St Patrick’s College Mackay to host Confraternity Shield
For a long time, St Patrick’s College has been a breeding ground for future NRL stars. Read about the 10 contracted players featuring in the side this year.
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St Patrick’s College will unleash 10 NRL contracted players when they host this year’s Confraternity Shield and play in the Aaron Payne Cup.
St Pat’s coach Michael Comerford said the side would be tough to beat.
“We are quite fortunate to have a talented group of players all at the one school at the same time,” he said.
“Our open team is very strong this season with a good mix of youth and experience and are keen to do well against the best schoolboy rugby league sides in the state.
“The boys have worked hard in the lead up to this year’s Confraternity Shield and will represent the Mackay region with pride.”
He said it was the most talented St Pat’s side he had seen and it rivalled some of the larger rugby league schools in the south east corner and Townsville.
Comerford, who is also Mackay Cutters first grade assistant coach, warned talent alone would not get the job done.
“It doesn’t guarantee any success for those individuals or for us as a team but it does allow us to keep things at a pretty high standard,” Comerford said.
“There are also plenty of guys who haven’t been identified that possess plenty of talent and in the right circumstances could catch someone’s attention and hopefully that’s by being apart of this team.”
This year’s team has a balance of “about 50-50” returning and incoming players.
Comerford said it meant there was “no place for egos” as they learned to play with one another.
“All the boys are great mates and that is the beauty of schoolboys footy is that they spend all day, every day together.”
While Comerford said winning the Aaron Payne Cup was the prime goal this year, St Pat’s had failed to win a Confraternity Shield for almost 20 years and that was something he would like to see changed, particularly with Mackay playing host this year.
“We had a good start to the Confraternity Shield last year before we got called off and we put in some strong performances in the Aaron Payne Cup but without actually translating that into any sort of silverware or finals appearances,” he said.
Here are the 10 NRL contracted players representing St Pat’s this year:
Will Shears
The premiership winning captain of Mercy College’s Cowboys Challenge side in 2021, Will Shears captained the Mackay Cutters’ Mal Meninga Cup team this year.
The star fullback was trialled in the centres at different stages throughout the Cutters’ season, and has spent time at lock throughout his burgeoning junior career.
Shears is contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys.
Xavier Kerrisk
Mercy College coach Matthew Paul described Kerrisk last year as the “best hooker by far” in the Cowboys Challenge.
He is contracted by the North Queensland Cowboys and was recently selected in Queensland’s Under-18s Emerging Origin squad.
Matthew Watts
A towering front rower, Matthew Watts will headline a frightening forward pack.
Likely to be one of St Pat’s starting props, Watts might prove to be the key to winning the big man battle on any given day.
Watts is a North Queensland Cowboys academy prospect.
Henry Thorpe
Heading to the nation’s capital next year to join the Canberra Raiders as an academy prospect, the versatile Henry Thorpe will likely be one of the leaders for the St Patrick’s group as one of their returning players.
Thorpe played mainly in the number nine in last year’s side but may be pushed around the line-up to make way for Kerrisk.
His ability to play several positions may be vital in ensuring the team can gel.
Harry Thorpe
Harry Thorpe spent a significant portion of the season 2021 campaign recovering from a shoulder injury, but finished the year strongly.
Playing from five-eighth in the games he featured in for St Patrick’s last year, Thorpe was the starting halfback for the Cutters in the Mal Meninga Cup side this year.
Thorpe will join his brother Henry in heading to the Canberra Raiders next year.
Jaxon Purdue
Purdue will be hoping he can replicate his success from 2021 following premierships for Mercy College and in the Under-16s for Norths.
An orchestrator from five-eight, he already has experience playing alongside Harry Thorpe in the halves for the Cutters’ Mal Meninga Cup side.
Purdue is another North Queensland Cowboys academy prospect.
Liam Doherty
Another returning player for St Pat’s this year, last year’s captain Braeden Robinson picked out Doherty as an “outstanding” contributor last year.
The second rower will look to build on last year’s performance and be a driving force as a senior member of the team.
Doherty is a North Queensland Cowboys academy prospect.
Levi Love
Another one of the St Pat’s boys heading to the ACT to don the lime green once school finishes.
Love is a powerful forward who operated out of prop and lock at different times last season.
He will be one of the bigger bodies for St Pat’s this season and his impact could go a long way to ensuring the class on the outside is maximised.
Kai Simon
The big-bodied centre draws a pack of players every time he starts a run.
One of the more consistent performers throughout 2021, Simon will be looking to build on his efforts and push into the side’s best.
Simon is a North Queensland Cowboys academy prospect.
Kayne Smith
Starting lock for the Cowboys Challenge winning Mercy College side, Smith also proved handy in front of goals.
While there are a few options for conversion duties in this St Pat’s side, he at the very least is a great safety net.
Smith is a North Queensland Cowboys academy prospect.
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