Trinity AFL

CAS Round 1 | Saturday, 30^th April 2022

With Winter Sport finally back after a long hiatus from 2021, the men of Trinity made the northward journey to Barker, where all teams experienced what it felt like to play Australian Rules Football on Barker’s main No. 1 Oval. With numerous wash-outs in other sporting codes, a period of torrential rainfall and apps crashing at different points in the morning, it was most pleasing to see the attendance of all selected players for the four away games against Barker. Such commitment to their respective teammates and not wanting to let your side down will serve the boys well as the season continues, and I thank the parent body for supporting their sons in this.

Team of the Week: Round 1

Excellent performances all around have seen the following nominations for Team of the Week. Several good defensive performances and willingness to make repeat contests in wet conditions see a strong backline selection. While the forward line comes from several players who provided many score assists and goals on the weekend to helped finish off hard work from the midfield players.

Round 1 Leading Goalkicker Ladder – All Ages

Apologies for any missing goal kickers from Saturday, please let Mr. Jackson know and he will add them to the tally for next week.

1ST XVIII Match Report – Round 1, 2022

In my three years of coaching the First XVIII, the men who comprise the 2022 squad have set a new benchmark for work rate and pre-match preparation. The adherence to the lunch-time pre-season program, eagerly supported by Daniel Marques and Elliot Taylor in the Trinity Strength and Conditioning Department, and willingness to work for themselves and each other, has been impressive; and as a group they have started to build a new culture within the Trinity AFL Program. Win, lose or draw, the young men of Trinity should be proud of their efforts thus far, and being part of a shift in attitude and culture is an experience these young men can carry into their years well beyond this sporting program. While not the main focus, and not true to life, it was pleasing to see the reward these young men received for their effort on the weekend, as well as their ability to come together as a group with a desire to improve and achieve those outcomes.

With that being said, the men of Trinity found themselves on centre stage for the opening game of the 2022 Season. With several sporting fixtures called off due to rain over the course of the morning, a carnival like atmosphere greeted the playing group, as a crowd started to gather for the main event.

Wet and slippery conditions were the order of the day, as the centre bounce had to be moved to the grandstand-side wing, due to the mud filled centre of the main oval. Cristian Farr (12MU) gave Trinity the perfect start to the season, as he won the first ruck tap and sent the ball into attack for Trinity, only to follow up seconds later with an important tackle. He went on to win numerous key hit outs throughout the day, that proved invaluable as the game went on. The ball  regularly became too slippery to handle, with numerous fumbles in the centre square making it hard for any team to find clearances early. Multiple second-efforts and communication increased the perceived pressure on the Barker midfielders, as Trinity started to move the ball into attack early. Despite early dominance and keeping the ball in our forward half, it was Barker who kicked the first goal from a nice piece of counterattack play and build-up of repeat entries. As the quarter dragged on, Trinity found themselves down by 13 points, despite early midfield dominance. The Trinity side of the scoreboard was finally lit up, late into stoppage time of the first quarter, as Theo Salvartsis (11WH) snapped truly from a pack to register the first points of the 2022 campaign. Trinity went into the quarter-time huddle down a goal, but confident of their ability to match it in the conditions.

Barker struck first in the second quarter to extend their lead, only for Lachlan Wolfe (12ST) to come up with an early reply, and keep Trinity within striking distance. Lucas Blythe (11LA) won numerous contested possessions in the midfield and made multiple last line of defence tackles, to provide our AFL Captain for 2022, Sam Waddington (12MU), with the space and freedom to get multiple clearances away from the contest. Both players  regularly linked up with sly handballs through impossible gaps, only for the other to release us into offence-mode from the multiple stoppages we were starting to take the ascendency in. These clearances proved important as it allowed Arthur Howard-White (11HI) to kick a late goal, which was an excellent reward for his hard running and contests on the outer-wing all day. Trinity found themselves down by four points leading into the main break.

The third quarter, so regularly called the ‘Premiership Quarter’, proved pivotal for both teams’ chances of victory. It was becoming harder and harder to distinguish the Trinity Green and White in-between all the mud-stained jerseys, yet somehow the young men of Trinity were able to work together to always pick the correct option when under pressure, and regularly found their teammates in open space. Sam Newton (11WJ), new to the sport this year, was assigned a run-with role for the second half, to help defend the key Barker midfielder, who was causing headaches for the Trinity defence. He followed through on his player assignment like a seasoned veteran, negating the influence of Barker and giving Trinity a chance. Vice Captain Benjamin Cook (12ST), rotating through the midfield and halfback flank, proved instrumental as he seized his moment to kick a long-range goal form outside the 50-metre arc, only to then relive the moment minutes later with an identical goal, to finally give Trinity the lead it had been seeking for the first time in the contest and put worry into the home crowd at Barker. Trinity went into the break with a narrow two-point lead, but full of confidence in each other to get the result they were chasing.

