SPL: Palm Beach Currumbin State High’s Declan Smith decided to repeat his final year of school for another crack at SPL glory
Palm Beach Currumbin will chase grand final glory in our live stream at 2.30pm on Thursday. WATCH THE GAME LIVE
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CHOOSING to repeat Year 12 to gain another shot at a Queensland Schools Premier League title was equally one of the easiest and most challenging decisions of Declan Smith’s life.
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In his final year of high school, the talented centre- back was representing Queensland in schoolboys’ football when he tore his calf completely off the bone 20 minutes into his first match.
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The 18-year-old spent two months on crutches and five months on the sidelines, forcing him to miss Palm Beach Currumbin State High’s 2019 SPL championship.
And so after being part of the PBC sporting excellence program since Year 8, Smith decided to spend one more year at high school to further his football and education.
“It was a huge decision to make,” he said.
“At the start of last year, I didn’t have many options but I decided I wanted to come back and do my Cert IV diploma of business to give myself more options.
“I also wanted to play schoolboys for Queensland and Australia but both, unfortunately, got cancelled.”
Smith’s decision looked shaky when COVID-19 hit and community sport was put on indefinite hold.
But, luckily, PBC now has the chance to defend its title after a 4-0 win over Helensvale State High School in the SPL semi-final.
And it will be Smith who will get to don the captain’s armband for his last game of SPL football.
“I’m back and hopefully we can do it again this year,” he said. “It would be great for the school, to give ourselves a good name and be the first team to go back to back.
“The team this year is as strong as last year so I think we’re a big chance.
“It would be incredible if we won this year, especially as it’s my last year.”
EARLIER
A MOTORBIKE accident and resulting ruptured spleen robbed Lachlan Anderson of a year of his junior football career.
But a Queensland Schools Premier League championship with Palm Beach Currumbin State High School could prove the perfect tonic.
Last year on his 15th birthday, Anderson was on a short joy ride around Currumbin when the bike collided with a tree, leaving him with a ruptured spleen.
“There were six paramedics, three ambulances and I got put straight into surgery,” Anderson said.
“The first surgery didn’t work so they had to do a second which luckily did work but I was in hospital for around eight days.”
Last Thursday marked Anderson’s first game of football in over a year since the accident as his school booked their SPL grand final spot with a 4-0 win over Helensvale State High School.
The 15-year-old started rebuilding his fitness at the start of the year after a seven-month recovery only for sport to be suspended for months and his comeback delayed.
But like a duck to water, Anderson felt right at home on the pitch once more.
“It just felt normal, on the field, it all slipped into place,” he said.
The son of former Gold Coast Charger Darren Anderson, the year 10 student defied his father’s rugby league past to carve out a promising junior football career.
He was spotted at club football by Gold Coast City coach and Palm Beach Currumbin excellence coach Shane Robinson, who convinced Anderson to trial for PBC’s sporting excellence program in year 7.
“I think I watched a few games and wanted to give it a go so I tried it and loved it,” Anderson said.
“I did use to play rugby league but I’ve been playing soccer my whole life.”
Three years in the NPL system and a stint as a member of the state development squad soon followed.
And now as one of the youngest on the team, Anderson will join his teammates on their historic march towards back to back SPL titles – a feat never achieved by Palm Beach Currumbin State High in their sporting history.
“I reckon we’ve got a good chance,” he said.
“We’ve got a great squad and I think we’re a good chance to get the win.”
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