Water Polo News

ROUND 3 | SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 2022

Last weekend Trinity travelled up the Pacific Highway to Wahroonga to play against strong CAS rivals, Knox Grammar School. It was another successful weekend for Trinity with seven wins out of ten matches played. Commendations to all Trinity teams for their determination with many close matches falling in favour of the green and white. This coming weekend Trinity players in the 1st VII, 2nd VII and 16As will have a BYE. All other teams will participate in matches this weekend against either St Andrew’s Cathedral School or St Augustine’s College. Good luck to all teams!

COMBINED SCHOOLS OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS

There are three official competitions in the Combined Schools Competition. They include the 1st VII Competition, 2nd VII Competition and the 16As Competition. Last Saturday saw the completion of the pool stages of the official Combined Schools Competition for the Trinity 1sts, 2nds and 16As. Congratulations to the 1sts and 16As who topped Pool A with three wins from three matches.

This weekend, Pool B and Pool C divisions will play cross over matches which will determine who Trinity (Pool A) will play next weekend (12th November). This will mean:

• Trinity’s 1st VII will play the winner of Qualifying Final 3
  (Pool B 3rd – St Aloysius’ College v Pool C 2nd – Saint Ignatius’ College).

• Trinity’s 2nd VII, who finished in 3rd place, will play the winner of Qualifying
  Final 2 (Pool B 2nd – Shore School v Pool C 3rd – The King’s School).

• Trinity’s 16As will play the winner of Qualifying Final 3
  (Pool B 3rd – The Scots College v Pool C 2nd – Waverley College).

Overall results from Round 2:

Team	Opponent	Result	Score
1STS	Knox	WIN	15 – 10
2NDS	Knox	LOSS	3 – 8
3RDS	Knox	WIN	6 – 4
4THS	Scots (5THS)	WIN	9 – 6
16A	Knox	WIN	14 – 5
16B	Knox	WIN	6 – 5
15A	Knox	LOSS	0 – 22
15B	Knox	LOSS	3 – 11
14A	Knox	WIN	10 – 4
14B	Knox	WIN	16 – 3

 

Seamus Rodden | Director of Water Polo

 

1ST VII | WIN 15-10

The season so far has seen the Trinity 1st VII play three strong Water Polo schools in Pool A Division of the revamped AAGPS/CAS combined competition. Round 1 Trinity defeated St. Joseph’s College 17 – 8; a win against Newington College, 17-7 and a victory over our traditional CAS rivals Knox Grammar School, 15-10. Last Saturday, we played against a younger, yet strong Knox side and were able to come away with a strong win in the second half of the game. This victory has our boys ranked at the top of the Pool A Division. We had a slow start to the game, with Knox taking an early lead in the first quarter. However, with a stronger press defence, we were able to generate a number of counterattack goals that allowed us to narrow the gap leading into the second half. In the 3rd quarter, we were able to capitalise on our goal-scoring opportunities much better, whilst still maintaining an aggressive press, allowing us to gain a two goal lead heading into the final quarter. Once we had gained a solid lead in the 4th quarter, it was important for the team to remain patient and control the ball as much as possible, limiting Knox’s opportunities. This was a character-building win from the boys. It was the first game we had to make a comeback and a great learning experience for the team as we now enter the serious end of the competition. We are looking forward to the games ahead and are working hard to best prepare ourselves. On the back of these three solid results, it is important that we continue to build momentum, with the next round of finals looming.

Harper Stewart | Captain of Water Polo

 

2ND VII | LOSS 3-8

Up against a strong Knox Grammar School team, Trinity were out-played and finished the game losing 3-8. We were competitive for the first half of the game with the scores locked at one-all at half time and this demonstrated the defence which Trinity is capable of producing, but it also revealed Trinity’s poor attack. The second half of the game saw far too many basic defensive mistakes by Trinity allowing a 7-2 score to Knox. Trinity’s set up in attack lacked the required game awareness and we did not react to the zone defence of Knox, although it was the subject of discussion and practised at training. Best for Trinity was Sam Foung (12Sc) who played strongly at Centre back, and Cooper Twine (12Mu) who showed his versatility, playing well in a number of different positions. Goal scorers for Trinity were Sam Foung(12Sc), Finn Ramanuskas (12Ke) and Cooper Twine (12Mu).

Ray Swinnerton | Coach

 

3RD VII | WIN 6-4

The 3rd VII had an extremely difficult game against Knox Grammar School with Trinity winning 6-4. With several boys out due to injury, the boys knew it was going to be hard this week. However, Knox definitely gave the team a good workout. Our boys took an early lead in the first  quarter with Harry Parsonage (12Ta) scoring a strong goal in centre forward. However, in the second quarter, the Knox players constantly tested James Barnes Ferguson (11Ke) in centre back – where he proved too strong for the Knox offence – and was able to score. In the second half with a counterattack goal for Knox, and a counter attack goal for Trinity by Jonah De Groot (11Ar), the score was 2-1 in Trinity’s favour. In the third quarter the boys’ fatigue started to set in and Knox scored two goals from well co-ordinated counter attacks. We did hit back with one goal by Sebastian Green (11Ta) making it 3-3 going into the final quarter. At the start of the final quarter the Knox boys came out firing, scoring an early goal giving them the lead 4-3, but our players counter-attacked with goals from Jonah De Groot (11Ar), Sebastian Green (11Ta) and Hugo Reed (12Ho), making the final scoreline 6-4. The 3rds should be proud of their efforts and use this tough game as confidence for future games.

