GPS First XV rugby: Nudgee, State High Teams of the Decade ahead of blockbuster GF
GPS First XV rugby grand final fever: Ahead of a gladiator battle between the last two unbeaten teams, Nudgee and Brisbane State High, read each school’s Team of the Decade - so far.
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This Saturday a blockbuster GPS First XV schoolboy rugby match will unfold on the hallowed Ross Oval turf of St Joseph’s Nudgee College.
Since the competition’s inaugural season in 1918 only three times have undefeated teams met in the final round of the competition.
Six decades on from the first GPS ‘grand final,’ Nudgee College (7-0) and State High (7-0) will play off for the premiership in a winner-take-all decider.
GPS rugby’s first-past-the-post premierships have been a core component of this competition’s essence for generations but also a source of great frustration.
So rarely do prospective champions meet in the final round that those precious meetings are forever etched into legend.
GPS FIRST XV ‘GRAND FINAL’ HISTORY
1964: Churchie 0 - 11 BSHS
1967: Churchie 9 - 9 Nudgee
1977: BSHS 7 - 14 Terrace
2006: BSHS 11 - 20 Southport
2012: Nudgee 24 - 37 Brisbane Grammar
2018: Nudgee 34 - 29 Southport
On Saturday, Nudgee or State High will become the first team in competition history to triumph in two grand finals.
The stakes are high for both teams but especially so for the hosts, who are fighting to establish this current generation as one of the school’s all-time greatest on the football field.
Not since Elton Flatley led Nudgee to a triple crown between 1993 and 1995 has Nudgee gone back-to-back-to-back.
Nudgee’s 45th First XV crown is up for grabs on Saturday and with it their shot at the school’s fourth hat-trick of titles.
For proud State High, an eight-year premiership drought is on the cusp of being shattered.
In 2016 the GPS’ only state school stunned Nudgee College in the penultimate round, at this same venue, with a team containing future international stars Murray Taulagi and Jordan Petaia.
There has been a future Wallaby on the field in every GPS grand final stretching back to 1977.
Ahead of the round nine clash kicking off at 2:15pm, enjoy this blast from the past unveiling a First XV team of the decade so far from each school.
NUDGEE COLLEGE TEAM OF THE DECADE SO FAR
15. Jacob Johnson
Competition was fierce for all 23 positions in this Nudgee squad but there was no way Jacob Johnson was going to be left out. The kid is elite.
A Queensland Reds Under-18s select last year who, provided he has a good Colts season next year, could be in the mix for a Reds Under-19s call up when the time comes.
A fullback, Johnson has pace, vision, good footwork and can play flyhalf if needed.
14. Nick Conway
Nudgee have had some elite wingers come through this decade. For example Kai Combarngo, Louis de Villiers, Rocco Gollings and Oska Boyd who have all played First XV rugby.
The light on his feet Nick Conway demanded a spot here.
Conway was prolific on the wing as a 16-year-old in last year’s competition and has taken a step up this season, producing plays other wingers can’t.
He is signed by the Reds.
13. Rob Toia
Toia was a superstar outside centre whose razzle and dazzle has been unmatched by a GPS N.13 in this era. He had a remarkable step, explosive leg power and speed so swift, if you blinked, you’d miss seeing him run. Sadly a knee injury ended his season run in the Firsts, but watch for him to progress into the Roosters NRL top squad this decade.
12. Prestyn Laine-Sietu
Prestyn Laine-Sietu was Mr Five Pointer last season, a busy outside centre who time and time again muscled over to score tries. While he is a good link player, it is his defence was binds together the outside back division of Nudgee College. It is “Thou Shalt Not Pass’’ country when Laine-Sietu is standing opposite you.
A Queensland Schoolboy (rugby league) selection in 2023, Laine-Sietu missed the first half of the season with a hip injury and has bolstered the Nudgee midfield since returning.
11. Robert Mapa
Nudgee’s winger for three seasons (2019,2020,2021), Mapa was the full package who had the strength to do damage at schoolboy level.
Since leaving school in 2021, the former Reds Under Under-18s select played a big part in Brothers’ successful Colts 1 season in 2022 and earlier this year was a part of the Melbourne Storm’s Jersey Flegg Cup squad.
The powerhouse winger can also play centre.
10. Byron Smith
The 2023 Development Player of the Year for Super Rugby Pacific champions the Blues, classy conductor Byron Smith played flyhalf for Nudgee’s First XV earlier this decade.
Now based in New Zealand, Smith plays for the Southland Stags in the NPC (National Provincial Championship) after previously representing New Zealand’s Under-19s and Barbarians sides.
