NRL Schoolboys Cup live stream: Phil Hall Cup state final between PBC SHS and St Patrick’s College
Livewire utility Raymond Puru was outstanding as Palm Beach Currumbin kept the feared St Pats Mackay attacking machine scoreless in winning the Phil Hall Cup. Relive all the action.
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Palm Beach Currumbin State High School claimed the Phil Hall Cup on Wednesday with a scintillating 28-0 victory over St Patrick’s, Mackay at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
With the game still in the balance just after halftime, livewire utility Raymond Puru split the defence with a fantastic run and PBC backrower Baylen Donald crashed over to give the Reds an insurmountable three-try lead.
Metres came easily for Palm Beach as they marched down the field during every set while stonewall defence staved off any hopes of a comeback.
Palm Beach Currumbin centre Sam Stephenson put an exclamation mark on a powerful performance with a spectacular solo effort late in the game to put the result out of doubt.
Five-eighth Bailey McConnell burrowed over in the final set to further extend the Reds’ lead.
PBC will play Westfields in the NRL Schoolboys Cup final in two weeks time at Allianz Stadium.
The game got off to a shaky start with both teams making errors before a single tackle had been made – first with St Pat’s sending the kick-off over the dead ball line and then when Palm Beach failed to find touch from the ensuing penalty.
The southern school had the early ascendency and a fifth-tackle penalty allowed them to start a set deep in attack 10 minutes into the contest.
It didn’t take long for McConnell to spot a hole with a run back against the grain and he slipped through two tackles to open the scoring under the posts, giving captain and halfback Zane Harrison an easy conversion.
Palm Beach prop Jaylen Taewa went on barnstorming run soon after the first try, shrugging off at least four defenders and picking up plenty of metres.
The next tackle though,he went down with injury and had to leave the game.
St Pat’s improved as the game went on, settling into the grind and heading into the sheds 10-0 behind before PBC closed out the match in the second stanza.
PREVIEW
“Don’t get bored, get better’’ is the catchcry which has driven Palm Beach Currumbin SHS players through a season of Langer Trophy bear traps and into Wednesday’s Phil Hall Cup state grand final against St Patrick’s Mackay in Townsville.
In a glorious finish to the season, a surging PBC SHS swept past Marsden SHS and Mabel Park SHS who finished No.1 and No.2 after the home and away season, defeated arch rivals Keebra Park SHS in the semi-finals and then beat 2022 champions Ipswich SHS in last week’s Langer grand final.
All the action - along with the NRL Schoolgirls Cup between Mabel Park and Kirwan SHS - will be live streamed by www.couriermail.com.au, the Gold Coast Bulletin, Mackay’s Daily Mercury and News Corp affiliates via KommunityTV.
It has set up a mouthwatering Phil Hall Cup final against a St Patrick’s College side who arguably possess the best spine in schoolboys footy this season.
While PBC SHS has had more talented teams in its history, no side in the Langer Trophy season has been better at building pressure, ball control, chasing attacking or defensive kicks than PBC SHS. In the battle for territory, PBC SHS have been the undisputed champions.
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And why they were so good at the basics can now be revealed.
“We have a saying, ‘we don’t get bored, we get better’,’’ revealed PBC SHS coach Tim Maccan. “That’s what we like to say.
“We have just kept working on those same processes we have been working on all season.
“We will just do similar training sessions, and increase intensity closer to the game.
“But we will just stick to a very similar schedule of what we have stood by for the last six weeks.’’
PBC SHS enter Wednesday’s decider with a winning culture stretching back into the 1990s.
That culture then ramped up in 2000 when, with Eddie Harrison, Clint Amos and Brian Dangerfield as Australian schoolboys, PBC SHS won its first national title after ironically beating St Patrick’s Mackay in the state final.
“We have had some great success,’’ said coach Maccan, who played in the 2000 state title winning side.
“This is my third year in this head coaching role and I have been building off the back of the coaches before me and how they have set up the program. And being an ex-student, it makes me super proud to keep that tradition going.’’
RED ALERT PLAYERS
Ray Puru (PBC SHS)
Watch for this fleet-a-foot fullback to worry the St Patrick’s middle forward defence when he comes on for Jake Lateo after the sting has been taken out of the match. “He has done a great job coming off the bench playing the fullback role,’’ said coach Tim Maccan.
“Jake gives us a solid start and Ray comes in to speed it up.’’
Jaxon Purdue (St Patrick’s)
He has been one of the biggest improvers in age group football over the last two years, coming of age in the 2022 Conell Challenge Mackay Cutters side and going from strength to strength in this yeat’s Meninga Cup and also for St Patrick’s. So well did he play, he was Queensland’s No.1 selection at five-eight for the national schoolboy championships.
Sam Stephenson (PBC SHS)
Although courageously defended in last week’s Langer Trophy decider by Ipswich centre LJ Nonu, the tall, strapping Stephenson will be a handful.
A Year 11 student but already a Queensland schoolboy 18 years representative, the imposing Stephenson could tilt the decider his team’s way with just one single burst.
Defenders should get danger money if they are standing opposite Stephenson.
Will Saunders (PBC SHS)
The Queensland schoolboys have some elite rakes this season - Xavier Kerrisk ((St Patrick’s College), Tyler Peckham-Harris (Ipswich SHS), Cameron Bukowski (Villanova College), Mitch Rogers (Padua College) - but Saunders loses nothing in comparison to them.
Tall for a hooker, he gets out of the ruck when teams are tiring and brings his forwards with him or challenges with his own darts.
The alarm bells will sound when he goes to dummy half late in the first half and during the season half when fatigue sets in.
Will Shears (St Patrick’s College)
St Pat’s coach Ian Schifilliti believes his centre Will Shears will set off alarm bells in opposition minds.
“He’s been a little unsung,” Schifilliti said of Shears.
“As an outside back, when he gets his hands on the ball he very rarely gets put on his back, even coming out of trouble, not just scoring tries, he’s a strong ball-runner with good footwork.”
In last week’s victory over Emmaus, Shears was at the forefront of St Pat’s potent attack, his intent and positioning playing a major hand in two Bailey Anderson tries before he would cross for one himself.
Baylen Donald (PBC SHS)
One of the competition’s big improvers, the left edge forward with flaming red hair is fast gathering a reputation as one of the best schoolboy fringe forwards in the state.
He has constructed a fabulous reputation built upon effort on effort with hard running that always challenges the defence.
He can unload in a tackle as well.
Sunny Kama and Creedence Donovan (PBC SHS)
Both boys have come through the PBC SHS juniors scoring tries for fun. And both have impacted the scorebook during the final series, with Donovan scoring the winner against Keebra Park SHS and Kama finding a double in the grand final.
They are brilliant finisher and dangerous players.
Teams: PBC SHS (likely): 1. Jake Lateo, 2. Sunny Kama, 3. Sam Stephenson, 4. Tyson Ploegsma, 5. Creedence Donovan, 6. Bailey McConnell, 7. Zane Harrison,8. Brady Turner, 9. Will Saunders, 18. Jaylen Taewa, 11. Baylen Donald, 12. Jac Finigan, 13. Isaac Harrison, 14. Ray Puru,10. Jett Jackson, 15. Cameron Bevan, 16. Jace Williams, 17. Ethan Schultz.
St Patrick’s College: TBA on Monday morning
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