Schoolboys Cup Live Stream: Shalom College v St Brendan’s Yeppoon, Dolphins Cup, Round 1

St Brendan’s College has stormed out of the blocks in the Dolphins Cup cruising to victory over a very willing Shalom College. Watch the REPLAYS.

Star fullback Banjo Walker has spearheaded St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon to a comfortable opening win in the Dolhpins Cup.

Walker scored a try and potted two conversions, but added plenty more with ball in hand in the 24-4 win over Shalom Catholic College.

WATCH BOTH REPLAYS IN FULL BELOW

Shalom showed plenty of spirit to stay with their rivals for most of the first half, matching the reigning champions for intensity and effort through the middle of the field.

But the well-coached Yeppoon outfit wasn’t going to be denied, showing an impressive level of stamina to come home strong in the second half.

With skipper Tommy Green pulling the strings, St Brendan’s scored three unanswered tries in the second half to run away with the win.

Earlier St Brendan’s Dolphins Challenge outfit managed to outlast a late fightback from Shalom College to kick off their 2023 campaign with an 18-14 victory.

REPLAYS

Dolphins Challenge Round 1 - St Brendan’s College v Shalom College

Dolphins Cup Round 1 - St Brendan’s College v Shalom College

Shalom College know they are up for the toughest challenge of the Dolphins Cup, and they are ready to meet it head on.

The Bundaberg nursery will kick off their Cup campaign with a huge Round 1 clash against two-time defending champions St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon.

The clash will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV as part of our season-long coverage of the Queensland schoolboys league competitions. The action kicks off with a Dolphins Challenge (Year 10) curtain raiser at 2.30pm.

St Brendan’s are the heavyweights of the Dolphins Cup, having won the inaugural competition last season and North Queensland’s Aaron Payne Cup in 2021.

St Brendan’s and Shalom met in the Dolphins Cup semi-finals last season.

But Shalom College, which will be coached by former NRL player Antonio Kaufusi in 2023, are ready to use the clash to make a statement of intent.

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“It will be a really tough challenge for us, especially being in Round 1,” Shalom head of rugby league Adam Booth said.

“We have had a really good preparation. We are quietly confident they will play well and put their best foot forward.”

Shalom College barnstorming backrower Noah Law was part of the Wide Bay team at the Schoolboys Rugby League State Championships. Picture: Scott Radford-Chisholm

The Shalom College side had seven players represent the Wide Bay region at the Queensland Schools State Championships in Townsville last week including Broncos contracted outside back Tom Morcom.

While they didn’t come through the Championships completely unscathed, with one player ruled out of their opening round clash, Booth said it had been important to manage workloads in the lead up to the Cup kicking off.

St Brendan’s enter the game in a similar situation, with four of their top players lining up for Capricornia at the state championships, making it through to a grand final showdown with South Coast.

St Brendan's College, Yeppoon skipper Tom Green ahead of the Dolphins Cup season. Picture: Supplied

St Brendan’s head of league Luke Caplick said his side was well aware they were up for a tough battle against Shalom.

“We know they will be strong this year, they had a number of players in the Wide Bay squad who played well at the championships,” Caplick said.

“This year’s Dolphins Cup will be as close as it ever has been. We’re expecting Emmaus and TCC to have really strong sides as well.

“It is exciting. It is good for us to have some really tough games. If we aren’t playing strong games locally, we are not battle hardened for those games against teams from Mackay or Townsville.”