The Sainter
It was a thrilling weekend for the Trentham Saints with two of its four Grand Final teams playing in drawn games that were decided in extra time. It was heartbreak for the Reserves footballers and the large contingent of Saints fans while on the netball court it was ecstasy for the girls in A Grade.
U/17.5s
The U/17.5s boys started the day off well, keeping their undefeated season intact, with a hard-fought victory over Royal Park. The young Saints led from start to finish but were made to earn it, with ruckman Zac Kupsch awarded best afield, with Ben Cass and Joel Brown among the best and Riley Matricardi with three goals also playing well.
Reserves
The Reserves were up against an undefeated Carisbrook but were full of confidence with wins in all finals in the lead up to the big one. Winning the toss and kicking with the wind it was always going to be about who could make the most of their opportunities at the scoring end. The Saints began nervously with the ball in Carisbrook’s forward line for the first five minutes before settling into the match well and dominating the rest of the quarter, leading by three goals at the first break. Carisbrook bounced back in the second term, kicking four goals in 10 minutes to take the lead before the Trentham boys rallied to kick the next two and go in at half time seven points up. The Saints knew that a decent lead at three-quarter time would be crucial and dominated possession and time in their forward half but missed many shots on goal, kicking one goal eight behinds to two points for the term to head into the last quarter 19 points up. In a desperate last quarter both sides threw themselves at the contest in a bid for victory, the Saints keen to keep the ball on the boundary and hold off their opponents. With Trentham leading by six points, a late goal to the Brookers saw the match end in a draw and go to extra time. The tight tussle continued with two more five-minute quarters but when the final siren sounded the Saints had been pipped by two points and were left to rue their missed chances. Best for the Saints were James Gray, Josh Eastley, Matt Smith and Paul Cass.
Netball
In B Grade netball the Saints had come from fourth to make the final against the undefeated Natte Bealiba. Trentham started brilliantly and was on top early to lead at the first break by a goal. The Saints kept it going for the first half of the second quarter, getting out to a five-goal lead before their opponents mounted a comeback, to snatch a one goal lead at half-time. From then on Natte Bealiba was able to keep outscoring the Saints, drawing away to win 33 to 24. Best for the Saints were Ellen Barnard, Brooke Healy and Elly Rose.
It was another thriller in the A Grade final. Up against the undefeated Trentham, Carisbrook threw everything at the Saints and the immense in your face pressure, had them rattled. Carisbrook led by three goals at the first break, were five up at half-time and extended that lead to six goals at three-quarter time. Every time the Saints tried to lift Carisbrook’s intensity was too much and the Saints supporters were looking worried. In a monumental last quarter, the Saints went for everything while Carisbrook looked to protect their lead. The frenetic defence of Peggy De Spirt and Kristie Parks was now causing turnovers, Carisbrook was panicking and young goalers Hayley Bourke and Sharna Ford stepped up and made every shot count, the Saints had turned the game on its head and scrambled a draw. It was now to be decided with two seven minute halves. With the Trentham crowd roaring, the effort by Carisbrook to dominate for much of the game had taken its toll and they were now deflated as Trentham stormed home to win by 10 goals much to the massive crowd’s delight.
