NRL Schoolboys Cup: Watch Patrician Brothers Fairfield v Holy Cross College, Ryde

Patrician Brothers may have cruised into the Peter Mulholland Cup finals series, but Holy Cross have proven it’s not time to be counting them out. Watch the full match replay.

Patrician Brothers, Fairfield will take on Endeavour Sports High School in the NRL Schoolboys Cup quarter-finals after beating Holy Cross 22-20 in the final game of the season.

Having not won by a large enough margin to overtake Erindale College as the top ranked qualifier, Patties will take on Pool A’s third placed team in next Wednesday’s quarter-finals.

The sizeable crowd at New Era Stadium was kept on the edge of its seat, as a spirited Holy Cross outfit drew within two points to set up a thrilling final few minutes.

It had been the story of the night with Holy Cross constantly finding a way to claw their way back into the clash.

Even after Patrician Brothers shocked them in the opening minute, when booming centre Sione Lolohea broke through to score, Holy Cross still fought back to level the scores at 8-8 heading into halftime.

With the tries seesawing between the schools, the win was still up for grabs right until the final whistle was blown.

Patrician Brothers controlled the first minutes of each half, landing two tries in the first, and a trio in the second, courtesy of second rower Jezaiah Funa-Iuta, left wing Dionn Haratsaris, prop Jordan Miller, Zaidas Muagututia and Lolohea.

Despite this, Holy Cross was never far behind, with four-pointers from fullback Cameron Kanaan and hooker Cooper Wheelhouse putting Patrician Brotherss under immense pressure in the final 10 minutes.

The tight game was not unexpected, with both schools having started the third and final Peter Mulholland Cup game undefeated.

The efforts of Holy Cross’ second rower Angus Gray and left center Rory Davidson cannot go amiss, with their tries in the first 30 minutes keeping them in the game.

Holy Cross’ resilience has sent a clear warning to the remaining teams in the finals, with the side qualified for a quarter final berth as the second place finisher in the unseeded pools.

PREVIEW: All on the line in crunch Schoolboys Cup clash

After almost three months of preliminaries, the quarter final equation of the Peter Mulholland Cup has come down to a mere 60 minutes and the result of the final game.

While Patrician Brothers, Fairfield are safely ensconced in the final eight, who joins them as well as who they play is very much dependent on Thursday night's result.

Holy Cross enter the match with a distinct disadvantage and need to pile on the points as well as win. Their climb to victory though is made all the more harder by a wave of injuries.

The game will be livestreamed from New Era Stadium, Cabramatta by KommunityTV on Thursday from 6pm.

Missing a trio of key players in scrum half Mikey Nasser, Max Braham and Jaii Robertson, Holy Cross coach Tim White said they will be relying on their year 12 players, who “are older and more experienced kids.”

Patrician Brothers Fairfield will be determined to build momentum heading into the NRL Schoolboys Cup finals series. Picture: John Appleyard

The line-up will still feature key tryscorers in right wing Rory Davidson and left centre Jonah Watson, as well as scrum half Malakai Iatilevu who White highlighted as a crucial playmaker.

With the recent wet weather having impacted the team’s training, White said he will instruct them to “play a bit off the cuff and just see what happens.”

The match will be an historic moment for Patrician Brothers.

The clash marks 40 years since they beat Holy Cross 18-15 in the Cup final, then known as the CommBank Cup.

There will be a strong sense of legacy and school pride as coach of the victorious Pats 1982 team, Kevin Bourke, is due to be in attendance. He is the father of current assistant coach Bill.

HERE IS THE QUARTER FINAL QUALIFYING SCENARIO

All schools in Pool A - Hills Sports High School, Westfields Sports, Endeavour Sports and Patrician Brothers, Blacktown - automatically qualify.

The top schools from pools B, C and D, along with the top second-placed finisher from those pools will progress. Erindale College (Group B) and St Dominics (Group D) are guaranteed to advance.

The Group C victor will come from Thursday night's game. With both teams tied on four points, it’s a winner take all.

The final spot will come down to Holy Cross, Patrician Brothers, Fairfield and Illawarra SHS, with the Group C duo in the box seat.

Patrician Brothers will still qualify even if they lose as they hold such a strong point differential advantage over Illawarra (100 to -40). Holy Cross are also in a good spot with their differential over Illawarra (36 to -40). It means Illawarra will need Holy Cross to fall to a 76-point loss.

As far as next week’s quarter final are concerned, the top school from pools B, C or D will take on Pool A’s fourth-placed team (Patrician Brothers, Blacktown), while the top second placed team take on Hill Sports.

If Patrician Brothers win Thursday’s game by 28 points or more, they will knock Erindale College off the top spot and take on Patrician Brothers, Blacktown – a more favourable opposition to take on to seal a semi-final spot.