2025 Walters Cup: Players of the Round following the opening matches of the competition

2025 Walters Cup Round 1 special: Meet the Players of the Day and enjoy replays following a bumper opening to the season.

Mitchell Heit, Cash Bennett and Ryley Apthorpe of Mountain Creek SHS.

The Walters Cup, the premier feeder competition into the elite senior schoolboy competition the Langer Trophy, is up and running for another season with a new batch of Year 10 students plying their skills against the best in their age group.

The round started on Tuesday when Wavell SHS 30 beat Ipswich SHS 6.

Then on Wednesday Marsden SHS were almost toppled in a major upset by Mountain Creek SHS who took the Makos to 14-all before the deadlock was snapped with three minutes remaining.

Mountain Creek SHS almost scaled the peak of the hill, going oh so close to a boilover. Regardless of the loss, the Sunshine Coast boys should take plenty of confidence out of the clash which saw them challenge their rivals with ball movement.

At Langlands Park, there was a thriller as PBC SHS edged out Mabel Park SHS 20-18, while at Southport, Keebra Park SHS 30 defeated Redcliffe SHS 10.

So who led the way for their respective schools during round 1? All is revealed here.

PLAYERS OF ROUND 1

Wavell SHS v Ipswich SHS

Cruz Molo (Wavell SHS)

Molo was enormous, a tremendous athlete whose leg speed and agility through the ruck was hard to handle. An athlete, he looked as fit as a 1500m Olympian medallist, and it was no surprise he scored Wavell’s fifth try.

REPLAY

Wavell SHS v Ipswich SHS (Walters Cup) 2025 Langer Trophy Round 1

Aki Tupouniua (Wavell SHS)

Fresh from playing up in age group for Canterbury in the Harold Matthews Cup, the tall five-eight was a guiding light for his side.

Jayden Afoa (Ipswich SHS)

The Ipswich SHS hooker finished with an enhanced reputation for his tireless work around the ruck in a well beaten side.

Lennox Fakatani (Wavell SHS)

In an outstanding forward pack performance by all involved, second rower Fakatani stood out from the crowd with his high work rate, defence and impact running.

Marsden SHS players, including Xavier Kahika-Cherrington, second from the left, Triston Sauaga and Deizel Guillonta, far right.

Marsden SHS v Mountain Creek SHS)

Triston Sauaga (Marsden SHS)

Sauaga was consistently the best performing middle player in the game. With his driving runs, he’d hit and spin his way forward, landing on his stomach and helping his hooker Kahika-Cherrington generate momentum. Sauaga also produced a pass in a tackle from the defensive end which finished in a try 75m up the field, and scored the second half try which put his side back in front.

Cash Bennett (Mt Creek SHS)

Bennett was worth his weight on gold. He was everywhere in defence, plugging holes from inside runs and putting his body on the line against imposing rivals. If given a sniff of quick ruck ball, he’d scurry forward, and Bennett thoroughly deserved his try which lifted his side to 14-all in the second half.

Mitchell Heit, Cash Bennett and Ryley Apthorpe.

SJ Fanolua-Pupepule (Marsden SHS)

Fanolua-Pupepule caused merry hell during the opening exchanges, dominating the ruck with thunderous runs and one shuddering front on tackle. Importantly he also held Mt Creek hooker Cash Bennett up over the line just before halftime. He also unloaded in a tackle which contributed to the field position for his team’s first try, and also produced a one-on-one strip.

Ryley Apthorpe (Mt Creek SHS)

Against hulking opponents, Apthorpe bravely led the charge for his side. Even inside the last 10 minutes, Apthorpe was making important tackles from marker on Marsden’s back of the field runners. His front row mate, Kaiden Earl, also tried his heart out.

Jett Mewett (Mt Creek SHS)

The interchange forward contributed to their team’s challenge with simple effort plays, ruck after ruck, which kept Mt Creek moving in a forward direction. His interchange mate, Beau McLachlan, put in as well.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Xavier Kahika-Cherrington (Marsden SHS)

He scored the winner with three minutes remaining which was a deserving conclusion to an excellent 50 minutes by the hooker. Cherrington was elite off the front foot, and his vital four point contribution was always a chance of happening. He also defended stoutly in the middle.

Billy Roderick (Mt Creek SHS)

Although he missed a second half tackle on a Marsden forward when isolated in the defensive line, the five-eight made several important tackles when his side was under siege, including a try saving effort.

As the match progressed and Mt Creek gained more ball, he was clever with the ball and cleverly called a blindside ball which led to him scoring a converted try that put his team in the lead.

Aurien Fabish (Mt Creek SHS)

Starting right edge second rower Fabish also defended his heart out on the right side of the field.

AJ Kena (Marsden SHS)

Centre Kena had a ding-dong battle with his opposite, the respected Mitchell Heit. He was the most dangerous outside back on the field and although he didn’t absolutely nail down the match, he was dangerous and looked likely throughout. Despite his performance, Heit’s effort for the opposition should be acknowledged as well. Heit is a real tradesman as a centre.

