St Patrick’s College, Mackay set up run towards Confro rugby league title after day one at Iona College

The hot form of the defending champions, an undefeated start for the home team and the inaugural girls’ division. See the full results from day one of 2021 Confraternity rugby league Carnival.

St Patrickʼs College, Mackay took a huge step towards the title it once dominated when

it stormed home to defeat rivals St Brendanʼs College, Yeppoon in a gripping start to the

Confraternity Carnival at Iona College.

As “Confro” returned for the first time since 2019, St Patrickʼs College overcame a 6-20 deficit in their Pool A clash with St Brendanʼs, scoring 20 unanswered points to win 26-20 to wrap up a day of 57 pool matches.

There was plenty to take in across Ionaʼs fields on Brisbaneʼs bayside as 50 schools and more

than 1230 players, mostly from Catholic schools, took part in the competition run by

Queensland independent Secondary Schools Rugby League.

Some of the highlights from the Confraternity Carnival included the historic first Confraternity Carnival girlsʼ competition, home school Iona College winning both its pool matches, the impressive form of defending champions Ignatius Park College, Townsville and

their 2019 grand final opponents The Cathedral College, who cruised through their

opening two pool matches.

The stage is set for an important run of final pool matches tomorrow morning, which will

determine the line-up for the quarter-finals in the afternoon ahead of Wednesdayʼs rest day.

St Patrickʼs College, Mackay coach Michael Comerford said his players knew they could

set up their best possible quarter-final draw in the Confraternity Shield if they could beat

St Brendanʼs College.

Both teams are royalty in the decorated 40-year history of Confro, sharing 21 titles between

them.

But St Patrickʼs College Mackay – the school of the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, Wendell Sailor and Grant Rovelli – has not won a Confraternity Shield since 2003.

Comerford, in his first year as coach, said his players were aware of the long run between

Shield wins and had engaged its old boys with better memories of Confro success.

“We’ve tried to build those connections with our old boys because we know the pride that St

Patʼs has in its Confro history,” Comerford said.

“We’re working with our players on what it means to wear the St Patʼs jersey because that’s

important to us here.”

St Patrickʼs had sounded a warning with its recent victory over state champions Kirwan State

High School in the Aaron Payne Cup but that touch eluded them as St Brendanʼs skipped to

a 20-6 lead with a try early in the second half.

But St Patrickʼs flexed its muscle with an impressive finish, relying on the likes of prop Ethan

Cocco to build a fightback that has them in line to play Marist College, Ashgrove or St

Augustineʼs College, Cairns, in the quarter-finals.

Cocco is one of the few frontline St Patrickʼs players without a deal with an NRL team despite his form, which included his matchwinning try against Kirwan.

St Brendanʼs must defeat Padua College tomorrow morning to book a quarter-final with

Ignatius Park College, which did not concede a point today in wins over St Augustineʼs Cairns (18-0) and Shalom College, Bundaberg (44-0).

The Cathedral College was just as impressive in its wins over St Maryʼs, Toowoomba (26-6)

and Aquinas College, Ashmore (46-6) to roll towards the quarter-finals.

Marymount College, Burleigh Waters, booked another quarter-final appearance with wins

over St Patrickʼs College, Shorncliffe (20-14) and St Peter Claver College (32-4).

Iona College v St Mary’s Toowoomba. Picture: Academy Photography.

But the biggest roars of the day were for the home team as Iona College, fresh from a rugby

union season, defeated Aquinas College (32-12) before landing the knockout blow on 2018

champions St Maryʼs, Toowoomba (18-6).

The result left Johnathan Thurstonʼs former school without a win in a tournament in which they were expected to challenge for the grand final.

In Division 2, Holy Spirit College, Mackay, St Laurenceʼs College, South Brisbane, St Michaelʼs College, Merrimac and All Souls St Gabrielʼs School, Charters Towers, all won their two pool matches to take an advantage into day two.

In Division 3, Ryan Catholic College, Townsville, Xavier Catholic College, Hervey Bay, Chanel College, Gladstone, and Our Lady of the Southern Cross College, Dalby, were undefeated.

The girls took centre stage in the morning as nine schools contested the inaugural girlsʼ

competition after efforts to bring them in last year were ruined by Covid.

