Australian Football

A robust, vigorous half back flanker, Trent Ormond-Allen was drafted by Melbourne in 1993 from Port Adelaide, where he had yet to play a senior game. He struggled to break into the Demons line-up and his cause was not helped by a broken ankle, sustained in his first season. After not managing a senior appearance at all in 1994 he only played eight matches, and scored one goal, over the ensuing couple of seasons, whereupon he was de-listed. Offered a second chance by Adelaide, he seized it with both hands and played 18 games in 1996, which was far and away the best campaign of his career. Then the bad luck struck as he missed out on back to back winning grand finals with the Crows in 1997-8, the former because of glandular fever, the latter because of a late season drop in form.

At the same time as he was playing AFL football with the Crows Ormond-Allen undertook a parallel career in the SANFL with Port Magpies, for whom he ended up playing 44 games and scoring 27 goals from 1997 to 2003. Meanwhile, his career with Adelaide ran aground in 2000 when he failed to play a single game all year. He had played 42 games for the Crows and booted two goals, while his time with the Magpies had included the winning grand final of 1998 against Sturt.

Author - John Devaney