The Second Eights at the AAGPS Head of the River may not have the prestige of the first eights but don’t expect the battle for the LC Robson Memorial Trophy to be any less competitive. While there’s a clear favourite at the top, there’s plenty to play for with the wide-open minor placings.
Kings
Kings 2024 race win was their first since 2006, and they’ll be out to make sure it’s not another 18 years before they lift the trophy again. The crew of Moore, Blatchford, Parsons, Platis, Yates, Duffy, Bazina, Millward and Graham have had mixed results throughout the season. They followed a strong third at the PLC/Kings Regatta in late February with a sixth at the Sydney Rowing Club Regatta just a week later. Combine that with seventh in their semifinal at the NSW Championships and back-to-back wins might be difficult for the boys in blue.
Newington
It’s been a long drought for the black and whites of Newington, too, last lifting the LC Robson back in 2011. The challenge is there for Downing, White, Toogood, Whittaker, McDonald, Trethewey, Fuller, Adams and Baker, although recent results suggest a difficult challenge. They didn’t make it out of their heat at the NSW Championships and finished sixth at the PLC/Kings Regatta before a fourth at the Sydney Rowing Club Regatta.
Scots College
The Scots College only have the one second eights victory – and that was ten years ago. Say it quietly, but the crew of Lowe, Merrion, Milling, Rossi, Lampson, Hughes, Reid, Wells and Cameron might be in with a shot of matching that achievement. While their NSW Championships result wasn’t great – finishing behind St Ignatius, Kings and Newington – they’ve improved with every row since then. Fourth at the PLC/Kings Regatta became third at the Sydney Rowing Club Regatta, then second on the Nepean in early March. Will they take the next step this weekend?
Shore School
The path to the LC Robson Memorial Trophy runs through Shore. They’ve won the trophy 24 times, nearly three times as many as the next best. They’ll be hard to beat here, with Nam, Scammell, Marshall, Glancy, Stanberg, Welch, Roxburgh, Halstead and Chapman undefeated in three races this season. Expect to see the Shore School up at the pointy end with a relative drought of three years since their last win.
St Ignatius’ College
Last year’s runners-up had an interesting tune-up for this year’s race, travelling to Canberra, where they finished second in the men’s eights behind their first crew. It continued a strong season for Riverview, making the semifinals at the NSW Championships and finishing second at the Kings/PLC and Sydney Rowing Club regattas. The question for Haire, Erwin, Ward, Forlico, Van Rijswijk, O’Brien, Walker, McClintock and McNulty will be whether they can get past the Shore School.
St Joseph’s College
Plenty needs to go right if it’s to be the cerise and blue of Joeys holding the trophy aloft on Saturday for the first time since 2013. The crew of Cossins, Foster, Walsh, Frederikson, Harrs, Reeves, Phelps, Rudd and Tayar have consistently finished in the middle of the field this season and will need to lift if they’re to make it onto the podium. They’re not missing out by much each time, though, so they are in with a chance of that cheeky medal.
Sydney Boys High
It’s fair to say that Sydney Boys High won’t be the favourites this weekend, as the government-run school can’t match the resources of the other privately-run schools. That won’t bother Dang, Mermelas, Chan, Varthakavi, Chen, Guo, Chow, Zhang and Denigan, though, as they look to close the gap on the rest of the field.
Sydney Grammar School
Crews from Sydney Grammar School won the second eights twice in the first three years of competition, then again in 1978. It’s difficult to know how Alton, Li, Snow, Song, Corte, Perumal, McBurney, Macneall Chapman and Abdel Sayed will go this weekend, with just the one ‘did not start’ for the season.
Our prediction
Given their undefeated run in the second eights, it’s difficult to look past the Shore School lifting the LC Robson Memorial Trophy for a 25th time. They’ll be challenged by St Ignatius, with Scots College third.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
