Water Polo News
ROUND 1 | SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2022
Last Saturday, Trinity faced St Joseph’s College in the first round of Water Polo in the Combined Schools Competition. Overall, it was a successful day for Trinity with many positive results including eight victories from eight matches against St Joseph’s College. St Joseph’s College are a formidable opponent and recently were runners up in GPS Competition in Term 1 behind Newington College. This weekend we are presented with a huge challenge against Newington College. The matches will undoubtedly be competitive and I urge all players to play to the best of their ability and continue displaying outstanding sportsmanship at all times. Good luck!
| Team | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 1STS | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 17 – 8 |
| 2NDS | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 9 – 5 |
| 3RDS | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 13 – 4 |
| 4THS | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 12 – 3 |
| 16A | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 22 – 1 |
| 16B | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 13 – 6 |
| 15A | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 7 – 6 |
| 15B | St. Augustine’s | LOSS | 3 – 19 |
| 14A | St. Joseph’s | WIN | 24 – 1 |
| 14B | St. Augustine’s | DRAW | 5 – 5 |
1ST VII QUAD PRESENTATION
The students listed below have been named in the 1sts VII for round 2 this weekend against Newington College. A special mention to our Trinity Water Polo leadership team of Lucas Young (12We) – Captain of 1sts Water Polo and Harper Stewart (12St) – Captain of water polo. Lucas Young is to be commended on his incredible achievement of being selected in the 1sts VII for his 5th straight season. Lucas’ experience will be invaluable as he leads the Trinity 1st VII this season as they look to win the Combined Schools Competition for the first time since 2006. Together with the Patron of Water Polo – Mr Bradley Barr, the 1st VII coach – Mr Florin Bonca, the 1st VII consultant – Mr Hamill and the whole Water Polo community we wish Harper, Lucas and the 1st VII team the best of luck for the season.
1st VII Team for Round 2 Vs. Newington College
Marcus Cupac (10He) – Debutant
Sam Maakrun (10Fo) – Debutant
Orlando Mina (10St) – Debutant
Max Burke-Moore (11Ar) – Debutant
Koliya Van Althuis (12La)
Jacob Johnstone (12Sc)
Harrison Ryan (12Ta)
Ashwin Sivapirabu (12Hi)
Lucas Blythe (12La)
Lucas Young (12We) – Captain of 1sts VII
Harper Stewart (12St) – Captain of Water Polo
Seamus Rodden | Director of Water Polo
1ST VII | WON 17-8
The Firsts were enthusiastic to play against St. Joseph’s College in Round 1 of the combined Water Polo season and came away with a convincing win of goals 17 to 8. Of note, the team was supported by a late sub-in, Marcus Cupas (10He) who played very well with little mistakes and was solid in defence. Also making his debut in the Firsts was our goalkeeper, Sam Maakrun (10Fo). It was also great to see Max Burke Moore (11Ar) play well too. At the start of the match, our team began strongly and the St. Joseph’s team struggled to counter our play, and throughout the first half of the match we played a balanced game in defence and attack. Throughout the game we managed to steal many balls and reaped the benefits with many counter-attacking goals. The Firsts flagged somewhat in the third quarter, by relaxing too much and this carried over into the last quarter, where St. Joseph’s were the strong team. Overall, though, we had a positive attitude throughout the whole game and this is pleasing to note.
Florin Bonca | Coach
Round one of the new look combined 2023 AAGPS/CAS Water Polo competition saw our First VII team play St Joseph’s College. The game provided a solid start for our team, winning 17 – 8. St Joseph’s played a strong physical game and won the third quarter. There is plenty of opportunity for improvement as combinations develop and our team becomes more cohesive both offensively and in defence. However, in defence we were able to transition from a strong press defence into a zone quite well with our team also being able to get some solid blocks in the game. We had a well-structured attack for the majority of the game with some good outside shots and counter attack goals. The team will need to deliver a stronger defensive effort next week against the always formidable Newington College. It should be one of the best games of the season so if supporters have free time, the team would appreciate support this coming weekend.
Harper Stewart | Captain of Water Polo
2ND VII | WON 9-5
In the first game of the season Trinity finished relatively comfortable winners over a competitive St Joseph’s College team. In the first quarter the teams appeared evenly matched with St. Joseph’s scoring first and Trinity fighting back, leveling the scores at two all. From that point on Trinity took control of the match, and even with a little lax defence late in the game, we allowed St. Joseph’s two soft goals. Overall, though we ran out winners 9 – 5. Best for Trinity were Finn Ramanuskas (12Ke) with five goals and Sam Foung (12Sc) who played strongly at centre back, and in spite of coping a few elbows, played almost the entire game unchanged and was able to nullify much of the St. Joseph’s attack. A welcome back to Water Polo after a few seasons’ absence to Zachariah Nguyen (12Ta) and Cooper Twine (12Mu), both of whom played strongly, but were a little out of practice and will definitely improve with more game time. Other goal scorers included: Euan Potter (11Fo), Bailey Martin (11We), Zachariah Nguyen (12Ta) and Sam Foung (12Sc).
