OLD TRINITY GRAMMARIANS
Current Affiliation: Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) since 1954
Home Ground: Daley Oval, Marles Playing Fields, Trinity Grammar School, Bulleen
Formed: 1923
Colours: Green and gold
Senior VAFA Premierships: B Section - 1974, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1999 (5 total); D Section - 1970, 1985 (2 total)
Senior Competition Best and Fairest Awards: J.N. Woodrow Medal (A Section) - C.Hansen 1976; A.Anderson 1993; A.Ramsden 2005 (3 total); G.T. Moore Medal (B Section) - A.Allibon 1991; D.Rogers 1992; A.Ramsden 1999; B.Iezzi 2009 (4 total); L.S. Zachariah Medal (C Section) - P.Cohen 1971 (1 total); L.S. Pepper Medal (D Section) - S.Cowley 1985 (1 total)
| MINI-BIOGRAPHIES: | Chris Hansen |
Trinity Grammar School, Kew was founded in 1902, and opened to students - all boys - the following year. The Old Grammarians Association, which eventually gave rise to the football club, was established in 1909.
An Old Trinity team was a member of the VAFA, and its precursor competition, the Metropolitan Amateur Football League, from 1923 to 1934, joining forces with Old Haileybury for the last seven of those seasons. The side did not win any premierships during its first incarnation, but did finish runner-up to Murrumbeena in B Section in 1924.
Twenty years after folding, Old Trinity re-emerged and was admitted to E Section of the VAFA. Now officially known as Old Trinity Grammarians, the side reached the finals in its second season, ultimately finishing third. However, life after that proved to be extremely difficult for more than a decade, and it was not until 1968 that the side finally achieved promotion to D Grade thanks to a 4 point grand final loss to AMP Society. This achievement was a prelude to some sustained success which saw the side clamber from the relative obscurity of D Section to the top echelon of the VAFA in just half a dozen seasons. Two of the three promotions attained during that time were doubly satisfying in that they were supplemented by premierships. In 1970, Old Trinity trounced Fairfield by 55 points in the D Grade grand final, and four years later held of a determined Monash Blues by 10 points in B Section. As has proved the case ever since, however, A Section proved too tough a nut to crack. Indeed, Old Trinity has only once contested an A Grade finals series. That was in 2004, when it reached the preliminary final, only to succumb by 7 goals to St Bernard's.
B Section has been another matter entirely, however, and Old Trinity's tally of five premierships at that level has only been exceeded by Old Melburnians. The fact that the last four of the side's B Grade flags were all achieved in the 1990s gives credence to the notion, which recent performances in A Section have reinforced, that Old Trinity is a club whose time is soon to come. Since achieving promotion in 1999 after a 13.9 (87) to 7.12 (54) grand final victory over Melbourne High School Old Boys, the side has tended to look quite comfortable in A Grade without seriously threatening to win the flag. In 2006, its tally of 8 wins was never going to challenge for finals participation, but was still good enough to avoid relegation to B Section with some comfort. Things were much more nerve-wracking twelve months later, however, as Old Trinity finished 8th, and only managed to escape the relegation trap door on percentage after finishing with an identical 6-12 win/loss record to 9th placed St Bernard's.
Where now?
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