It has been far from the ideal preparation for the Ballarat Clarendon College boys’ firsts crew, which provide an element of mystery heading into the Head of the Lake regatta.
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College rowing director Ross Henderson said Fraser Davies and Joe Tyndall had been battling injury in recent times, which has cost the crew some all-important competitive racing.
“This term, there has been no competitive races because the two boys back from last year’s crew have been nursing injuries,” Henderson said.
“Fresh form is good form. We are a complete unknown.”
Henderson said the crew, which also includes William Harris, Lachlan Matheson and Belle Crumpler, had been hampered due to the injury issues, but believed the team would be right for the big day on Sunday, February 25.
“It’s far from the ideal preparation, but you make do with the cards you are dealt with and the boys have done a good job with that. They haven’t missed a beat in what they can do,” he said.
Like most, Henderson believes St Patrick’s College has the best form of the school crews and will be hard to beat in the 2000m event.
“We just want to have a good race from where we’ve come from,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ballarat Clarendon College’s top girls crew has had an uninterrupted campaign.
Henderson said the quintet of Eddi Eppingstall, Phoebe Cameron, Aftyn Whitfield, Jelena Black and Emily Richardson were starting to find some good form.
“They’re a youngish crew, but with the more racing they are getting, they’re starting to understand what racing is about, how to approach it and the intensity needed,” he said.
“They’re starting to find some speed.”
Henderson felt Loreto College had a narrow edge over Ballarat Grammar on form leading into the Head of the Lake regatta.
“We never go into the race aiming to win the race. We go into the race aiming to row our best row possible and if that’s good enough to win it, then so be it,” he said.
Ballarat Clarendon College is set to be represented by 28 crews on Lake Wendouree next weekend.
“I think what people will see is consistency across our program in the way we row and the way we approach it,” Henderson said.
“There’s lot of excitement around the school, especially with the year nines.”
See what the crews had to say here.
