Live stream: Palm Beach Currumbin v Caloundra SHS, Langer Trophy, Round 4

A shocking injury has marred what was a cracking Langer Trophy clash between Palm Beach Currumbin and Caloundra High. Watch the REPLAYS.

The Langer Trophy clash between Palm Beach Currumbin SHS and Caloundra SHS was called off with 10 minutes to play in the second half after a Caloundra player sustained a serious injury.

The player played the ball after being tackled and then went to ground clutching at a lower back. He looked to be in serious pain and lay on the field unmoved for over half an hour.

Officials made the decision to call an end to the game midway through the second half as they waited for an ambulance to arrive at the venue.

WATCH THE LANGER TROPHY REPLAY ABOVE, SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH THE WALTERS CUP

Palm Beach Curumbin prevailed comfortably in the clash, storming to a 28-0 victory off the back of two tries in the opening five minutes of the second half.

It was a night to forget for the Sunshine Coast school, who also lost Queensland Schoolboys representative forward Cooper Clarke early in the piece to an ankle injury. The game was paused for about four minutes while Clarke had to be helped from the field, unable to put any weight on the injured joint.

The dominant win meant Palm Beach Currumbin snapped a streak of back-to-back home losses, to claim its second win of the season.

PBC opened the scoring through year 11 half Marley McLaren, who also set up the second try after his brilliant bomb under pressure forced the ball to spill and paved the way for his halves partner Taj Lateo to score.

From there, the floodgates opened for the home side.

Palm Beach Currumbin v Stretton - (Walters Cup)

Trailing 16-0 at the break, Caloundra’s fortune went from bad to worse after a kick was smothered and successfully chased down for a try by Reuben Tamariki.

Sunny Kama and Hudson Pratt were the other try-scorers for the Reds, as both crossed with strong finishes in the corner.

“I was very happy with our defence more than anything to hold a team to nil,” said PBC coach Tim Maccan.

“They’re a team that likes to play footy, like to throw the ball around and have got a few little trick plays, especially with their kick offs, I thought we did a really good job.”

The performance of Maccan’s second-row pair also caught his eye.

“Jack Finnegan on the right, I thought he was very physical in attack and defence,” he said.

“The other one was Reuben Tamariki, I think that was his best game he’s played for us, he was very physical, he was moving towards the contact and he was really good I thought.”

The loss is Caloundra’s fourth on the trot to open its 2024 campaign, with the school tested heavily early in its fixture against a number of Langer powerhouses.

Depite the scoreless result, it was far from an insipid showing, with Caloundra’s forwards running with ferocity and hounding the PBC line early, but to no avail.

One passionate PBC student continually called it ‘the red wall’, and his summation was spot on.

PREVIEW

Caloundra might have endured a winless start to its Langer Trophy campaign.

But in the eyes of Palm Beach Currumbin coach Tim Maccan, the Sunshine Coast school still poses a significant threat.

The schools will be pitted against one another on Wednesday afternoon, with the Walters Cup game kicking off KommunityTV’s LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage at 4.15pm.

The reigning Langer Trophy champions have one win from their first three games this season, and Maccan said they would be on red alert against Caloundra.

“They’ll be another tough test for us,” Maccan said.

“It’ll be a good chance for us to test our depth against a team that’s been in every game and has really tested a couple of top sides.”

While Caloundra may be winless, it has endured a testing fixture throughout the opening rounds, coming up against Keebra, Marsden, and Mabel Park, and showing plenty of fight in all three games.

See the full Langer Trophy live stream schedule for the week below. Click the links to watch games LIVE.

Caloundra SHS against Mabel Park SHS in the 2024 Langer Trophy. Photo: Steve Pohlner.

Maccan - whose side is characterised by its zip rather than the punch it packs - was particularly wary of Caloundra’s strong forward pack, spearheaded by destructive front-rower Cooper Clarke.

“They’ve got some fast outside backs too, we’ve definitely got to be on our game this week,” Maccan added.

A traditional Langer powerhouse, PBC has faltered throughout the opening rounds of the season, with just one win to show from three outings.

The Reds narrowly fell to Mabel Park 18-16 last week, in a bizarre encounter that was delayed twice because the lights went out, with Maccan lamenting his side’s lapses in concentration.

Key cogs Zane Harrison and Sam Stephenson were both missing from that encounter and will again be unavailable as they prepare to represent the Queensland under-19s in State of Origin on Thursday.

Palm Beach Currumbin players Marley McLaren and Taj lateo with Broncos legend Kevin Walters after the school won the Walters Cup.

Taj Lateo shifted to halfback last week in Harrison’s absence, and was partnered by year 11 five-eighth Marley McLaren.

Underpinned by a strong running game, McLaren has been finding his feet in his first season at Langer Trophy level.

“Marley’s been good, the challenge for him is he’s always been in a team where he’s the dominant player,” Maccan said.

“He’s trying to work on his game at the moment of having a smaller role and doing that really well.

“The past couple of weeks he’s been getting better and better, you can definitely see him improving throughout the year.”

Originally published as Live stream: Palm Beach Currumbin v Caloundra SHS, Langer Trophy, Round 4