Image Credit: Rowing Australia
The U21 Men’s Eights make their Australian Rowing Championships debut this year, providing younger rowers another opportunity to row in their age group. It’s also a chance for interstate youth eights to train and race before the big dance on the Sunday. So who’s coming out on top?
Adelaide University
It’s not quite a full South Australian crew, but it’s pretty close to it. South Australian representatives Max Henry, James Williams, George Griffith, Oliver Evans-Wood, Henry Belcher, Finn Redman, Jasper Boyce and Sophia Tayeb join Victorian rep Alexander Williams in a strong club boat. Boyce, Belcher, Alexander Williams and Tayeb were all part of the winning Adelaide Uni crew at the South Australian Rowing Championships, while Henry, Griffith, Evans-Wood and James Williams placed third.
Fremantle Composite
One of two entries from over west, this Fremantle/Swan River/West Australian composite will aim to show they should have been selected in the Western Australian youth eight. It will be interesting to see how Liam Jaeger, Blair Parnell, Remy Payne, William Mayne, Luke Porteous, Thomas Byass, Quinton Marketos, Liam Davis and Harrison Ranger fare down at Lake Barrington.
Melbourne University
Melbourne Uni’s U21 eights haven’t had the best run of things this season. Equipment failures spoiled their runs at the NSW Championships and the Nagambie Regatta in February before returning with a narrow loss to Scotch College at the Victorian Championships. This crew of Harvey Stewart, Cory Johnson, Matthew English, Amos Kirk, Charlie White, Ted O’Malley, Beppe Daly, Max Boykett and Scarlett Pringle is changed from those regattas, although with Kirk in the Victorian youth eight and Daly and O’Malley reserves, they’ll be hard to beat.
Mercantile
The second of the Victorian club crews in this event will also be hard to beat. Archie Critchell, Sam Chin, Joe Lee-Conway, Ethan Brown, Edward Burgess, Alessandro Marro, James Simpson, Matisse Kerr and Zane Takla finished just behind the Melbourne University crew at the Victorian Championships; given the changes in the MU crew, Mercs will feel they can come out on top in the battle of the two big Victorian clubs.
Sydney
There was an electric battle between Sydney Rowing Club and UTS at February’s NSW Championships and again at March’s Sydney Rowing Club Regatta – and there’s no reason to expect any different here. James Harlow, Ambrose Hennessy, Jackson Gursoy, Matias Moloney, Tomas Moloney, Maxim Moloney, Ben Muffet, Fraser Burdett and Sebastien Kladnig will want to add national gold to their NSW victory from February. With the three Moloneys and Gursoy making up half the New South Wales youth eight, you’d be hard-pressed to tip against them.
Sydney University Composite
This Sydney University and Newcastle University composite has had some strong results this season, including bronze at the NSW Championships. Finlay Mitchell, Jack Cullen, Alfred McLean, Angus Mitchell, Trephon Stambolie, Gus Ciesiolka, Campbell Wickham, William Rogers and Jonathan Yates haven’t gotten past the Sydney and UTS crews yet, though, giving them an immediate target if they’re to make it to the podium in Tasmania. Both Rogers and Ciesiolka bring the added benefit of NSW selection in the men’s youth eight.
University of Queensland Composite
The Sydney University/University of Queensland composite is tough to pick, given they haven’t raced as a crew before. UQ’s Conrad Scott, Bayley Clarke and Joe Thynne join Sydney University’s Sebastian Atterton, William Fuller, Caden Miller-Wright, Jeffrey Warren, Ethan Henderson and Chloe Jureta in one of the dark horses for this event. Clarke and Thynne are part of Queensland’s youth men’s eight, while Clarke was part of the winning UQ crew in the men’s eights at the Queensland Championships in January.
UTS Haberfield
You’ll want the popcorn handy if Sydney and UTS are racing side-by-side in the final. Edward Kelly, Kalen Routley, Willian Pender, Will Clubb, Lawson Banks, Joe Lynch, Jack Power, Luka Milozzi and Ryder Taylor finished second to Sydney in this event at the NSW Championships before Routley, Banks, and Power were part of an eight that was controversially excluded at the Riverview Gold Cup Regatta. However, this crew has the most recent win, pipping Sydney and St Ignatius by under a second to take out the Sydney Rowing Club Regatta. Power and Taylor will join several Sydney rowers in the NSW youth eight.
West Australian Rowing Club Composite
They’ll race in this event as a Fremantle/Swan River/West Australian Rowing Club composite, but this the Western Australian men’s youth eight. Oscar Lourie, Austin Vincent, Harry Salfinger, Jack Hansen-Knarhoi, Joshua Hantke, Harper Davies, James Young, Lachlan Brown, and Helena Hurworth will pull on the black swans of WA on Sunday; they’ll have at least two races to get warmed up. Keep an eye out on this crew as if anyone will get between Sydney and UTS, it’s these guys.
Prediction
Some strong crews, a couple of intense intrastate rivalries, and an interstate crew to boot. A few crews stand out, though, and we’re going with the full interstate West Australian Rowing Club Composite to finish ahead of UTS in second and Sydney in third.
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