2025 Aaron Payne Cup live stream: Trinity Bay SHS v Kirwan SHS, Round 5

They might not have a win this season, but Trinity Bay has lost few admirers. The far north nursery held its gloves up, but ultumately lost a tough clash to the Kirwan juggernaut. Watch the REPLAYS.

They may still be winless in 2025, but the Trinity Bay Rays refused to be pushovers for competition frontrunners Kirwan in Thursday’s Aaron Payne Cup clash in Cairns.

Trinity Bay fought valiantly in the 30-10 defeat, matching it with the Townsville heavyweights for most of the first half in a brutal physical encounter.

WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY ABOVE. SCROLL DOWN FOR SCHOOLGIRLS CUP AND COWBOYS CHALLENGE

Kirwan centre Trent Martin’s early try was quickly answered by a powerful effort by Trinity Bay lock Saul Lokotui, who burrowed over from dummy half to tie things up.

The two sides went set-for-set for the next 15 minutes as they each battled for supremacy, but after staying in the grind for so long eventually the Rays’ defence cracked.

Scores were locked at six apiece until just before halftime when back-to-back tries in the dying stages gave the Bears a 10-point advantage at the break.

First, Harmon Benioni gave the Bears a slender lead with a weaving run to the line before Clarvarn Oth finished off a nice passing play in the right corner as time elapsed.

Martin’s second try of the afternoon five minutes into the second half was the nail in the coffin for the Rays, who had started the contest with great ferocity but could not keep up with their brilliant opponents.

Trent Martin kept up his impressive try-scoring rate with a double over Trinity Bay. Picture: Kirwan SHS.

The floodgates appeared to have been opened and Kees Anderson was next to cash in, using his speed and footwork to leave defenders in his dust on the way to the tryline.

Lokotui dove across for another try in the second half which was almost a mirror image of his first, scooping the ball up from dummy half and diving across from a metre out to give Trinity Bay a faint glimmer of hope.

But Kirwan halfback Riley Carbone put the final exclamation point on the hardfought win with a nice late try to seal the result, stepping off his right foot and accelerating over the line to score beside the posts.

Two of Carbone’s conversion attempts bounced back off the posts during the game, marking some of the only negative plays of the entire contest from the Bears captain.

Trinity Bay will turn its attention to a meeting with Holy Spirit College in round 6, while the Bears travel down the highway to play Mackay SHS in Mackay.

KIRWAN SHS 30 (Trent Martin (2), Harmon Benioni, Clarvarn Oth, Kees Anderson, Riley Carbone tries; Riley Carbone (3) goals) def TRINITY BAY SHS 10 (Saul Lokotui (2) tries; Jakobi Addo goal)

Schoolgirls Cup

Take a bow, Millie Fulford.

The electric Kirwan Grizzlies fullback pulled off two of the plays of the season during her side’s 14-0 triumph over Trinity Bay SHS in the NRL Schoolgirl Cup, but you won’t see her name on the score sheet.

Replay: Trinity Bay SHS v Kirwan SHS (2025 QLD NRL Schoolgirls Cup)

The diminutive outside back is typically known for her tryscoring feats, entering the game as North Queensland’s Pool D leader with five tries in two appearances, but it was her defensive efforts which stole the show on Thursday.

With a rampaging Mariah Tihopu looking certain to score after busting two tackles, Fulford put her body on the line and somehow thwarted the barnstorming forward with a one-on-one strip over the try-line.

Tah’Lucy Querro instantly made Trinity Bay pay for the mistake, darting out from dummy half and racing almost 100 metres to extend Kirwan’s lead to 14 points.

Not satisfied with one trysaving tackle, Fulford pulled off another miracle moment with 10 minutes to play when she came flying in from the opposite sideline to annihilate Summer-Rose Phair when the Trinity Bay centre was millimetres from scoring.

Fulford started the play on the complete other side of the field but hit top speed as she raced across to provide cover defence, barrelling into Phair with the force of a cane train to keep her from scoring.

The match started with two close calls for the hosts as Kirwan’s two centres Querro and Ava Wagner each fumbled the ball in the process of scoring.

Wagner unselfishly deferred to her winger with the next opportunity she got, drawing in the defence before throwing a nice pass to Sienna Tabacchi.

Tabacchi was in for her second try just a couple of minutes later, stepping off her left foot to beat four defenders after Wagner put her into space with a textbook catch-and-pass.

