Prince Alfred defeats St Peter’s in annual the intercol carnival between Adelaide college rivals
PRINCE Alfred College has responded to its loss in the SA schools knockout final by defeating arch-rival St Peter’s in the traditional intercollegiate football match.
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PRINCE Alfred coach Marty McKinnon says he is proud of the way his group responded to losing the SA school knockout football final with a resounding intercollegiate win.
The Reds rounded out an outstanding season on Saturday by thrashing arch-rival St Peter’s 19.12 (126) to 7.7 (49) at home.
It followed Princes’ 25-point loss to Henley High School last week in a fiercely contested state knockout final.
McKinnon said he was immensely proud of his side.
“To put that game behind us and come out and perform strongly was really great,” McKinnon said.
“After working hard Tuesday night but not reaching what we wanted, it was a big win and an excellent way to finish a good season.
“These intercol games can be a real pressure cooker … but we moved the ball really and didn’t give them time out there.”
Reds captain Tom Sparrow capped a strong year by taking home the intercollegiate MVP for a brilliant midfield performance.
Jack Trenorden and Jack Heard were also among PAC’s best.
McKinnon had high praise for Sparrow.
“He has been outstanding all year and a real leader,” he said.
“He was fantastic for us on Tuesday (last week) and backed it up with another massive performance against Saints.
“The way he’s conducted himself all year has been brilliant and hopefully we’ll see him get a crack at the draft in a few month’s time.”
McKinnon said last week’s loss to Henley, which boasted two potential top-five draft picks in Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine, was disappointing.
“We certainly had our chances but weren’t able to hit the scoreboard,” he said.
“Our failure to take our opportunities was what probably really hurt us.
“They (Henley) weren’t just about a couple of stars.
“They have really good depth across the whole side and play a really good brand of footy.”
McKinnon said the Reds’ 11-1 season, during which they also won their second successive Messenger Shield title, was an undoubted success.
St Peter’s coach Darren Trevena said his side was “always going to be up against it” given PAC’s quality.
“We started well and I thought it was quite even in that first quarter,” Trevena said.
“It was a tough contest early but the second quarter they got a bit more run and started to get on top of us.
“It could have really blown out towards the end but the boys were able to regroup.”
Will Cameron, Hamish Gitsham, Charlie Allen and ruckmen Angus Dawson and Sam Potter were best for Saints.
Trevena said the season had been positive.
“We beat Sacred Heart this year for the first time in a long time and also had a three-point loss out at Rostrevor, who had four state under-18 guys playing,” he said.
“So there was a lot of good moments.
“We probably just weren’t consistent enough across the whole year.
“There was a number of reasons – guys going in and out for state commitments, we had glandular fever go through at one point – but these are all things that can happen to all footy teams.”
