of the game from the opening whistle, it was Trinity who got out to an early lead. Luka Cukeric (11 La) had an excellent first quarter and managed to get on the scoresheet thanks to some intelligent drives on the left-hand side of our attack. He was well supported by Harry Parsonage (11 Ta) and Miles Angus (11 WH) who once again put in great defensive performances, to keep Knox’s attackers quiet. Despite Trinity controlling the game (3-1) at the half-time break, the second half saw momentum swing back and forth between the two sides. Although the men in green did well to extend their lead in the third quarter, Knox rallied late to make sure there would be a close and tense finish to the match. With only a single goal separating the two teams at one point in the game, it was the Trinity players who won key moments in the contest to make sure that the visitors from Wahroonga did not go home with the spoils. Lachlan Devlin (11 WJ) produced a tremendous defensive play to thwart a dangerous counterattack, only to be outdone moments later by Goalkeeper Evan Tong (11 Fo) who stopped a certain goal with an outstanding double-save. Nevertheless, credit must also be given to Benjamin Orr (12 Ho) and Joshua Hanna (12 Ho) as both players capped off brilliant performances by standing up when their team needed them most and scoring late in the match, to secure Trinity a memorable 8-5 victory.

Mr Di Paola | Coach

16A | WON 15-5

The game was very easy against Knox Grammar School. My assessment of the team is that they played very well. The whole team  stood out for their united  performance. As a coach, I am very proud of where we have come from at the start of the season. Thinking as a team that wins belongs to everyone, just as losing also belongs to everyone. The team have continued on this successful path and continue to improve with each training session.

Mr Bonca | Coach

16B | WON 19-2

The 16Bs played a great game against Knox Grammar School, finishing with a commanding lead. Although the team’s depth was impacted by Covid, their ability to generate counterattacks never faltered. The game plan changed in the final quarter as they focused on the technical elements of the sport, attempting to organise set attacks as well as working on their time management of the shot clock. They are to be congratulated on a high performance game and a resounding victory.

Matthew Robertson | Coach

16C | LOSS 4-15

Last weekend the 16C boys played the Waverley College 16Bs at Trinity Pool 2. We were off to a rough start in the first half with the majority of goals scored against us happening off quick breaks. Several times our boys struggled to keep up in defence and caused personal fouls which were converted into goals. The boys won the third quarter 2-1 with goals by Jonathan Ucchino (10WH) and Jayden Fung (10KE). The greater success in the second half was also partly due to the efforts of Elliot Russell (9Fo) who swam hard to cover in defence and set up in attack despite a tiring game.

Ms Seeto | Coach

15A | WON 7-4

In a very competitive game Trinity finished victorious over Knox Grammar School. For the second week in a row, Trinity’s fitness was really tested as only eight players were available making it a difficult game overall. The first period saw the defence of both teams dominate resulting in a nil all score line. In the second period, two great counter attacking goals were scored by Trinity giving them the lead 2-0. The third quarter saw the defence of both teams wilt a little, resulting in a 3-3 result. Trinity got the better of the final period outscoring Knox 2-1 giving a final score of 7-4. Matty Weston English (9Ta) was again great in goals making a number of fine saves, while Ben Sulyok (9Sc) with three goals and David Simmons (9Ar) with two, provided most of Trinity’s counter attack and chased back to cover others’ mistakes in defence. Zaine Bachir (9Mu) scored from a solid outside shot and Matteo Pezzano (9Fo) scored from centre forward. Great effort, Trinity!

Mr Swinnerton | Coach

14A | WON 14-1

A strong result against Knox Grammar School last Saturday. The 14As started very strongly in defence and with a very stressful press action, so that we could steal the ball from the opposing side. Being in the passing line and in between aided our play. Players who were strong throughout the game include: Taj Young (8We), Hudson Myliotis (8He) and Carlo Furlan (8Du). I am very happy with the success of the team.

Mr Bonca | Coach

14B  | WON 11-8

The 14Bs had a competitive game against the Knox Grammar School 14Bs team, as they maintained a strong discipline whilst leading in an attempt to stop the fast paced Knox team from coming back. The first quarter showed how close this game was going to be with a 2-2 scoreline being established at the end of it. Joshua Jeung (8He) scored both goals in this quarter showing his valued addition to the team for the week. In the second quarter, the team established a one goal lead by leading 5-4 at half time, with goals from Calvin Doyle (8Ho) and two goals from Anthony Manakis (8La) allowing the boys to start building some momentum into the second half. The third quarter was an even match. However, with two goals being scored by both sides it was Nik Schofer (8Ta) who was having a stand out quarter scoring both goals. The final quarter the boys were able to run away with the win, scoring four goals to Knox’s two. Two goals in this quarter went to Joshua Jeung (8He) and one goal to Daniel Vilate-Gallagher (8Ke) and Anthony Manakis (8La), finalising the score to 11-8 in favour of Trinity.

Mr Jones | Coach

13A | WON 13-10

In a reasonably competitive game, Trinity ran out winners over Knox Grammar School 13 to 10. Whilst the score would suggest that the game was rather close, Trinity were always in control of the game, with a first quarter score of 6 to 3 and a half time score of 10 to 4. In the second half of the game, Trinity were a little careless with inaccurate passes and unnecessary turn overs, giving Knox some very easy goals, so that Knox outscored Trinity 6-4 during this period. Best for Trinity were Oliver Varone (7He) who scored seven goals, but more importantly controlled both attack and defence for the team, and Christian Di Giandomenico (7He) who was very steady in both attack and defence. Other goal scorers were Christopher McAuley (7WH) and Joshua Kang (7We) with 2 goals, and Zac Bachir (7Mu) and Toby Street (7La) with one each. Well played, all.

Mr Swinnerton | Coach

13B | WON 9-0

We had the self-created luxury to keep our goalies out of work in our game against Knox Grammar School last Saturday. Thanks to our high concentration, self-deprecating attitude/manners, and fast improving swimming skills, one of our defenders somehow got there and confiscated the ball from one of the Knox-boys, before making its way towards our goal. It clearly demonstrates the strength of our team, that our second goalkeeper had to hold the ball only one single time. The boys took the golden rule seriously: by hindering the opponents from scoring, we increased the winning chances. It was again a great example of teamwork, with great passes, assists, passionate counter attacks, and as mentioned before, great defence work in front of our goal. While we had some short confusion at the very beginning of the second half, due to the coach’s long speech, we did have a late setup for the quarter, but after a few minutes, we put our lines into order and continued with our fruitful work. It is a joy to see these young boys’ enthusiasm and truly deserved success. It is also a great feeling to be part of an unprecedented series of wins over Knox Grammar School.

Mr Malyusz | Coach