NRL Schoolboys quarterfinals live stream: All Saints, Maitland take on Westfields Sports High

Reaching the NRL Schoolboys knockout stages for the first time in five years, All Saints, Maitland are drawing on hometown inspiration. Catch them LIVE at 11.15am on Wednesday.

All Saints, Maitland will be looking to draw confidence from their homegrown heroes when the school takes on competition heavyweights Westfields Sports High, in the quarterfinals of the Peter Mulholland Cup.

Competing in the knockout stages for the first time since 2018, the college owes much of its success to local grade club the Maitland Pickers, who have played a huge role in shaping All Saints’ style of play.

You can see the teams battle it out LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on Kommunity TV at 11.15am from Lidcombe Oval on Wednesday. Catch four games back-to-back from 10am. See the full schedule below.

“A lot of the kids feed into Maitland, and the coaching structures and systems here under (Pickers’ first grade coach) Matt Lantry and his team, all the way down to under-19s and 17s, are just phenomenal,” said All Saints assistant coach Nathan Koen.

“Having a fair chunk of the boys in the Maitland system certainly helps.”

In addition to having the bulk of their players run around for Maitland on the weekends, All Saints are coached by Chris Brennan, the Pickers’ development coach, which has only further strengthened the connection between school and club.

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All Saints player Cody Hopwood is an Australian Schoolboys representative.

“Brenno brings that same sort of philosophy and the similar sort of game plans,” said Koen.

“In particular, our structures and ruck plays are the same as Maitland’s, so the kids are getting that common language, which certainly helps.”

For the record, Maitland just isn’t any old local club. The Pickers’ first grade side, which plays in the Newcastle Rugby League competition, has an almighty claim to being the best semi-professional rugby league outfit in the state.

Reigning minor and major premiers in the Newcastle competition, Maitland has claimed the last two Presidents Cup competitions, held in 2020 and 2022, which sees the winners of the Newcastle, Illawarra, Peter McDonald Premiership (combined Group 10 and 11) and Sydney’s Ron Massey Cup competitions fight it out to be named the state’s best semi-professional team.

“Maitland’s flying at the moment, they’ve just won their third minor premiership in a row,” said Koen.

“You see the Maitland side littered with ex-students – your Brock Lambs, Lincoln Smiths, those sorts of people who’ve come through the college – so there’s a really good connection.

“The school’s just around the corner from Maitland Sportsground as well, so we’ve had a strong and proud tradition with Maitland.”

Maitland are the reigning Presidents Cup champions. Photo: Newcastle Rugby League.

Led by former Newcastle Knights NSW Cup and youth development officer Matt Lantry, the club has a reputation for its excellent pathways and placing a focus on developing local talent.

“I think Maitland’s system is far superior to that of a lot of clubs, not only in Newcastle but across the state,” said Koen.

“We don’t get much assistance from the Knights, so we’re pretty well reliant on Matt’s team and the coaching the kids get at Maitland.”

After narrowly going down to Central Coast Sports College 20-16 in its first game, the school rebounded to defeat Hunter Sports High and Farrer MAHS to top the northern pool on points difference.

“It’s the first time we’ve been to this stage since 2018, so the boys are pretty pleased with themselves,” said Koen. “To go as far as we have is pretty good for a school from Maitland, and the boys are pretty excited about the next challenge.”

Coming up against Westfields, who topped the seeded pool with three wins from three, will undoubtedly be All Saints’ toughest assignment of the competition so far, and Koen says part of the challenge will be to ensure his team isn’t overawed by the occasion.

“That’s probably the main focus. With all the modern-day apps and what not, the boys are well aware of how they’ve gone. But our focus is on what we do well – we’ve played some pretty good footy at certain points in the campaign.”

After losing their first game, All Saints came back to top the northern pool.

Indeed, with the likes of Australian Schoolboy representative forward Cody Hopwood and his front row partner, NSWCCC prop Jack Hilliar, in the side, All Saints have plenty of strike power of their own.

“We always have one or two kids in the Knights’ systems or elsewhere, but we’ve got about three or four now, and, of course, having Cody Hopwood, an Australian schoolboy, helps,” said Koen.

“Sometimes you just get teams where they’re all good mates and of a similar sort of character. These guys are mainly in year 11, I think we’ve only got four who are in year 12.

“They’re all good mates, and it’s just one of those years where there’s a bit of spirit around the place.”