The tactical kicking ace spent the pre-season with the Highlanders this year and was a visionary player for Nudgee who released his backline with precision.
9. Willem Johnstone
Nudgee’s scrumhalf in 2021, Johnstone was all class. First and foremost he had a wonderful pass which cleared his forwards, but when he decided to run he was one of those players with time on his hands.
Johnstone was previously a Junior Wallaby squad member in 2022 and 2023, Johnstone was the run of a gun - his dad Brett was capped 71 times for Queensland, including a man of the match performance in a Super Rugby final, and earned a Test cap.
8. Liam Le Blanc
Liam Le Blanc was a Rock of Gibraltar type, a tough No.8 who was intimiated by no one - and who probably intimidated plenty with his stone walling defence. He was a Nudgee premiership winner, a great teammate on and off and the field and also a Queensland schoolboys league representative who has already played NRL for South Sydney.
7. Noah Rauluni
The starting flanker in News Corp’s Colts 1 club rugby Team of the Year, outstanding breakaway Noah Rauluni only played one year of First XV for Nudgee (2023) but that was enough to cement his place in this company.
Arguably the best No. 7 prospect in the Under-20s in the state, Rauluni sent a tremor through the Colts 1 competition this season with Easts after mimicking a centre in Nudgee’s premiership winning backrow last year.
6. Hugo Hart
The fastest forward contesting the GPS First XV premiership this season, Hugo Hart staved off fierce internal competition for the No. 6 jersey in this team which goes to show how talented he is.
Something special, Hart has the wheels of an outside back and the brute strength of a tight five forward - while also being a quality line out option.
He is Explosive with a capital E.
5. Ed Kasprowicz
Kasprowicz ability to disrupt line out ball from the opposition, as much as win his own, has been a huge part of Nudgee’s success this season who has come on in leaps and bounds since playing Queensland Reds 16s last Spring. From his line out wins Nudgee have been able to mount a wave of momentum in a varity of different ways, such is the quality of his catch and release. His dad is former Test cricketer Michael, himself a former Australian rugby schoolboy No.8.
4. Daniel Maiava
Maiava was the best lock, and arguably the best forward in the 2021 competition.
He is a modern day marvel who bounds around the field like a loose forward while fulfilling his tight forward responsibilities.
The former Melbourne Rebels weapon played for Wests around his Super Rugby Pacific commitments this year and was a walk-in to this starting XV.
3. Natiana Winikerei
Winikerei, Oahu Davey-Phillips and Macarius Pereira formed the best front row three in the GPS competition so far this decade. Strong in the scrum, lethal in the rolling maul and a strong ball carrier, Winikerei a one man wrecking machine.
2. John Grenfell (c)
A remarkable tight forward talent who was born to play in Saturday’s big match at Ross Oval. He carries with fierce intent, and smacks opposition players to the ground like they are light weights. He stands just off a defensive line out like one of the King’s guardsmen, halting any intruders where they stand. With the ball he is like having an extra No.8 on the field.
1. Macarius Pereira
Front row terror Macarius Pereira has one of the finest schoolboy rugby resumes and it earnt the attention of Top 14 club Section Paloise who picked him up earlier this year.
Pereira played prop for three years of First XV (2021,2022,2023), captaining the side to the 2023 premiership, spearheading the 2022 premiership campaign, and performing well in a shortened 2021 season where BBC and Nudgee were tipped to be the front runners.
The Kiwi colossus also made his StoreLocal Hospital Cup debut earlier this year for Norths before moving overseas.
RESERVES
16. Oahu Davey-Phillips
Standing either side of Natiana Winikerei and Macarius Pereira, Oahu Davey-Phillips was the glue which binded together a stellar front row division. Between the two big boppers was this mobile, high work rate hooker who added to Nudgee’s mobility around the field.
17. Rory Beech
Prop Rory Beech is a young veteran of rugby. He played a handful of seasons in the First XV and has now completed two seasons of Colts 1 with Brothers where he was captain in 2024.
Beech does the tough stuff and little things well, and has improved his game tremendously since leaving school.
18. Will Jones
Jones was immense in Nudgee’s front row in the 2020 season, a big prop who spearheaded a dominant tight five exponent. He was as strong as an Ox, someone who sucked defenders because of his running threat and gave Nudgee momentum.
The powerful loosehead had Oahu Davey-Phillips and Harrison Swane by his side so you can image a few scrums were won in his year.
19. Jack Harley
One of the more promising Academy talents in the ACT Brumbies setup, Jack Harley was Nudgee’s versatile backrower in the 2022 season who has had a bumper 20 months since graduating.
