The GIO Schoolboy Cup competition is being staged throughout this month with schools from across the state taking part.
The below summaries are from the Southern Queensland Quarter Finals which were played at BMD Kougari Oval on Wednesday, August 2, with some great rugby league on display.
Palm Beach Currumbin SHS v St Mary’s College
Palm Beach Currumbin came out of the blocks firing, crossing the stripe with their first set of six in possession. While they extended their lead to 10 points with another first half try, their job of progressing through to the Southern Queensland semi finals would soon become much tougher, as the boys from the top of the range fought back strongly and when Brandon Trost showed a clean set of heels and they were able to reduce the deficit to just a converted try at halftime.
While the scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of the efforts produced by the St Mary’s outfit in the second half, the Gold Coast school would be happy with the way they were able to close out the game and would be particularly impressed with the performance of their entire left edge. Special mention goes to Bayley Desmond who finished a backline shift off in spectacular fashion.
Have you ever seen a better try?!? What a try by Bayley Desmond @AndrewVossy @NRLFootyShow @QLDmaroons @TripleM_NRL pic.twitter.com/57wi735Q9X
— GIO Schoolboy Cup (@NRLSchoolBoyCup) August 2, 2017
PBC 36 (Bayley Desmond 2, Kai ODonnell 2, Noah Gafa, Will Evans, Jordan Taualii tries; Toby Sexton 3, Glen McGrady goals) defeated St Mary’s 4 (Brandon Trost try)
Ipswich SHS v Marsden SHS
This matchup looked to be the most promising on paper and what transpired on the field did not disappoint the crowd that had started to build for the second of four games at Kougari Oval. After holding Marsden to the solitary penalty goal in the opening stanza, Ipswich appeared to get the better of the arm wrestle, posting three unanswered tries to head to the sheds with a halftime lead of 16-2.
Both coaches must have challenged their forwards at the break with the big men from either side looking to get the upper hand in the second half. Lumafale Lualua put his hand up for the Ipswich side, while it was the captain of Marsden, Dominique Wynard, who lead by example with strong carries and some nice offlaods. In the end, it was the school from the Logan district that was able to score in the last 10 minutes to close out a very physical encounter in what proved to be a grandstand finish.
Marsden 20 (Fanitesi Nui, Dominique Wynard, Cruise Ten tries; Santana Whakatau 4 goals) defeated Ipswich 16 (Lorenzo Mulitalo, Regan Wilde, Daniel Ticehurts tries; Joel Hughes 2 goals)
Wavell SHS V Redbank Plains SHS
A 4.15pm kick off meant the sun would soon be setting on the bayside playing field and conditions nearly perfect for rugby league. Wavell were able to take advantage of the conditions and jumped out of the blocks slightly better than their counterparts and managed to cross the chalk three times before the halftime hooter sounded.
Unfortunately, a Nome Leota double was unable to get the Redbank side firing. A wayward goal kicking boot meant the deficit remained at double figures and they still looked likely to cause the North Brisbane school some headaches. That was until Wavell number seven, Josh James, was able to steady the ship and get his troops home, proving to be one of the best on ground for the match.
Wavell 22 (Jack Paterson, Mark Tupuola, Sosefo Filipine, Zack Sullivan tries; Josh James 3 goals) defeated Redbank Plains 12 (Nome Leota 2, T-Max Dixon tries)
Keebra Park SHS v Coombabah SHS
The final match of the Southern Queensland GIO Schoolboy Cup quarter finals saw Keebra Park take on Coombabah. An early error from Coombabah saw the schoolboard attendant troubled for the first time in the match. Although the schools are geographically close to each other, neither was letting friendships get in the way with a very competitive first half seeing Keebra Park take a slender three-try-to-one lead into the break.
Tanah Boyd was able to control much of the second half with his boot, as his kicking game – along with the power of David Fifita were real highlights for the Keebra Park side. Despite Keebra Park eventually running away as convincing 38-6 winners, Coombabah’s efforts should be commended as they never shirked the task of trying to contain their opposition.
Keebra Park 38 (Eli Morgan 2, Alofiana Khan-Pereira 2, Sebastian Winters-Chang, Paul Karaitiana, Geordie Brand, Johnathan Siofele tries; Tanah Boyd 3 goals) defeated Coombabah 6 (David Butler try; Tyler Han goal)
Next Week’s Games: Wednesday, August 9 at BMD Kougair Oval, Wynnum.
2pm: Keebra Park V Wavell
3.30pm: PBC V Marsden
* Winners will progress to the Queensland semi finals where they will take on the winners of the North Queensland semi finals.
