Live stream: Matraville High face Patrician Brothers Fairfield in big Peter Mulholland Cup showdown

Patrician Brothers Fairfield have put one foot in the Peter Mulholland Cup finals with a brilliant fight back against a willing Matraville. Watch how it all unfolded in the REPLAY.

Patrician Brothers Fairfield coach Frank Pritchard has demanded more from his side after they locked up a finals spot in the Peter Mulholland Cup on Tuesday.

The proud rugby league nursery will return to the finals for the first time since their 2022 Cup triumph after edging their way past a gutsy Matraville side 34-22.

But Pritchard was adamant his side needed to fix its errors over the next six weeks in the lead up to the quarter-finals.

WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

The winless Matraville came out swinging from the outset, and led 12-6 midway through the first half, but Pritchard said the biggest blows landed on his side were self-inflicted.

“It was a bit of an arm wrestle for us,” Pritchard said.

“We knew it was going to be hard but we just made things tough by turning over the ball and not completing our sets.

“We’re glad to get the win, but we’ve got to be better.”

The Fairfield side was forced into multiple position changes for the match as the school battled with injuries, but an opportunity at the back only helped captain Alex Isdale break the shackles on his attacking game.

“For us, the best thing for the team was to put Alex in the back there,” Pritchard said.

“His footy IQ around defence and attack is a lot stronger than the other boys and he’s a key leader for the boys.

“His comms and his chat are enormous for us.”

Check out the full LIVE STREAM schedule below.

Despite all the changes, Pritchard said they weren’t behind the poor performance from his boys at points in the match.

“Matraville came out swinging,” he said.

“They caught us asleep a few times and if we end up doing that against the other, stronger teams, then they’ll put their points on the board.

“We know that once we step onto the field, we’ve got to be focused and understand that no matter the positions, we’ve just got to adapt to it.”

PREVIEW

Patrician Brothers Fairfield will look to inspirational captain Alex Isdale to take the schools’ fate back into its own hands.

The Fairfield side will need to pull out all the stops, and record a convincing result over winless Pool B rivals Matraville if they are to book themselves a berth in the Peter Mulholland Cup finals.

Even then, they will need to rely on another result falling their way in July, but as it stands it is do-or-die for the Patrician Brothers side.

Catch all the action from Yarra Oval LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV from 12.30pm, Tuesday.

Isdale has been in this position before this season.

The Tigers-contracted playmaker steered Western Suburbs to the Harold Matthews Cup finals earlier this year, making it all the way to the grand final before being beaten by a history-making Warriors side.

Isdale will have a point to prove against Matraville, having been out-duelled by rival halfback Jhett Sydir when the Fairfield side were beaten comprehensively by PMC favourites Patrician Brothers Blacktown last round.

In a bold move to give the playmaker more space, Fairfield coach Frank Pritchard has opted to move him to fullback for the clash with Matraville.

The Blacktown nursery has already cemented its place in the PMC finals after starting the competition on fire, and could make the equation much easier for Fairfield to progress, if they can beat All Saints, Maitland next month.

Alex Isdale holds the key for Patties. Picture: Warren Gannon.

But the Fairfield side will be determined to not leave their spot up to chance, and will be determined to overcome their sluggish starts in the earlier rounds when they clash with Matraville Sports High.

Matraville didn’t come close to Patrician Brothers Blacktown in the opening round, and a player shortage forced the side to forfeit its second round road trip to Maitland.

While they are mostly playing for pride at this stage, the school, which returned to the competition for the first time last season, does still have an outside chance of reaching the finals if they can shock their rivals on Tuesday.

With it all still to play for in the Peter Mulholland Cup, it sets up an exciting clash before the competition breaks for the school holidays and representative period.

TEAM LISTS

Matraville Sports High

1. Tighe Rowley, 2. Clayton McGoon, 3. Ben Lawrence, 4. Dennis Toukafa, 5. Tanner Shears, 6. Jayden Rooke, 7. Harry Bichoff, 8. Phillip Lauakeilaho, 9. Kory Taaffe, 10. Kye Walker, 11. Malakai Suluka, 12. Malakai Schwalger-Ioane, 13. John Van De Walle, 14. Jimmy Davies, 15. Hussein El Makdad, 16. Nicholas Fakahau, 17. Jason Fonokalafi, 18. Rongo Wetini, 19. Robbie Simms, 20. Jay Lester

Patrician Brothers, Fairfield

1. Alex Isdale, 2. Jarell Tutuila, 3. Tarelle Tutu, 4. Jezia Tua’Au, 5. Tyler Volkov, 6. Sonny-Whaoira Edwards, 7. Brandon Navarro, 8. Spencer Kavapalu, 9. Jireh-Trey Stewart, 10. Will Hehea, 11. Neveah Pritchard, 12. Felise Taufa-ao, 13. Kimball Liufau, 14. Mouhamad Ayache, 15. Soul Tuiletufuga, 16. Hunter Mitchell, 17. Jayden Hashim, 18. Evander Tanea