Oscar Jones | Coach

 

4TH VII | WIN 9-6

The 4th VII had a tough start against The Scots College team last Saturday. We managed to maintain a slight lead over our opposition throughout the whole game. Our defence was working particularly well. However, players scanning the state of play and location of the opposition players is a key element in the game so as to not to let the opponent out of our sight. With the opposition in disarray in the last quarter of the match, these are the moments the team must keep their play and teamwork under control to avoid being disqualified for the rest of the scrimmage. Best wishes to the team for next week’s round.

Gergely Malyusz | Coach

 

16A | WON 14-5

 

The tradition of Knox Grammar School being a strong Water Polo school always provides Trinity with strong and close games. This was no different on Saturday and the 16As knew they needed to be focused on defence and to provide a high level of aggression with this defence. For the first half of the game, Trinity played very well with offensive and defensive strategies, leading the game 6-3. The third quarter was dominated by Trinity with six goals to one. Overall, the team played very well and dominated the game, hence the strong final score in favour of Trinity. Best players of the match included Lachlan Rathbone (10Ke) with  six goals and Jaidan Sivapirabu (9Hi).

Florin Bonca | Coach

 

16B | WON 6-5

The Trinity 16Bs had a thrilling game against Knox Grammar School with the Trinity team winning a very tight match, 6-5. Not only was this effort commendable to beat Knox, but they did it with no substitutions, meaning every player had to play the whole game and had no time to rest during play. The game was won through strong discipline and constant pressing defence which allowed us to create strong counter attacking opportunities. Special mention must go to Jacob Michail (10Hi) for not only scoring two goals, but being dominant in centre back, gathering multiple steals. In attack Jack Zhang (10St) played a strong role as centre forward also scoring two goals. Tom Huber (10We) also had a great game on both attacking and defensive ends scoring two goals as well. A strong effort in goals helped minimise the chances Knox had with Tom Maloney (9Du) saving multiple shots and a penalty. Benjamin Hanna (10Hi), Enrico  Ciarroni (10WJ) and Daniel Vilate-Gallagher (9Ke) all also deserve special mention for their strong press generating many steals and allowing the other boys to get their goals while limiting the Knox attack. The boys should be proud of their effort and take their confidence through to other games.

Oscar Jones | Coach

 

15A | LOSS 0-22

Again Trinity was totally outclassed by a very strong Knox Grammar School team, going down 22-0. It was always going to be a difficult game for Trinity with three of the team’s main players absent, leaving the team with only one reserve. All Trinity players certainly tried hard but found it difficult to match the speed, skill and game awareness of the Knox players. Trinity did make it difficult for themselves by passing the ball far too often to the opposition, allowing them to swim away and score uncontested goals. The Trinity goalkeeper, Charlie Tuelon (9Ar), tried hard to limit the score making a number of fine saves, including a penalty save, but with far too many one or two on none shots from Knox, it was indeed a difficult task.

Ray Swinnerton | Coach

 

15B | LOSS 3-11

This week the 15Bs played an away game at Knox Grammar School and the team had some difficulty with the different environment. In the first quarter Trinity let in four goals and scored none themselves. However, after the first quarter they settled into more consistent attacking and defensive play. This consistency gave Peter Galanos (8St) several attempts at goal eventually resulting in him scoring three times in the game. Ultimately, the team prevented all goals in the last quarter and won that period of the game. The team will continue to build upon their game sense and communication to achieve even better results.

Nina Seeto | Coach

 

14A | WON 10-4

Last Saturday the 14As had a tough match against Knox Grammar School. The team started very well, concentrating on all the offensive and defensive phases and counterattack actions. The success of the defensive play was evident by the end of the match with Knox only scoring four goals. This is pleasing given the importance of the team recognising the need for defensive actions and the high level of determination being maintained throughout the whole game. Part of the success of the team to date is their time in the pool during matches – this adds to their growing experience of refining their Water Polo skills. The most outstanding players in this game were Oliver Varone (8He) with four goals, Kavin Sivapirabu (8Hi) and Christian Di Giandomenico (8He) with three goals respectively.

Florin Bonca | Coach

 

14B | WON 16-3

It was great to see how engaged the boys started the game with Trinity taking on Knox Grammar School. The enthusiastic players were keen not to be sitting on the pool edge , but rather be in the water and enjoying match time. Just like Knox, we nearly had a full team sitting on the bench to provide backup for team mates. Throughout the game, the 14Bs improved the quality of shots immensely, although we have to work on this skill continuously throughout the season. It is always a pleasure to see the team improve, play well, and score goals. This shows the players are working as a team and listening to the advice provided so they can develop their Water Polo skills.

Gergely Malyusz | Coach