That’s when Fulford stepped up with her match-defining play, simultaneously keeping Trinity Bay out of the contest and allowing Querro to put the lead beyond two converted tries.

Trinity Bay was better defensively after the break, but could not crack the resolute Kirwan defence thanks to Fulford’s heroics.

KIRWAN 14 (Sienna Tabacchi (2), Tah’Lucy Querro tries; Kaiontae Ross goal)

DEF TRINITY BAY 0

Cowboys Challenge

Queensland halfback Jack Goodhew pulled all the right strings as the Kirwan Cubs outclassed Trinity Bay SHS during a 28-6 Cowboys Challenge domination in Cairns.

Goodhew was outstanding as he collected three try assists, combining beautifully with his right edge to put winger Will Price over for a double.

Jack Goodhew played a key role in Kirwan’s first two tries, giving the side an 8-0 advantage inside 10 minutes.

Trinity Bay SHS v Kirwan SHS (2025 Cowboys Challenge)

When left centre Bailey Heilbronn streaked away for a long-range try to score the Cubs’ third of the morning, Trinity Bay’s spirit dropped as the game got out of reach.

After missing his first two attempts, Kirwan fullback Travel Ngatuakana made no mistake with his third conversion, giving the Cubs a 14-point buffer before halftime.

It didn’t get any easier for the hosts after the break, and a slick cut-out pass from Goodhew put Price over in the right corner.

Heilbronn crossed for his second try of the game soon after Price’s second, and the game was put to bed when Tyrese Namok plucked an intercept out of thin air like a ripe mango and strolled in for Kirwan’s sixth try.

Trinity Bay winger Joel Maka restored some school pride in the side with a try in the final stages, beating five defenders on his way to the line, with backrower Jai Cross nailing the tricky conversion from out wide.

KIRWAN 28 (Will Price (2), Bailey Heilbronn (2), Ellisala Dau, Tyrese Namok tries; Travel Ngatuakana (2) goals) def TRINITY BAY 6 (Joel Maka try; Jai Cross goal)

PREVIEW

The Kirwan Bears may be leading the Aaron Payne Cup, but they won’t be resting on their laurels when they take on last-placed Trinity Bay State High School on Thursday.

Kirwan coach Todd Wilson has given his squad a tough assignment as they prepare for the game, with Queensland schoolboys prop Eneliko Savelio rested for the round 5 fixture.

Watch Trinity Bay SHS host Kirwan on Thursday, July 24, live and exclusive on KommunityTV.

Coverage kicks off at 11.30am with the Cowboys Challenge, followed by the Schoolgirls Cup

at 12.30pm before the Aaron Payne Cup fixture at 1.30pm.

The two schools are at opposite ends of the spectrum this season.

The Trinity Bay Rays have scored just 26 points through their first three challenging fixtures and it doesn’t get any easier this week.

Trinity Bay’s lacklustre attack is only matched by Kirwan’s outstanding defence, which has conceded just 24 points across their three wins.

Wilson said he was looking for more brick wall defence this week with a particular focus around the ruck.

“We certainly need to see improvement in our defence,” Wilson said.

“The ruck defence is our key at the moment, and we want to make sure that we get that ruck right first. So it’s a real defensive focus over the next few weeks to try to be the best we can.

“We’re fairly confident that we’ve got a few points in us, but that’s no good if we can’t defend. So we’ve got a real defensive focus at the moment around minimising the points scored by the opposition.”

Kirwan captain Eneliko Savelio has been rested for this week’s Aaron Payne Cup clash. Picture: Brendan Radke

One of Kirwan’s key forwards Savelio will not make the trip up the Bruce Highway, but Wilson said the team would have no trouble playing without their powerful prop.

“There’s a few guys not available, but that’s not a problem. It’s great to be able to give a few other guys the opportunity,” he said.

“They’ve been training together for a long time now. Whenever someone gets an opportunity, they should be able to fulfil their role and do it the best they can – and I’m sure they will.

“We’re going to give Eneliko a rest just so he can spend a bit more time at school. He’s been away from school for a week, so he’ll have a rest tomorrow and on Thursday, and just get back on track and he’ll certainly be ready for the next couple of games.”

Originally published as 2025 Aaron Payne Cup live stream: Trinity Bay SHS v Kirwan SHS, Round 5