Water Polo News

ROUND 5 | SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2022

The action last Saturday at the Trinity Centenary Pool was exciting. There was a great atmosphere as Trinity played in a number of close fixtures. The Trinity 1st VII continued their undefeated streak, syncing cohesively as a team in both attack and defence to beat St Aloysius’ College and progress through to the semi-finals this weekend against Newington, whom they beat 17-7 in Round 2. Trinity has been clearly the most dominant team throughout the first four rounds of the competition and they thoroughly deserve their semi-final position. Newington College will be more determined to play a closer contest than earlier in the season and Trinity will need to be prepared for a very tough encounter. The coaches, led by Mr Bonca, Mr Hamil and myself have full confidence that the 1st VII will be able to rise to any challenge that is presented to them. The 16As also continued their outstanding and undefeated season with a dominant victory over Waverley College to also cement a position in this weekend’s Semi Final against Newington College whom they beat 9-4 in Round 2. Like the 1st VII, the 16As will be up against a determined Newington team who will present a tough challenge for Trinity. The 2nd VII played their best match of the season, winning the match against Shore 9-2. They are up against The Scots College this weekend who will be a challenging opponent, but if Trinity can continue their impressive form, they will be able to secure victory and progress through to the grand final. If you can support the teams that are in the Combined Schools Championships SemiFinals, your support would be greatly appreciated. I wish all teams the very best as they face challenging matches this Saturday.

Seamus Rodden | Director of Water Polo

This weekend our 1st VII, 2nd VII and 16As are all playing in the Semi-Final of the Combined CAS/GPS competition and we would really appreciate it if many of you could possibly come and support. The 1sts are playing against the current reigning premiers and the winners of the competition for the past six years, Newington College. This will be a very important game, as it is for many of the players in the team their last chance to try and regain this title, which Trinity has not won since 2006. The 2nds will be facing The Scots College who won the GPS competition last season. This will be a very close game, but with a crowd of Trinity boys in the stands, I’m confident we will be able to come away with a win. The 16As will be playing against Newington College. It will be a very good game as the 16As are currently undefeated and will look to continue this winning streak leading into the Grand Final. All three teams would greatly appreciate all the support from you boys. Such support will give each team a competitive edge over their opponents and it will give each player more confidence, motivation, and desire to win than their opponents, which could be the motivation needed to win. So please, if you have time, come and support your teams and their goal to win the Combined CAS/GPS competition. Below are the times and venues for these games:

1st VII – 10.15am at Newington College.

2nd VII – 9.00am at Trinity Grammar School.

16A – 9.30am at Newington College.

Hope to see you all there.

Harper Stewart | Captain of Water Polo

 1^ST VII | WIN 24-11

Saturday marked the Quarter Final of the combined GPS/CAS Water Polo Championship. Trinity came up against a solid St Aloysius’ College side that proved to be hard to handle in attack and saw the first quarter end with a tight score line. However, as the team gained momentum, Trinity’s goal scoring abilities continued to thrive and eventually Trinity triumphed, outscoring St Aloysius 24-11. It is evident that Trinity is continuing to improve in all components of the game and that teamwork continues to be a strong aspect of our weekly victories, with every member of the team playing a crucial part in the team’s overall success. Trinity’s 1st VII will match up against Newington College in the Semi Finals this Saturday. The outcome of this match will ultimately dictate who will continue on to potentially take out the combined GPS/CAS Water Polo title. Trinity’s defence will ultimately prove to be the difference against a strong Newington College side who are determined to maintain the title.

Lucas Young | 1st VII Captain

2^ND VII | WIN 9-2

Trinity played their best water polo so far this season winning this quarter final match 9 goals to 2. Trinity, for once, started strongly with a first period score of 2-nil. The game continued in this manner with Trinity leading 5–1 at half time. Trinity’s defence dropped off a little in the third quarter allowing Shore to score, but we still had the game well in hand, leading 6-2 at three quarter time. The final period saw Trinity get back to playing good water polo, scoring three goals. This game saw Finn Ramanuskas (12Ke) show what he is capable of, scoring three great goals; Sam Foung (12Sc) was dominant at centre back and scored two fine extra man goals; while goalkeeper, Jonathan Manikis (12La) played well. The other goal scorers for Trinity were Zachariah Alshehabi (11Du) with two and Thomas Power (12Mu) and Nathaniel Abdelmalek (11Mu) with one each. All in all an improved performance by Trinity 2nds – the improvement needs to continue this coming week.

