NRL Schoolboys Live Stream: Patrician Brothers Fairfield not afraid to enter season on top (NRL Schoolboys Cup)

The path to back-to-back titles is treacherous but Patties Fairfield are determined last year’s unexpected Peter Mulholland Cup success won’t be a one off. See the round one LIVE schedule.

Patrician Brothers Fairfield aren’t in the business of pretending.

The school, which won the Peter Mulholland Cup for the first time in three decades last year, has now become the hunted.

And they are embracing it.

Patrician Brothers Fairfield have set a course for back-to-back NRL Schoolboys state crowns, but the path has been made more treacherous as the competition expands in 2023.

Patties celebrate winning the NRL Schoolboys Grand Final in 2022.

The action from the Peter Mulholland Cup will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV in 2023, including matches from the expanded all-Victorian pool.

The addition of an all-Victorian pool, as well as two new teams in Matraville Sports High and

Central Coast Sports College, has taken the competition to a 20-team format this year.

It has added a layer of complexity to Patrician Brothers Fairfield’s shot at back-to-back titles, with the school now joined in Pool 4 by Matraville Sports, Erindale College and Illawarra Sports High.

The school’s head of sport, Brendan Wallace, said they were up for the challenge and had been working overtime in the off-season to maintain a competitive squad.

“There will be a lot of demand there,” Wallace said.

“When you are the ones that manage to be top of the tree, it is important to do what you can to maintain that level.

Assistant coach Joshua Morgan and Bailey Myers. Pic: Richard Dobson

“While it is a new bunch of boys, some of the younger boys from last year have really come into their own. It will be a competitive squad from what we can see.

“We have a strong pool to be in this year, a different pool of teams from last year. It will be a challenge for the boys.”

While for some teams, entering a new season as reigning champions can be a daunting prospect, senior player Bailey Myers was adamant it had bred a sense of determination in the squad.

“There’s always going to be pressure,” Myers said.

“We were underdogs last year and we won it, so everyone will be trying to come for our spot.

“The boys have trained hard all pre-season, hoping to back up what we did last year and go back to back.”

Former NRL forward Frank Pritchard will coach the Patrician Brothers Fairfield side again this season, and will be joined at the helm by long-time assistant Josh Morgan.

Morgan said the side had been training non-stop in the off-season, and the onus had been put on their senior students to lead the way.

Jordan Miller was a big success story last year. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“We’re feeling confident coming into it,” he said. “The boys have been training really hard and have picked up from where they left off last year.

“We’ve got boys here who bring the young guys in and show them the way.”

The school will open its campaign against Matraville Sports High at New Era Stadium on May 30.

While the Victorian pool action continues this week with a double header on Thursday, the NSW sides will get underway on May 17 with a clash between Bass High and Holy Cross Ryde.

The remainder of the opening round matches will be played between May 23-June 7.