Live stream: Redcliffe State High v Palm Beach Currumbin, Langer Trophy, Round 2
A terrific trio of Palm Beach Currumbin attackers have helped the Gold Coast juggernaut bounce back into the Langer Trophy winners’ circle. Watch the REPLAYS.
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Zane Harrison-Callum Bowles-Sunny Kama.
Talk about a potent combination.
Harrison was the puppeteer, Bowles the pivotal link man, and Kama the cool finisher on the turf of Kayo Stadium, less than a week after it was graced by the likes of Jordan Rapana, Anthony Milford and Herbie Farnworth.
Like clockwork, the Palm Beach Currumbin trio - in that same order - blew Redcliffe SHS out of the water in the first half of their round two Langer Trophy clash, combining for not one, not two but three tries before the interval.
The hat-trick laid the platform of a brilliant 24-10 win as Palm Beach Currumbin bounced back into the Langer Trophy winner’s circle.
WATCH THE LANGER TROPHY REPLAY ABOVE, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE WALTERS CUP
The first began with Harrison’s boot, as his kick lobbed into the path of Bowles who quickly offloaded to Kama before the defender had time to blink.
The trio’s ensuring two tries were eerily similar long-range efforts as they picked apart Redcliffe’s right edge defence with pinpoint passing and positioning.
A brilliant Harrison cutout pass had a big say in the latter of those tries, as Kama found himself with a first-half hat-trick.
Adding to his three try assists, Bowles also waltzed through a gaping hole in the Redcliffe defence - again on the right edge - to cross the stripe with ease.
Bowles and Harrison were also pivotal at the other end of the field - along with Taj Lateo - as they repelled Redcliffe’s best chance of the half to force Khan Turnbull into touch in the corner.
Forwards Bobby Smith and Toran O’Donnell were also particularly impressive for the Reds in the matches early stages.
PBC would take a healthy 22-0 lead into the break, however the second half would be far from smooth sailing for the Reds.
Redcliffe took an abnormally long time to come out of the changerooms after the half, leaving the PBC players waiting in their positions for several minutes, and whatever was plotted in that break was well worth the wait.
A monster run from Jairus Halahala with 24 minutes to play sparked the home side to life, as the front-rower broke multiple tackles and surged some 40 metres up field.
A penalty ensued and suddenly Redcliffe had a rare attacking set. They didn’t waste it either, with Tylah Akai barrelling over from close range.
Suddenly, Redcliffe played with some newfound dare.
Navy blue jerseys offloaded, they broke tackles and lines, they switched the ball from left to right, they stripped opponents of the footy.
Just four minutes after their first points, Redcliffe scored another try.
It came after they threatened on the left, before a crucial offload from Henry Sologinkin allowed them to switch the ball to the right in a single play, and halfback Grady Payne’s picturesque floater looped into the waiting arms of Jack O’Hagan who crossed with acres of space.
Replay: Redcliffe v Palm Beach Currumbin (Walters Cup)
Unfortunately for the hosts, despite attacking with promise and raucous support, they were unable to cross the stripe again.
A Harrison penalty goal with two minutes to play would be the Reds’ only points of the second half, as the storied captain sealed a 24-10 victory.
In the earlier Walters Cup fixture, PBC claimed its first win of the competition to fend off Redcliffe 14-10.
The results marked a welcome return to the winner’s list for the PBC sides, who were stunningly both held scoreless by Ipswich SHS in the opening round.
PREVIEW
The gameplan to knock Palm Beach Currumbin off its lofty schoolboys perch has been made clear.
That is the belief of Redcliffe State High head of rugby league, Jay Wilkinson, ahead of his school’s clash with the juggernaut Reds on Thursday.
The clash between Redcliffe and PBC will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV, with the Walters Cup game kicking off at 2.15pm on Thursday and the Langer Trophy to follow.
Check out the full Queensland Schoolboys Round 2 live stream schedule below. Click the links to watch other matches
Reigning Langer Trophy, Phil Hall Cup, and national schoolboys finalists Palm Beach Currumbin were stunned 34-0 by Ipswich State High in a Langer Trophy grand final rematch last week.
It was a one-sided win that has been well picked over by Wilkinson in the past week, with the Redcliffe mentor declaring he knows the key to toppling the Schoolboys Cup giants.
“Ipswich showed the blueprint of (beating PBC),” Wilkinson said.
“They put a bit of pressure on some of their stars. If we just play up tempo footy and don’t allow them to get any momentum, I think that’s how you’ve got to be.
“They probably struggled to get the momentum against Ipswich and never found any momentum, which sort of hurt them.”
“We don’t expect Palm Beach to trot out a performance like they did last week, again. We know for us to beat them, we’re gonna have to be at our best. We’re confident, that if we are (at our best), we do have a team that can match any of those schools.”
Redcliffe itself has had plenty of work to do this week after starting its Langer Trophy campaign with a 30-4 defeat to Marsden State High.
While stopping short of using it as an excuse, Palm Beach Currumbin coach Tim Maccan said his side were “pretty tired” following a busy fortnight of league which included 11 players taking part in the Mal Meninga Cup grand final a week before their clash with Ipswich.
“I rested a few of them and it was just one of those games where they didn’t perform well and they know that,” Maccan said.
“Let’s just hope they have one bad game and we can move on.”
Maccan was adamant he wouldn’t be taking Redcliffe lightly on Thursday, as the Red army prepare to enter the cauldron of Kayo Stadium, the home of the Dolphins NRL side.
“They were well represented in the recent state carnival for their region so they’ve got some quality players there,” Maccan said.
“(Redcliffe) may not have all the bells and whistles and experience, but they’ve got heart and play as a team, they can do a job on you if you don’t show them that respect.
“We’ll definitely be trying to improve us more than anything, and also looking at what their strengths are and how we can stop them.”
Injuries to his pair of first-choice fullbacks throughout the Meninga Cup forced Maccan to shift Queensland Schoolboys centre Sam Stephenson to the unfamiliar position of fullback last week.
“It might be something we stick with this week, I’m not sure yet. It’s something we experimented with,” Maccan said.
“I thought he did a good job.”
Originally published as Live stream: Redcliffe State High v Palm Beach Currumbin, Langer Trophy, Round 2
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