Trinity AFL
CAS Round 2 | Saturday, 21 May 2022
The Trinity AFL teams converged onto Acron Oval last weekend to face Knox Grammar School, who have been a powerhouse of the competition for several years. Overnight rainfall left many in doubt as to whether the matches would go ahead, but grounds remained open, albeit wet and slippery under foot.
Team of the Week: Round 4
| FB | Nash Waters-Delaney (8Hi) | Will Jenkins (8Hi) | Sam Newton (11WJ) |
| HB | Finlay Hanning (9Ar) | Lucas Blum (10Ar) | Harry Vine (9Mu) |
| C | Samuel Eastwood (10He) | Thomas Blackman (7Du) | Oliver Orr (10Ho) |
| HF | Arthur Howard-White (11HI) | William Constanti (10La) | Indiana Murphy (10Ta) |
| FF | Callum Padman (9Hi) | Louis Lusty (9Sc) | Thomas Henry (7Ta) |
| RR | Kody Murphy (7Ta) | Lucas Blythe (11La) | Ryan Webb (10Hi) |
Round 2 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.
| Goals | Name |
| 5 | M. Anderson |
| 5 | K. MacDonald |
| 4 | E. Urbano |
| 2 | B. Cook |
| 2 | M. McGroder |
| 2 | L. Wolfe |
| 2 | C. Anderson |
| 2 | S. Telfer |
| 1 | C. Earthrowl |
| 1 | A. Kassem |
| 1 | T. Salvartsis |
| 1 | R. Kim |
| 1 | L. Wingrave |
| 1 | C. Cleary |
| 1 | S. Sara |
| 1 | S. Waddington |
| 1 | I. Wyatt |
| 1 | T. Henry |
| 1 | A. Howard-White |
| 1 | B. De Lany |
1ST XVIII Match Report – Round 4, 2022
Wet and boggy conditions were the order of the day, as Trinity took on Knox at Acron Oval. With several players being late omissions due to illness, a number of Year 10 students backed up from the previous game to support the Opens. Knox are a strong AFL school, and a difficult opponent to face away at the best of times. However, to the credit of the men at Trinity, they stuck to the task and provided a contest for a full four quarters. Most pleasing from this game was to see several younger members of the team take their opportunity to play Opens AFL and demonstrate fighting character and spirit that will hold them in good stead as they become more comfortable at the Opens level.
Knox adjusted to the conditions faster and managed to break away from Trinity, kicking several impressive goals. The beneficiary of the Knox midfield dominance was the Trinity backline, with Lucas Blum (10Ar) being a standout performer in the back half of the ground, regularly demonstrating his strong intercept marking and decision-making skills that defy his years and experience at this level. He provided a reliable focus point for our backline to work off, and regularly linked up with Samuel Newton (11WJ) out of the backline, who provided switch running and carry, as Trinity tried to break through the Knox defensive zone. Samuel Eastwood (10HE) was the primary target on the wing, regularly providing both an option and a defensive contest with his hard running. His ability to win the hardball against much bigger opponents was a key highlight and regularly allowed Trinity to wrestle control back from the opposition.
In the ruck, William Constanti (10La), who had already played in the lower age group, was dominant for large portions of the game, using his large frame and wingspan to regularly direct hitouts and tackle opposition midfielders. Rucking can be a difficult job for a Year 12 student, and to see a young man go about it with such a calm demeanour and application to winning the football for his teammates, was a genuine highlight. Lucas Blythe (11La) demonstrated strong defensive running from the midfield and leadership qualities as he regularly attempted to steady the ship and organise his teammates into defensive positions, while winning numerous possessions around the ground. The shortage of numbers also saw a pair of brothers play Opens football, with Ben Orr (12Ho) playing alongside Ollie Orr (10Ho) for the first time, with a key highlight being a passage of handballs between the two as they sent the ball deep towards the Trinity goal line. Ollie demonstrated physicality and courage at the contest that defied both his young age and experience playing the game, having only taken it up this season, using his athleticism to create multiple contests and win numerous free kicks.
Although the result on the weekend was disappointing, it is important the young men of Trinity remain optimistic. With several younger players gaining more experience at this level, and key players still to come back from illness, there is a positive outlook within the Opens AFL squad for 2022. There is an opportunity to bounce back next week, with a Round 5 fixture against St Aloysius’, and Trinity will take away many lessons from this contest and look to apply them against a similar opponent.
Score: Trinity 0.2.2 def by Knox 10.9.69
Goals:
Bests: L. Blum, S. Eastwood, L. Blythe, S. Newton, W. Constanti, O. Orr
9/10 As
The 9/10 As were met with slippery conditions as they met Knox in an away game at Acron Oval, but this did not stop them from playing dry weather football, with slick handballing and support running the key highlight for the majority of the day. Ryan Webb (10Hi) lead from the front foot early, regularly handballing off to teammates before getting the ball back to deliver into the forward line with his excellent support running. Harry Vine (9Mu) and Finlay Hanning (9Ar) worked well off halfback to create a chain of excellent handballs through the Knox defenders before the ball ended in the hands of Callum Padman (9Hi) who delivered a pinpoint pass into the Trinity forwardline to hit up an excellent lead. Louis Lusty provided excellent contests all day, moving between the ruck and full forward, and regularly handballing off to his midfield group to demonstrate his selfless approach to football. Meanwhile Indiana Murphy (10Ta) was the beneficiary of this midfield dominance, regularly breaking away from opposition players and sending us deep in the forwardline, to also support his excellent defensive workrate. It was an excellent team effort from all players, with possessions and goals shared evenly between the playing group as they continue to remain undefeated in 2022.
7/8 As
The 7/8 As had a tough outing in wet conditions against a bigger opponent in Knox Grammar. Despite several chances, the men of Trinity were unable to get anything going in the front half of the ground. Thomas Blackman (7Du) was dominant in the midfield all day, and played a selfless role in the second half to shut down the Knox danger man who was causing headaches for our defenders in the first half. He was well supported by Kody Murphy (8Ta) in the ruck, who showed a fighting spirit all day and won multiple hit outs around the ground to go with his excellent defensive efforts. Our backline was under pressure all day, but Will Jenkins (8Hi) was dominant with multiple spoils, tackles and second efforts. He was joined by Nash Water-Delaney (8Hi) who kept his opponent accountable for long patches of time and provided multiple contests in the back half. Further upfield, Thomas Henry (7Ta) demonstrated his footy smarts around the contest to regularly win the football against towering opponents, regularly running them in circles as he cleared his line. It was a steep learning curve for the 7/8As who will look to respond next week against St Aloysius’ and put their learning into practice.
7/8 Bs
Unfortunately, due to heavy overnight rainfall, the 7/8Bs game was cancelled. They will look to bounce back in Round 6 when they play Barker.
Sam Jackson | MIC AFL