Ray Swinnerton | Coach

3^RD VII | WIN 6-1

The boys had a strong win over the Waverley College 3rd VII side with Trinity being dominant with a 6-1 win. However,  with the opposition not coming out firing with a slow first half and scoring minimal goals, it was easy for the 3rds to dominate the game. Once we got into our groove we were an unstoppable force, putting away five goals in the second half of the game. Strong counter attacks and a hard press defence left the Waverley side with few options in attack. The boys had a great game and should look to improve in the next game this Saturday. They should be proud of their efforts.

Oscar Jones | Coach

4^TH VII | LOSS 1-8

Our loss against Reddam House (3rds) last Saturday was indeed our win, as we seem to be working as a team much more than ever during this season. We had a far higher speed of actions compared to earlier games. We all seem to get to know our strengths and weaknesses, allowing us to reset earlier expectations and roles in the team. If we look at the successful setups and amount of shots, we would have won against Reddam’s 1st team. Having twenty plus shots on target, but only one that scored, shows where we can be more efficient during our training. We held the score of 1-1 until the end of the first quarter. We saw great improvements in defence for the first half of the game.

Gergely Malyusz | Coach

16A | WIN 12-1

The 16As took on Waverley College last Saturday and began the game really well, with a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Waverley did lift somewhat in the second quarter as Trinity only managed to score one goal. The team, with a significant goal difference controlled the game very well, playing each longer attack. Also the attacking and defensive actions have been very calculated and played with patience. It was great to also welcome back a key player, Marcus Cupac (10He). The most outstanding players have been: Hudson Myliotis (9Yo), Jaiden Sivapirabu (9Hi), James Cicuta (10He) and Matty Weston (10Ta).

Florin Bonca | Coach

16B | WIN 12-4

The 16Bs had a dominant win over Waverley College’s 16Bs, showing that Trinity are a force to be reckoned with. With the game being shut down early with strong defence from Jacob Michail (10Hi) and Gabe Stavropolous (10WH) it provided the boys with good counter-attacking opportunities. The players kept at the other team and stayed dominant until the final whistle. The boys should be proud of their efforts and take this pride into next week’s encounter.

Oscar Jones | Coach

 15A | DRAW 4-4

This game against Waverley College started in much the same manner as previous games, with Trinity passing the ball to the opposition and allowing them to score two easy goals, giving a quarter time score of 2-nil. For the rest of the game, Trinity played much better and were able to keep control of the ball and did not pass directly to the opposition, which limited the opposition’s attacking opportunities. This enabled Trinity to outscore Waverley 4-2 over the remaining three quarters to produce a 4-all score line at full time. Once again, Charlie Tuelon (9Ar) in goals had a good game, making a number of fine saves which kept Trinity in the game. Dylan Bell (9Hi) and Michael Sotiropoulos (9St) swam well both in attack and defence, often assisting others by chasing down breaks and limiting Waverley’s opportunities. Goal scorers for Trinity were Dylan Bell (9Hi), Ryan Hoang (9Ta), Owyn Nakhle (9Ke) and Will Jenkins (9Hi).

Ray Swinnerton | Coach

15B | LOSS 6-9

Last Saturday, the 15Bs played a contentious game against Waverley College. The boys had a strong start in the first half, gaining four goals to the opposition’s three. In the second half they lost some of their teamwork and conceded six goals to their own two. It was disappointing to see that the boys did not co-ordinate as a team. Of note better players were Calvin Doyle (8Ho), who scored three goals, and Peter Galanos (8St) who scored two. In defence I would like to commend Mikias Williams (8Yo) who blocked several goals repeatedly. Unfortunately, our loose teamwork allowed the opposition to capitilise and steal the game.

Nina Seeto | Coach

14A | WIN 12-2

Waverley College’s 14As surely have given it their all with last Saturday’s match, despite the scoreline indicating an easy win for Trinity. While we started the game well, we were very focussed on defence and attacking which resulted in a 4-0 lead by the end of the second quarter. From here on we controlled the game and the rhythm of the game. In all respects our players demonstrated some good counter and static attack actions. The best players throughout this game were: Toby Street (8La), Andrew Zhang (8St), Jayden Rodger (8Ta), Christopher Mcauley (8WH) and Zac Bachair (8Mu).

Florin Bonca | Coach

14B | LOSS 2-8

The 14Bs took on Reddam House last Saturday, and we appeared apathetic, perhaps a little complacent, after our recent wins against major teams. A general fatigue was also visible on most players. Reddam’s 14A team seemed to be a level faster than us. It was an instructive game, allowing us to put complacency aside. Our take home message: we have to concentrate always and never underestimate the opponent.

Gergely Malyusz | Coach