By Grant Hitzman
Wilston Grange’s playing coach, Matt Trewhella, is the Round 3 Syd Guildford Trophy nominee, after guiding the Gorillas to a gutsy 22-point win in last Friday’s ANZAC Day eve clash with Sandgate.
On a dewy night at Lemke Road, both clubs went into the game 1-1 for the season, with the ANZAC Cup and four vital competition points up for grabs.
Trewhella played an inspired role in defence that held the Hawks to just 55-points and earned him the inaugural Will Forbes/Graham Jewell Medal as best on ground.
The modest utility praised the efforts of his teammates, impressed with how the Gorillas took control of a close late game situation.
“I thought we did well to hold them off and slow the ball down a bit and take that run away from them,” Trewhella said after the game.
A former premiership player with South Barwon and Mansfield, the man nicknamed “Trow” joined Wilston Grange in 2012, where he played senior representative football and coached the U18 Division 1 side to finals.
Elevated to the senior position in 2013 after the departure of David Martin, Trewhella is now in his second season as the Gorilla’s playing coach, a role which he is relishing.
Wilston Grange have been an extremely consistent Division 1 side in recent years, appearing in three consecutive Elimination Finals, falling perilously short in 2011 and 2013.
With Trewhella gaining some momentum as a second-year coach, improving as a player and building relationships with a talented list, “Trow” could be the spark the Gorillas need to take their game to the next level and knock on the door of a QAFL flag.
