Live stream: Anton Whaiapu set to lead Keebra Park into Langer Trophy showdown against Wavell

Keebra Park would have fancied their chances in their opening hitout against Wavell SHS. But they got a lot more than they bargained for. Full Langer Trophy, Walters Cup REPLAYS.

Arguably the favourites going into round 1 against Wavell SHS, Keebra Park had to dig deep to walk away with the 28-26 Langer Trophy win.

First try-scorer Mason Phillips had crowds on their feet from the get-go, finding the line in the opening moments to set up Wavell’s 6-0 lead.

His early efforts were accompanied by Sangstar Figota and Ruben Webb.

REPLAYS

Keebra Park v Wavell (Langer Trophy)

Watch the full replay in the window above.

Keebra Park v Wavell (Walters Cup)

Webb’s intercept and stellar 60m run in particular captivated eyes from the sidelines.

Keebra coach Peter Norman wasn’t phased by the slow start, citing the inexperience of his fill-in roster which simply needed time to adjust.

“I’m really happy with that,” Norman said.

“I’m not too focussed on the score, more on the process and we had five boys out just because they’re a bit banged up and sore.

“The year 11s that got to step up tonight did a great job… I’m stoked with their efforts.”

It was a yo-yoing affair in the first half, however, with Keebra’s Christian Vaimili Toalepai and Austin Marsters administering damage of their own.

The half closed out at 12-6 in Wavell’s favour, a stat that ignited Keebra into overdrive.

“We spoke about how momentum swings in rugby league and how we had lots of opportunities,”

It was about staying positive… the points will come,” Norman said.

Tavake Tau’a’alo opened the second half tab to put Keebra in front for the first time before Daniel Feki added fuel to the fire, extending that lead to 22-16 with just over 20 minutes to play.

It was a short-lived feeling as Laurie Lupemarasila clocked on Wavell’s fourth for the night — miraculously not converted but still roping the lead back to just two.

The to and fro continued with another try awarded to both sides before the siren, including a second to Phillips.

WALTERS CUP REVIEW

A miraculous second-half effort from the visiting Wavell State High School left hosts Keebra Park wondering what went wrong in their Walters Cup season opener.

Leading 10-0 at halftime, the home side let in back-to-back ties and found themselves suddenly trailing by eight points.

Jordyn Cameron offered some relief, finding the line with 11min30sec on the clock - a successful conversion reining in the gap within two before Wavell’s Kanon Philips struck under the posts.

Coach Ben Colley said it came down to the side’s preparation.

“We went on a two-day 20km adventure hike before the season, with the idea that we didn’t work hard enough last year as a group,” Colley said.

“Being down 10-0 and having a centre go to the sin bin in a 60 minute game… the boys could have given up so I’m really proud of the boys for playing out of position and doing what they needed to do.”

Tries: Hanipale Sosene, Billo Wotton, Kanon Phillips and Romarion Tuitamo.

Check out the full Langer Trophy LIVE STREAM schedule below.

PREVIEW

After losing the 2023 season to a shoulder injury, star schoolboys second rower Anton Whaiapu is back and set to lead Keebra Park SHS into the 2024 Langer Trophy season.

Whaiapu, who celebrated Mal Meninga Cup grand final success on Saturday playing for Tweed Seagulls against Burleigh Bears, had to cool his heels on the sidelines last year while he recovered from the major surgery.

He watched on as his brother, Wailer, took care of business as skipper.

The family affair doesn’t end at captaincy reigns, with the older Whaiapu requiring similar surgery post-season.

Catch all four Langer Trophy first round games LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on the same day, with Keebra Park’s clash with Wavell at Southport Tigers set to kick off at 5.30pm.

All eight rounds and finals from the Langer Trophy and the Year 10 Walters Cup will be LIVE STREAMED on KommunityTV in a deal with the NRL and Queensland Secondary Schools Rugby League.

Anton Whaiapu is back for Keebra Park.

Keebra Park head coach Peter Norman is pleased to not only have his star forward back, but to see him lead the team in hopefully their best season yet.

“He (Anton) is a quietly spoken young man but he leads by example on and off the field, so we’re lucky to have him as part of our team,” Norman said.

Keebra Park were edged out by eventual champions Palm Beach Currumbin in a tense quarter final in 2023, losing 14-12.

Norman is pleased that many of his boys, now in their second and third years of Langer Trophy experience, will be better prepared both physically and mentally for the competition.

“That’s definitely a strength of our squad,” he said.

“We’ve got a number of boys returning from last year’s squad, which is handy.

“They’ll be better off from the experience of last year and have learned from some mistakes.”

In saying that, Norman is also eager to see the mix of experience and youth in his squad get to work.

“The most exciting thing is for those kids who have been at the school since Year 7, and have always wanted to play open age for Keebra Park, to be able to pull on that jersey this year,” he said.

Captains of the eight schools. Picture: Liam Kidston

“It’s the best part of the job.

“To see kids work really hard over a number of years and they finally get to reach that goal.

“It’s a really exciting time of year when they get that jersey for the first time and want to do it justice, they put their best foot forward.

“It’s a really special night.”

With round 1 on the horizon, Norman said the squad’s biggest focus in pre-season has been themselves.

“The score will take care of itself,” he said.

“From my perspective, I’m looking forward to seeing the boys try and execute their positions specifically, working hard as a playing group and no one trying to be the superstar themselves.”

He believed a team attitude would pave the way for wins.

“If we manage to do that and everyone does their job for the team, I’ll be pretty confident we can take home the win,” he said.

“We’re more focused on the process than the outcome this year.”

Confident their pre-season efforts will pay off, Norman said it’s been a somewhat tricky battle balancing his players’ loads between schoolboys and representative footy.

Keebra Park edged out Wavell 18-8 in 2023.

“It’s a pretty crazy time of year with the amount of football these boys are playing, so they’re feeling a bit sore and sorry for themselves,” he said.

“The first half of the year is always a tricky one from a school’s perspective because you don’t want to overload the boys and risk them getting injured.:

The way Norman sees it, there’s no point risking a player’s entire season in the first game.

“If they’re not up to it then we’re not going to put them at risk,” he said.

“It’s a long season and we’ve go to look after them, but at the same time every round counts and we want to put our strongest team out on the park.

“We want to make sure we’re ticking all of our boxes and getting it right … and I’d imagine Wavell would be in the same boat.

“We’re expecting them to be a tough opposition.”