The towering 20-year-old was rewarded for a high class Super Rugby Pacific Under-19s campaign last Spring with an Australian Under-20s call up this year where he has been a fixture at No.8.
Watch this space.
20. Patrick Dallimore
Harley’s scrumtime buddy in the flanks during the 2022 season, Patrick Dallimore was starved of the opportunity to represent the Reds Under-19s last year after missing club footy with an injury.
The pacy flanker, who handed the baton on to Hugo Hart, made up for lost time with the Brethren this year in the Colts 1 competition and prides himself on working hard.
21. Lastus Auakai
The popular Auakai was a tremendous sportsman who, as a junior coming through the College, would play As soccer at lunchtime as a warm-up to play As rugby in the afternoon. From Port Moresby, He developed into an elite inside centre with a skiller step, powerful running and a beautiful pass. No one could possibly have been as proud as Auakai when he captained Nudgee in the First XV. He cherished every step and never took it for granted.
22. Tory Bath
He was not unlike current Nudgee fullback Johnson. Bath was just electric.
The fullback of 2022, Bath had speed and the creativity to conjure tries for himself and others when least expected.
He would explode into the backline and free his outside men with a long ball, then tear up the inside looking for a return pass. If a defender took his dummy, the next thing they know Bath would be 60m up the field and about to put the ball under the posts. He was a good one, that is for sure.
His stirring performance against Gregory Terrace in the battle of the colours (2022) eclipsed his raw potential.
23. Oscar Varricchio
Nudgee’s halfback of 2020, Oscar Varricchio was a triple threat with his deadly running game, passing game and kicking game.
Best of all, the headgear wearing scrumhalf was a hit man on defence who did not shy away from contact.
The scheming No. 9 was at the epicentre of Brothers’ second grade premiership this season alongside fellow Nudgee products Hugo Smith, Oahu Davey-Phillips, Benn Dalle Cort, Athen Waia and Oliver Harvey.
BRISBANE STATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM OF THE DECADE SO FAR
15. Jackson Connelly
An elusive outside back, Connelly was a difference maker in the 2021 season for Brisbane State High.
Now a staple in Norths’ Hospital Cup side, Connelly played three seasons of First XV for the school and has speed in spades.
He represented the Queensland Reds Under-19s in 2022, a team which challenged the Waratahs in the Super Rugby Pacific finals.
14. Toshi Butlin
Butlin was a sprinter and rugby player and he was devoted to the cause, using his extreme pace to chase kicks and finish movements for BSHS.
No one beat him for pace in 2022, and since then he has gone on to represent Section Paloise in France, the same club Macarius Pereira plays for.
The 19-year-old can stop on a dime and go again without losing speed.
13. Luke Hatherall
Mr Versatile could swing between No. 10, inside centre or outside centre.
A player with tremendous hands and a damaging running game, Hatherall was one of the first backs chosen in the side.
The 2021 graduate has played three seasons of Colts 1 rugby for Easts, most recently captaining Easts to the semi-finals after starting the season 1-6.
12. Angus Tagicakibau
The current No. 15 for Brisbane State High, Tagicakibau had to make the side so he is named at inside centre, where he would do just fine.
A high class runner with great vision, Tagicakibau’s counter attacking has been threatening all season long.
11. Riley Bierton
A big bodied winger, the under-19 Reds representative (2023) seemed an instinctive type who played second grade at Souths this season.
Bierton, 20, was a high class player and capable goalkicker for Brisbane State High and an easy choice in this side.
10. Netani Lesimaikimatuku
A special talent player, Netani Lesimaikimatuku played two seasons of Firsts for Brisbane State High (2022,2023) and was rewarded for a stellar Colts 1 campaign with Sunnybank this season by being named as a show player in the Reds Under-19s.
A dangerous utility back, Netani Lesimaikimatuku benefited from playing more rugby this season with his kicking and running game influencing matches more and more for the Dragons.
9. Marley Ngatai
He is a bit of a rough diamond in terms of being a pure rugby halfback, but he is a footballer who is streetwise.
A tough little rooster, he has a tremendous box kick in his game and has played every game for unbeaten Brisbane State High this season. He is also a running threat and will back himself from anywhere on the field if the numbers are in his team’s favour.
Ngatai was also a Queensland Schoolboys II selection prior to the season.
8. Roman Siulepa
A remarkable athlete who would be a raging success in any football code, containing Siulepa will be Nudgee’s No. 1 priority on Saturday.
His long stride challenges defensive lines, his skill in the air from kick off and line outs is high class, and he seems to put himself in the right position at the right time in matches.
No defence this season has managed to keep the towering No. 8 out of the game for an entire 70 minutes so far this season - will Nudgee?
