Live stream: Endeavour Sports High v St Gregory’s College, Peter Mulholland Cup, Round 3

True to their word, Endeavour were much better than in round 1 and have now blown their pool wide open by clinically disposing of St Gregory’s in front of their home crowd. Relive all the action.

Endeavour Sports High has blown the race for Peter Mulholland Cup finals positions wide open with an explosive performance at St Gregory’s College.

A brilliant solo effort from Endeavour fullback Zane Walker in the shadows of halftime, the first of a try-scoring double for the custodian, proved a decisive blow, as the Sutherland nursery managed to weather a St Gregory’s fightback and secure a 30-12 victory.

The win means Endeavour now joins St Gregs and Bass High on one win a-piece at the top of the Pool D standings midway through the round stages.

While a howling wind played a major part in the clash, it was the constant hammering of Endeavour’s outside backs through the heart of the St Gregory’s defence that proved key in the contest.

The Endeavour back five, led by powerful centres Kaden Garner and Nikora Williams, were incredible for the visitors, punching holes through the St Gregory’s defence and putting their side on the front foot constantly.

Couple that with the powerful work of Endeavour backrowers Hemi Blackburn-Kingi and Blake Watman made for a brilliant foundation for Sharks representative five-eighth Jack Schumacher to go to work in the first half.

Schumacher set up the side’s first try for Garner after breaking through the line, before halves partner Lewis Seargent-Wilson did the same for Blackburn-Kingi only minutes later.

The ding-dong battle between Cronulla-contracted centre Williams and his opposite number, Gene Wighton, the younger brother of former NSW Origin centre Jack Wighton, provided plenty of entertainment across the game with both players pulling out all the stops to get one up on their rival.

The visitors went to the break with a near unassailable 20-point lead, but to their credit the St Gregory’s boys refused to give up in front of a strong home crowd, which featured some of the school’s famed alumni, including ex-NRL stars Jason Taylor and Jimmy Smith.

Bench forward Sebastian Sykes inspired the home side with several barnstorming carries through the middle, opting to fight fire with fire against the Endeavour middle men.

His efforts did the trick helping lay the foundation for back-to-back tries for St Gregory’s through their right edge of Callum McMenemy and Tyson Walker.

With the howling wind at their back, and an ominous storm rolling in, the St Gregory’s side appeared ready to steamroll their way over the top of the Endeavour side.

But a knock on from the kick-off gave Schumacher a chance to make his final mark on the contest, setting up an easy four-pointer for winger Jayden Herron and putting the result beyond doubt.

PREVIEW

Endeavour Sports High coach David Howlett has declared his side ‘will be better’ than their opening round effort, as they prepare to face off against a wounded St Gregory’s College in the Peter Mulholland Cup.

While their season is far from being at the crossroads, an upset loss to Bass High in Round 1 has The Shire-based school on the back foot in the elite schoolboys’ competition.

They will come up against a St Gregory’s College side, who despite winning their opening game of the season, are ‘feeling shaky’ coming into the clash as they battle a minor injury crisis in their top squad.

The Round 3 Cup clash will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV on Wednesday, June 12 as part of our season-long coverage of the NRL Schoolboys Cup.

While he admitted the opening round loss hadn’t come as much of a shock to him as to those outside of the school, Howlett said he had worked closely with his squad to improve on the field as they prepare to fight for their spot in the finals for the first time in a number of years.

Australian Schoolboys backrower Nikora Williams was a key out for Endeavour in Round 1. He is expected to make his return against St Greg’s. Picture: Adam Wrightson Photography

“We need to be on our game now, every game is super important,” Howlett said.

“In the old (seeded pool) system, we were guaranteed a finals spot, so we could afford to build into a season. We don’t have that this season. We are not aiming to peak later in the year, we have to be at our best now.

“I am confident we will be better than what we were in the last game.

“There was nothing wrong with our effort (in the first game). We played with a lot of spirit and competed well and the boys have taken that attitude to their training. That extra effort at training is how you get better as a team. That is what we have done over the past two or three weeks.”

Howlett, who has watched the tape of St Gregory’s last-ditch win over rivals St Dominic’s College two times now, said he was prepared for the Campbelltown nursery to be ‘extremely competitive’ despite the injury challenges.

St Gregory’s coach Tom Morrison said his side was bring a ‘next man up’ mentality into the clash with Endeavour Sports High, as they face an uphill battle with six players either out of their first-choice squad or racing the clock to be fit for the clash.

The school has been given a slight boost with the inclusion of exciting outside back Gene Wighton, the younger brother of Rabbitohs strike centre Jack Wighton, while several of the school’s extended squad members are fighting tooth and nail to grab their own opportunity in the top side.

St Gregory’s College were impressive in their opening round win over St Dominic’s College. Picture: St Gregory's College

Wighton comes in at the expense of centre Damon Potts, who is out with a fractured eye socket, while starting lock Brady McMillan will also miss the clash through injury.

“We are trying to piece together what we have got,” Morrison said. “I am sure once the boys put on the jersey though, they will be fine. It has been a bit of a difficult period to manage with all the injuries.

“We expect our boys to understand our processes, and it is a next man up type of mentality. They all train together often our boys, both our first and second grade sides train together on Mondays.

“They should all be used to our system, so they won’t have to adjust too much.

“We look forward to the tussle (with Endeavour), we think it will be two good football sides going at each other.”

TEAM LISTS

St Gregory’s College

1. James Croker, 2. Tyson Walker, 3. Callum McMenemy, 4. Gene Wighton, 5. Thomas Goodfield, 6. Cooper Black, 7. Callum Rossiter, 8. Joel Byrne, 9. Luke Cannon, 10. Lucas Rossi, 11. Archie Duncombe, 12. Archie Gay, 13. Cooper Tuilakeba, 14. Lorima Cosgrave, 15. Sebastian Sykes, 16. Mase Hillcoat, 17. Jake Jones

Endeavour Sports High

1. Zane Walker, 2. Dallas Blackburn-Kingi, 3. Kaden Garner, 4. Nikora Williams, 5. Jayden Herron, 6. Jack Schumacher, 7. Lewis Sargent-Wilson, 8. William Leha, 9. Tye Bursill, 10. Natane Haunga, 11. Hemi Blackburn-Kingi, 12. Blake Watman, 13. Thomas Dellow, 14. Koby Lillis, 15. Lochlin Moses, 16. Viliame Koroitamana, 17. Jamie Curran, 18. Cruz Parkin