2000-plus games of NRL experience: St Brendan’s star outfit named here
Boasting an alumni list that includes a host of current day Queensland Maroons it is easy to see why a Central Queensland college has established itself as one of the best rugby league nurseries around. Today we reveal the school’s greatest team of all time.
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It is renowned as one of Australia’s greatest rugby league nurseries.
St Brendan’s College in Yeppoon has produced more than its fair share of rugby league stars.
That was obvious when three of its graduates - Ben Hunt, Corey Oates and Harry Grant - featured in Queensland’s thrilling State of Origin decider just a little over a fortnight ago.
Today, we name the college’s dream team, the players in which boast more than 2000 games of NRL experience.
We also pay homage to the stars of the future, with the Team of the 2020s featured here as well.
St Brendan’s Pre-2020 Dream Team
1. Julian O’Neill: 206 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, North Queensland Cowboys), 10 Origin games for Queensland, 1 game for Australia in Super League’s Anzac Test
2. Corey Oates: 185 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos), 9 Origin games for Queensland
3. Shane Marteene: 94 NRL games (Canterbury Bulldogs, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St George Illawarra)
4. Paul Bowman: 203 NRL games (North Queensland Cowboys), 12 Origin games for Queensland
5. Kurt Mann: 160 NRL games (Melbourne Storm, St George Illawarra, Newcastle Knights),
6. PJ Marsh: 158 NRL games (Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors, Brisbane Broncos), 4 Origin games for Queensland
7. Ben Hunt: 283 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra), 13 Origin games for Queensland, 7 games for Australia, 3 games for Prime Minister’s XIII
8. Matt Scott: 268 NRL games (North Queensland Cowboys), 22 Origin games for Queensland, 22 games for Australia, 1 game for Prime Minister’s XIII, 1 game for NRL All Stars
9. Harry Grant: 45 NRL games (Melbourne Storm, Wests Tigers), 5 Origin games for Queensland
10. Dave Taylor: 181 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Gold Coast Titans, Canberra Raiders), 8 Origin games for Queensland, 1 game for Australia, 1 game for Prime Ministers XIII, 2 games for NRL All Stars
11. Ben Ridge: 58 NRL games (Gold Coast Titans)
12. Darren Mapp: 66 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Cronulla Sutherland Sharks)
13. Jake Granville: 178 NRL games (Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys)
St Brendan’s Class of the 2020s
1. Matthew Hill
2. Ryan Keating
3. Seb Nona
4. Jett Day
5. Izaiah Waters
6. Banjo Walker
7. Jackson Miller
8. Tavita Penaia
9. Alister Lasker
10. Hayden Franks
11. Connor Hinds
12. Mitchell Baker
13. Matthew Groves
It is no surprise then that Brendan’s leads both the Dolphins Cup (Year 12) and the Dolphins Challenge (Year 10) in the schoolboys competitions.
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