Ray Swinnerton | Coach
3RD VII | WON 13-4
On Saturday, the 3rd VII faced St. Joseph’s College in a first game season fixture that saw the team triumph 13-4. Strong offensive performances from Xavier Alfonso (11We), Luka Cukeric (12La), and Jonah De Groot (11Ar) each saw net individual hat-tricks, feats made possible by the impressive teamwork displayed by the entire team. Both Evan Tong (12Fo) and Callum Robinson (11WJ) both displayed strong performances in goals, ensuring that their team was able to get the stops required and push counter-attacks to ensure victory was clinched. The boys are all to be congratulated on their performance.
Chris Artemi | Coach
4TH VII | WON 12-3
As an additional team to the competition this year and one with little experience in playing together, the Fourths managed to concentrate really well against St. Joseph’s College after a slow start to the game. The first goal of St. Joseph’s helped to rouse our team’s attention in lifting the standards and for us to organise our lines. The team needs to work on set-up strategies around the opponent’s goal and concentrate more effectively on finding the best positions for the individual players throughout the game. Pleasingly though, there were major improvements with individual players during the match and the result is definitely very promising for the future as the team learns to work together.
Gergely Malyusz | Coach
16A | WON 22-1
The 16As performed very well last Saturday against St. Joseph’s College. Being the first game of the day, the team were enthusiastic and keen to perform well in the opening game of the season. Overall, against St Joseph College, the team played very well in attack and defence, being quite aggressive with stealing many balls, and coming out very quickly with counterattacks. Taj Young (9We), Lachlan Rathbone (10Ke) and Jaidan Sivapirabu (9Hi) were the standout players of the match. On our part, all the players have a very good attitude to perform well and win, and the encouragement is to continue the motivation to improve. Well done to the team as a whole!
Florin Bonca | Coach
16B | WON 13-6
The 16Bs team had a very strong win last Saturday against St. Joseph’s College. The final score was 13-6, so well done, to the team on this victory. The team played some great aggressive defence throughout the game which allowed them to build up their attack. Key mentions to Jacob Michail (9Hi) for great defence in the centre-back position which stopped some of the opponent’s key attacking players; Gabe Stavropoulos (9WH) for executing some key goals; and Tom Maloney (8Du) for some great saves in the second half in goals.
Tristan Glanznig | Coach
15A | WON 7-6
The 15As were against St. Joseph’s College last Saturday and it was a very tight match with little separation between the two teams. In the first quarter St Joseph’s College looked the better of the two teams, but Trinity still managed to fight back and level the scores at two all. In the second period, St. Joseph’s College nudged ahead to lead 3-2 at half time. Trinity played strongly in the third period to level the scores four all. With less than a minute remaining, the game appeared to be heading for a draw with the scores locked at 6 all, when an opposition player was excluded and Trinity was able to score the final goal, thus running out winners 7 to 6. Best for Trinity by a long way was Charlie Tuelon (9Ar) who, as goalie, kept the team in the game with numerous great saves and great passes to initiate the attack. The goal scorers for Trinity were Dylan Bell (9Hi) with 3 goals, Ryan Hoang (9Ta) with 2 and Carlo Furlan (9Du) and Will Jenkins (9Hi) with one goal each.
Ray Swinnerton | Coach
15B | LOSS 3-19
On Saturday the 15B team played against St. Augustine’s College at Trinity Pool 2. The Trinity team experienced some difficulty maintaining possession in attack with many of the goals scored against us happening off steals or poor passes. Christian Izzillo (8Mu) is to be commended for his commitment to defence, sprinting back each time and even marking multiple players. Calvin Doyle (8Ho) is commended for his efforts in attack, he made several breaks and managed to score two goals. In the second quarter Peter Galanos (8St) managed to score despite strong defence from the opposition. Also to be commended is Jasper Longden (8Ke) who blocked many goals and improved his play throughout the match.
Nina Seeto | Coach
14A | WON 24-1
The 14As started well against St. Joseph’s College, with very good defensive and offensive concentration. They built their attacking game strategies very well with quick counterattacks and with very good ball passes which allowed them control the ball from a very high position which, in turn, allowed them to shoot or pass again beyween players. Another area of great play included the opportunity to steal many balls from the opposition, which contributed to the opportunity of scoring many easy goals, hence the final tally of over twenty goals scored by the end of the game. The best players of this match included Christian Di Giandomenico (8He) and Oliver Varone (8He). A resounding win to the team and a great result for the first game of the season.
Florin Bonca | Coach
14B | DRAW 5-5
The 14Bs took on St. Augustine’s College last Saturday and by the final whistle, we ended with a result of a draw, 5-5. Although we had some new players who have been playing Water Polo for a few weeks and had their first game today, it was uplifting to see how well, and with great will they fought throughout the match. We led the match several times with plenty of well-set-up attacks but we did struggle to either shoot accurately when aiming for goals. This is a good indication of what the team needs to work on during training sessions. There was tremendous support and spirit in the pool among the boys, which is an inspiring atmosphere for developing a united team.
Gergely Malyusz | Coach
