Sport
10 July, 2026
MCDFNL Round 13 Football Preview Trentham v Navarre
In a rematch of last season’s gripping preliminary final, reigning premiers Trentham look to preserve their top four place by vanquishing a talented Navarre squad.
Despite losing by 106 points in their round 11 meeting with the Saints, Brady Tillig, Jack Mentha and Riley Bibby put the Grasshoppers 10 points ahead at quarter time of that aforementioned finals clash.
James Regan, Cooper Webber-Mirkin and Joel Cowan responded for the Saints, who looked poised to punch their Grand Final ticket after booting five unanswered goals in the second term.
Still trailing by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, Aaron Slorach, Wil Clough and Oliver Notting brought Navarre within a kick before AFL Hall of Famer Brent Harvey delivered the dagger for the Saints, who the following week went on to break their 31-year premiership drought.
Now tasked with defending their newly won crown, Trentham has played some excellent football in 2026, with Cowan, Joel Dovaston, Jake Keogh and Harrison Knight all having excellent seasons. However, defeats to Carisbrook, Harcourt and Talbot have placed the Saints in a congested race for the top four, sitting in third and level on points with the fourth-placed Hawks and Newstead in fifth.
Currently trailing that gifted cohort by four points, a victory for Navarre would put them right back into the mix for the double chance.
With the Grasshoppers possessing constant goal threats Bibby, Sam Rickard and Slorach and Trentham’s Keogh, Regan and Dovaston already kicking a combined 112 goals this season, Saturday’s encounter has all the ingredients for a high-scoring affair.