Marymount College matched the feats of its boysʼ team with an undefeated run today off

the back of its promising play in the Titans Cup on the Gold Coast.

The girlsʼ competition continues with two pool matches for each team on Tuesday to determine the order for Thursdayʼs finals matches.

The boysʼ carnival is contested in three divisions of 16 teams and each team plays two matches of 20-minute halves on the opening two days.

DAY ONE RESULTS

BOYS

Division 1

Pool A

Marist College, Ashgrove 32 d Shalom College 4

Ignatius Park College 18 d St Augustine’s College, Cairns 0

Ignatius Park College 44 d Shalom College 0

St Augustine’s College, Cairns 24 d Marist College, Ashgrove 16

Pool B

Iona College 32 d Aquinas College 12

The Cathedral College 26 d St Mary’s College, Toowoomba 6

Iona College 18 d St Mary’s, Toowoomba 6

Cathedral College 46 d Aquinas College 6

Pool C

St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe 12 d Rockhampton Grammar 6

Marymount College 32 d St Peter Claver 4

Marymount College 20 d St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe 14

Rockhampton Grammar 22 d St Peter Claver College 10

Pool D

St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon 44 d Emmaus College, Rockhampton 8

St Patrick’s College, Mackay 26 d Padua College 6

St Patrick’s, Mackay 26 d St Brendan’s College 20

Padua College 28 d Emmaus College, Rockhampton 0

Division 2

Pool A

Clairvaux MacKillop College 22 d Assumption College 0

Holy Spirit College 22 d Blackheath and Thornburgh College 8

Assumption College 20 d Blackheath and Thornburgh 4

Holy Spirit College 12 d Clairvaux MacKillop 10

Pool B

St Laurences College 22 d St Edmund’s College 12

St Mary’s, Woree 20 d St Thomas More College 6

St Laurence’s College 30 d St Mary’s, Woree 4

St Edmund’s College 50 d St Thomas More College 0

Pool C

Columba Catholic College 26 d St Columban’s College 0

St Michael’s College 48 d Faith Lutheran College 0

St Columban’s College 20 d Faith Lutheran College 12

St Michael’s College 12 d Columba Catholic College 8

Pool D

All Souls St Gabriel’s 8 d St Joseph’s College 0

St Teresa’s College 32 d Marist College, Emerald 14

Marist College, Emerald 24 d St Joseph’s College 10

All Souls St Gabriel’s 22 v St Teresa’s College 8

Division 3

Pool A

Ryan Catholic College 18 d Emmaus College, Jimboomba 4

St Anthony’s College 26 d St James/Chisholm College 8

St Anthony’s College 12 drew Emmaus College, Jimboomba 12

Ryan Catholic College 38 d St James / Chisholm College 0

Pool B

Xavier Catholic College 22 d Unity College 6

St Augustine’s College, Augustine Heights 16 d Ambrose Treacy College 8

Unity College 32 d Ambrose Treacy College 0

Xavier Catholic College 28 d St Augustine’s, Augustine Heights 6

Pool C

Chanel College 26 d Trinity College 12

St John’s, Roma 18 d Good Shepherd College 6

Good Shepherd College 20 d Trinity College 10

Chanel College 24 d St John’s, Roma 8

Pool D

Gilroy Santa Maria College 18 drew St Patrick’s College, Gympie 18

Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby 20 d Mt Maria College 6

Mt Maria College 26 d Gilroy Santa Maria College 20

Our Lady of the Southern Cross 36 d St Patrick’s, Gympie 6

GIRLS

Pool A

Marymount College 32 d Southern Cross Catholic College 0

Emmaus College, Rockhampton 30 d Southern Cross Catholic College 10

Marymount College 32 d Emmaus College, Rockhampton 6

Pool B

St Patrick’s College, Mackay 34 d Trinity College 0

Shalom College 18 d Trinity College 14

St Patrick’s College, Mackay 16 d Shalom College 4

Pool C

The Cathedral College 24 d St Joseph’s College 0

The Cathedral College 40 d Clairvaux MacKillop College 16

St Joseph’s College 12 d Clairvaux MacKillop College 6