Scores: Marsden 20 (X Kahika-Cherrington 2, AJ Kena. D Guillonta tries, D Guillonta 2 goals) defeated Mt Creek 14 (C Bennett, M Heit, B Roderick try, goal)

PBC SHS 20 DEF MABEL PARK 18

Nixon O’Connor (PBC SHS)

Nixon O’Connor runs the ball for the Northern Rivers Titans Under-16s earlier this year.

The PBC prop, signed by the Eels earlier this week, showed glimpses of brilliance he is sure to produce in the near future.

In a rollicking stint of hit ups across the opening 20 minutes and then a second one to finish the game featuring nice passing to his backs, O’Connor looked the full package.

REPLAY

Mabel Park v Palm Beach Currumbin (Walters Cup)

Aileone Mikaio (Mabel Park SHS)

The Mabel Park No.6, sporting colourful pinkish-blonde bleached hair, created the first try scored by Jordan Tuuga-Stevenson with a lovely cut out pass. But his best asset in this game was his rib-rabbling defence.

His staunch defence once dislodged the ball from an opponent and in the first half he was responsible for a handful of clobbering hits swooping in off his edge.

His right-to-left long balls were also first-rate when his side were able to get into the PBC half. Just two minutes into the second stanza, Mikaio put it on the chest of Tuuga-Stevenson with a lovely ball and the long-striding centre tore through two defenders and scored.

Ezekiel Filipi (Mabel Park SHS)

Ezekiel FIlipi (right) has been a hit man for a while. He was exceptional on that side of the ball for Souths earlier this year.

Filipi had a captain’s knock of considerable magnitude.

His try, to make it 10-all just shy of half time, showed his brute strength and leg drive when he thrust through two bodies to score.

The hooker-lock-marvel from Samoa was big and bustling. It showed every time he ran the ball because he shrugged off first-up defenders almost every time.

He created Mabel’s third try to snatch a 14-10 lead when great kick chase pressure from No.16 Joseph Colata forced a PBC knock on. The ball fell to Filipi who offloaded to tryscorer Harlem O’Brien-Aumaalii, his co-captain.

Manoa Scott (PBC SHS)

Palm Beach Currumbin’s right edge forward had a faultless and effective start to the season. With Elijah To’omaga also very busy on the left side, Scott and the Reds did their jobs to perfection coming from 18-14 down, to lead 20-18 for more than 20 minutes.

It was brave stuff and Scott was one of the bravest, alongside most courageous lock Jett Pritchard.

Scott ran great lines, was always in support and defended stoically against a big, barnstorming Mabel outfit who got more physical as the game wore on.

Jaylon Russell (PBC SHS)

Jaylon Russell (right, black boots) played for the Northern Rivers Titans Under-16s earlier this year in the New South Wales Andrew Johns Cup junior representative competition.

PBC SHS’s fullback and fearless highball retriever did a great job out the back.

He assisted on two tries scored by right wing Harper Henderson-Feldman and leapt into the air with confidence to bring down the kicks of Mabel No.7 Harlem O’Brien-Aumaalii who was impressive from start to finish.

Tyler Harry and Dache Tevi (Mabel Park SHS)

The Mabel middle forwards were just rock solid.

Late in the game when a lift was needed, Tevi brought it with his thumping defence. Harry was also strong in his role, with interchange forward Colata adding energy off the bench.

Keebra Park SHS 38 defeated Redcliffe SHS 10

Sonny Hewitt (Keebra Park SHS)

The former Redcliffe student came back to haunt his former school with a sensational performance at fullback.

He barely put a foot wrong and looked like he could create a line break or score a try every time he touched the ball. Whenever Hewitt received the ball, the opposing defenders held their breath as his incredible footwork and speed saw him slice through the Redcliffe defence with ease. He made several line breaks and was a key reason why Keebra put 40 points on the board with his attacking prowess a class above.

MJ Otunuku (Keebra Park SHS)

The Keebra lock led from the front in the forward pack and helped his side find some momentum after a slow start out of the gates. Otunuku was a tackling machine and was rock-solid defensively.

Austin Desmond (Keebra Park SHS)

Desmond produced a masterclass in attack and defence. Defensively, he was a brick wall with bruising tackles and did not give his opponents an inch. Meanwhile in attack, he made countless powerful runs up the middle to wear down the Redcliffe forward pack. The big prop was a force to be reckoned with.

WATCH THE KEEBRA PARK v REDCLIFFE REPLAYS

Alex Ruiz (Keebra Park)

When Ruiz entered the contest, the game was still there to be won for either side. However, the utility came on and immediately provided a spark off the bench with his energy in attack and defence and swung momentum in favour of Keebra. He was a spark late in the first half and crossed over for a game-changing try. From there, Ruiz and his Keebra Park teammates did not look back as they dominated the second half on the way to a 30-point win.

Jesse-James Schusters (Redcliffe SHS)

The young halve battled fearlessly throughout the tough contest against a dominant Keebra Park. He led the way for Redcliffe with a strong kicking game and marshalled the troops around the ruck.

Dallas Carmody Redcliffe SHS

Redcliffe had its back against the wall for much of the game but it did not stop Carmody from putting in a workman-like performance in defence. Whether it was in the middle or on the edge in the halves, Carmody held his own against a barnstorming Keebra Park attack.