7. Trent Picot
Openside flanker Trent Picot has been one of the players of the season with his burrowing, busy play.
He has been just as important to BSHS’s success as No. 8 superstar Siulepa with his pilfering, runs and breakdown efficiency.
He was a Queensland Reds Under-16s select late last year.
6. Mattias Agent (BSHS)
Mattias Agent entered the 2023 season a relative unknown and finished one of the top second rowers in the competition.
Week to week he was a top three performer in many matches, a tireless worker who was key in leading Brisbane State High’s forward thrust.
He captained Sunnybank in Colts 1 club rugby this season and even featured in Hospital Cup as an 18-year-old.
5. Eli Langi
The mobile big man has been one of the competition’s very best this season as a lock or flanker if needed.
He can swing between lock, No. 8 or flanker with ease and has been an inspiring captain this year, his second playing First XV rugby.
The technically sound Langi would be a great pick up for clubs recruiting for the 2025 season.
4. Stuart Tualima (BSHS)
Big Stuart Tualima was a multi-talented lock who played with the vigour of a tight forward and the mobility of a loose forward - he really was one and a half players in one.
The athletic forward utility played at inside centre a couple of times this season for GPS which said everything about his versatility and he will be a fixture in first grade next year if a Super Rugby club doesn’t pick up the dynamic 20-year-old.
3. Moses Manu
The hulking Moses Manu was a one man wrecking machine who rose above teammates with his sublime rolling maul skills, strength in the scrum and general ball running ability last season.
In terms of talent this decade, Manu is right up there.
He was the leading tryscorer of the 2023 season (nine tries) and won a Meninga Cup premiership with Souths Logan in 2022 before a strong school season.
2. Josh Mongard (BSHS)
The captain of Brisbane State High’s 2020 team, Mongard was a leader through his actions in the scrum and in general play where he dealt damage and plenty of it.
Mongard had a ripping season for the Norths Eagles Hospital Cup side this year, the hooker playing out of his skin more often than not for the big improvers of the competition.
1. Siale Mahina
Rugby runs in the Mahina blood and Siale, the youngest of four, continued a strong rugby legacy carved out by his older brothers playing as a front rower in 2022 and 2023.
A representative loosehead prop, Mahina played rugby in Japan this year.
RESERVES
16. Jakeb Horne
An Australian schoolboy selection in 2022, Horne was able to influence games with his fierce, competitive hard edge and leadership.
BSHS’s revival in the 2023 season started with Horne leading the way among the likes Agent, Mahina, Langi, Gordon, Broderick and Sefo.
This season, the headgear wearing hooker balanced full time work as an apprentice and Colts 1 club rugby with Easts.
17. Julius Su’a
Penrith Panthers signee Ahmani Leilua and Charlie Tagicakibau were unlucky omissions in the front row because it was impossible to go past the powerhouse that is Julius Su’a.
A 2020 old boy, Su’a played prop and then moved into the Eagles nest where he was excellent in Colts.
He now plays premier grade in Auckland for Marist.
18. Jack Gordon
Gordon was one of the most underrated BSHS players this decade, highly respected by his teammates for his tight five play in both line out and scrums, but also his clean out work at the breakdowns.
19. Vincent Sefo
Sefo was one of the most dynamic running backrowers in the GPS competition - but he could also play No. 12 with ease.
He had an uncanny ability to beat the first defender with foot and power. Sefo played No. 12 in 2020 and flanker in 2021 and his brother Dirhys was also a key player in the school’s First XV in 2023.
20. Joel Broderick
Broderick was a Trojan worker for Brisbane State High’s First XV in 2022 and 2023 and kept the same energy this year with the Souths Magpies.
The hardworking No. 8 was a forward leader in a Souths side that took out the Colts 2 premiership for the second year running and his performance in the grand final a week ago was outstanding.
21. Mikaire O’Neill
O’Neill was an unsung hero for two seasons of First XV rugby.
A scrumhalf, O’Neill was a fixture in 2021 and 2022 and last year played Colts 1 for the Wests Bulldogs.
22. Josh Takai
Brisbane State High’s centre of 2023, Takai has untapped talent which Australian Under-18s coaches have taken note of.
Brothers’ Colts 1 midfielder this year, Takai is still just 18 and is eligible to play two more seasons of Under-20s after a strong season this year where he was at times hard to contain.
23. Tauave Leofa
Utility back Leofa was a blazing comet, a fleet-a-foot talent that could light up a rugby field with the click of his fingers.
Leofa bypassed club rugby to take up an opportunity in Paris with Top 14 club Stade Français
He gives this squad snap, crackle and pop.
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