Trinity went into the final quarter, well aware that whoever could kick accurately first would go a long way to deciding the final outcome. Trinity got their opportunity inside the first five minutes, when Liam Wingrave (11AR), who earlier took several key marks in defence while marshalling the Trinity backline, managed to take an intercept mark in Trinity’s forward fifty and calmly went back to kick truly. What transpired was an arm-wrestle between two sides desperate to win, with Barker finally breaking through for a goal with five minutes to go, bringing the margin back to just two points. Trinity responded with an instant reply, via a crafty soccer goal from Sebastian Sara (12DU), to extend the margin beyond a kick, before Barker’s final shot of the game was smartly rushed over by the Trinity backline, as the siren sounded on what was a gripping contest.

It is hard to select Best Players, when so many were instrumental to this win. From the Year 12s, who acted as leaders all day and stepped up in key moments to finally experience their first victory after two years of Opens AFL, all the way to the Year 10 players who trained with the squad all pre-season, and dutifully stuck to their match-day assignments; this was an exemplar performance in team work and effort of which all Trinity players should be proud of being a part.

Score: Trinity 7.3.45 def Barker 5.8.38

Goals: 2 B. Cook, T. Salvartsis, L. Wolfe, A. Howard-White, L. Wingrave, S. Sara

Bests: S, Waddington, B. Cook, L. Wolfe, L. Wingrave, L. Blythe, C. Farr, A. Howard-White

9/10 As

Trinity started the 2022 season well, and if not for a few lapses in concentration, could have kept the opposition scoreless in the opening quarter. The opening goal for the 9/10s was kicked by Callum Campbell (10WE) who rucked well all day and regularly provided a contest in the air when up forward. With a large bench, Trinity were able to use their running ability for the duration of the game to wear down the opposition, in what were at times very slippery and muddy conditions. Lachlan Demark (10SC) was strong in defence all day, regularly repelling numerous attacks from Barker, while Angus Royal (9AR) and Joshua O’Connell (9AR) worked in tandem through the midfield and half-back, to work their opposition off their feet through hard gut running, and were well lead by Callum Robinson (10WJ) in a similar roll through the midfield. Max Anderson (10HI) provided numerous sparks in the game, helping to set up goals when he wasn’t kicking them himself. Overall some very promising signs for this age group going forward.

7/8 As

The 7/8 As had a slow start and let Barker kick four goals in the opening quarter, which could have been more if not for the efforts of Mason McGroder (8WH) in defence, which required them to work their way back into the contest. They showed renewed energy in the second quarter, as they started to chip away at the deficit. Thomas Henry (7TA) provided a spark in the second quarter, with an excellent duck-and-weave through two defenders to kick truly. The hard running of Cristian Izzillo (8MU) was well rewarded as he regularly ran from defence to attack to tackle Barker midfielders and give Trinity a chance. Kody Murphy (8TA) was strong in the ruck all day, and regularly gave our midfielders first use as they looked to work back into the game. Unfortunately, the first quarter lapse proved too great, and despite winning the remaining quarters of football, Trinity was unable to overcome the deficit. This team should be proud of the way they responded and fought all day and will only get better as they become more accustomed to playing with each other. Trinity will look to bounce back next week against Cranbrook in what should be an exciting Round 2 contest.

7/8 Bs

Inaccuracy proved costly for Trinity, in what was easily the wettest game of the weekend. Played in perfect conditions for a half, followed by torrential rainfall in the second, the team had to adapt quickly to the different conditions and styles of football. Lachlan Conlon (7LA) was everywhere early, with numerous chase down tackles, and was well supported by the double act in the midfield of Ryan Kim (7AR) and Cooper Chan (7FO), who worked hard all day to distribute the ball with accuracy from the midfield. They were well supplied by Rohan Dean (7HI) in the ruck, who regularly worked back into defence to spoil the Barker forwards who managed to get away from the tackling pressure of Tristan Bang (8LA). Kayler McDonald (7TA) provided the support role in the ruck, and moved forward to kick a much needed goal late in the fourth quarter and give Trinity a chance. Overall, this team should be pleased with the spirit in which the game was played and their ability to quickly change their game plan as the weather dictated. A heavy focus on goalkicking practice at training shall hopefully alleviate some of the early accuracy issues in front of goal.

Sam Jackson | MIC AFL