By Marcus Uhe
Every September has a grand final hard luck story and this year the unwanted role in Narre Warren’s redemption run has fallen on the shoulders of one of its co-captains in Trent Papworth.
A recurrence of his nagging calf injury on Saturday in the second Outer East Football Netball Premier Division semi final against Woori Yallock has put a line through his availability for the grand final in two weeks’ time.
The key defender and fullback in last season’s Premier Division Team of the Year fought a battle with his lower leg muscle for much of 2024, managing just nine games in his first season as co-captain, and was again forced from the field before half time on Saturday in what will be his final game of the year.
He hobbled and hopped to the bench in immense pain and quickly had an ice pack strapped to his leg, signifying the end of his afternoon, and after the game it was announced by senior coach Steven Kidd that his season was over.
At the time, he had the key match up with the competition’s leading goal kicker in Taylor Gibson, who was goalless at that point in the contest, leaving his fellow captain Joel Zietsman to assume responsibility instead.
It means the Magpies will enter grand final day without one of its captains and without its second-leading goal kicker in Sam Toner, who broke his wrist last month playing for the Dandenong Stingrays in the Coates Talent League.
Kidd said that Papworth’s vacancy will leave “a big hole to fill”.
“It’s not just what he does on the field, it’s his leadership as well, which is huge for us,” Kidd said.
“We had to flick a few things around (after his injury) – Declan Brown went to the back line, I thought Hayden Johnson stepped up, Zietsman stepped up, Tom Russell played a good game.
“I really feel for him and he has been huge, especially in that little period when we lost all those players in November/December, he got around it and said ‘no, we’ll be right’.
“He was really the first choice as captain and he and ‘Zita’ (Zietsman) have been huge.”
No matter the grand final opponent, in Wandin or Woori Yallock, his absence will be keenly felt, given the plethora of scoring options in both sides.
Both teams averages 95 points per game during the home and away season and while the Tigers have Gibson to contain, Wandin boasts the likes of Patrick Hodgett, Clint Johnson and Aaron Mullett in a dynamic forward 50.
Fellow defender Travis Callahan shapes as a likely replacement for Papworth, having played 11 games at senior level in 2024, with Johnson or Russell likely to play a taller senior role in the backline given their height.
