Live stream: Get inside Patrician Brothers Blacktown’s road to the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final
He is the schoolboy prodigy with the NRL world at his feet, but there is one clear motivation that keeps getting Jacob Halangahu on the field - and it’s got nothing to do with his future. Find out more in our NRL Schoolboys Cup insider.
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Schoolboys prodigy Jacob Halangahu does not need to look far to find inspiration.
There is always plenty roaming the sidelines at his games – in the guise of all seven of his younger siblings.
But the main inspiration for the Patrician Brothers College co-captain comes in the form of his father, Toa.
When Halangahu runs out for Wednesday’s NRL Schoolboys Cup final – and even more so when he makes his inevitable NRL debut for the Dragons, which many suggest could be in the next 12 months – he will do it with his dad riding shotgun.
The NRL Schoolboys Cup grand final will be live streamed on KommunityTV across all News Corp Australia digital mastheads. Check out the schedule and links below.
“My family is my rock. My dad is the reason I take the field each week and the reason I get up and train the days I don’t want to, the days when I am feeling sore or sick or sorry for myself,” Halangahu said.
“He had me when he was just a kid – juggling a kid while chasing your dreams isn’t easy. He had to put those on hold for me.
“Knowing how much he sacrificed for me and my siblings, when I make my (NRL) debut, I won’t just be making my debut, I will be making his too.
“My dad had his own rugby league dreams but he went down a wrong path when he was younger. He has been trying to keep me and my siblings from going down that same path. He can be hard on me and my brother, that is because he wants the best for us. He wants us to succeed.”
Judging by the past 18 months, Toa, along with wife Justine, is doing a fantastic job on Jacob and his siblings Luka, Tahlie, Toya, Taise, Hendrix, Veiana and baby boy Koa.
Everything the Patrician Brothers College skipper has touched has turned to gold in that period.
He is a two-time ASSRL national champion with NSW Combined Catholic Colleges, he spearheaded NSW City under-19s to a big win over NSW Country as well as being the player of the final, and he was again the player of the final in the SG Ball Cup decider in which he captained the Dragons to the premiership.
Add to that an under-19s State of Origin win with NSW, a Peter Mulholland Cup title with
Patrician Brothers College and signing a contract upgrade at the Dragons, which will have him join Shane Flanagan’s NRL squad for pre-season in November.
It’s already an impressive resume for the recently turned 18-year-old, but each achievement, according to Halangahu, is just another step on his path.
“I look at each of those achievements as little stepping stones and achievements that are leading to my biggest goal, which is making an NRL debut as soon as I can,” he said.
“I have learnt so much in each of those moments and in those camps. I have got a pre-season with the Dragons coming up where I will be rubbing shoulders with a few of my idols. I can’t wait for that opportunity.”
But before he gets to that pre-season Halangahu has some business he needs to take care of at his school – on and off the field.
Starting with Wednesday’s National Schoolboys Cup final, Halangahu will graduate in two weeks time before entering his HSC exam block next month with a determination to keep his grades at a high level.
It’s all part of the lessons and priorities that Toa has bestowed on his eldest son.
“The process is all done, the boys have been spot on during the week,” Halangahu said.
“We have all been in sync and we are riding that wave right now and ready to finish the season off right.
“It’s time to put the talking away and get to work.”
NRL champions behind Patties desire to shake bridesmaid tag
Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu.
It’s a list of NRL premiership winners who have set the tone for the current generation of talent.
But its also the tip of an iceberg-sized list of Patrician Brothers Blacktown alumni who failed to get the job done with the school staring in the face of national glory.
Patrician Brothers Blacktown, always the bridesmaids.
The western Sydney nursery is the most successful Schoolboys Cup side in the past two decades without the trophies to match it.
On Wednesday, they have a chance to rectify that statistic when they come up against Gold Coast powerhouse Palm Beach Currumbin in the national final at CBUS Super Stadium.
The match will be live streamed on KommunityTV across all News Corp Australia digital mastheads. Check out the schedule and links below.
Patrician Brothers Blacktown have been to the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final seven times in 20 years, and have only won the one title in 2012 when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Bryce Cartwright and Tyrone May combined to topple Endeavour Sports High in the final.
For the record, that Endeavour Sports High side featured Alex Johnston, Fa’amanu Brown, Shaun Lane, Luciano Leilua and Paul Momirovski.
Since that win the Patrician Brothers College side has featured the likes of Luai, Crichton, Leniu, Sean O’Sullivan, Brent Naden, Tyrell Fuimaono, Marcello Montoya, Taylan May, Robert Jennings, Daine Laurie, Matt Arthur and Isaiya Katoa – and that is just a handful that made it to the NRL.
“There is certainly a bit of history there, we have been to the final plenty of times but only won the once,” coach Noah Meares said.
“At one stage there we lost three in a row.
“We mention it a little bit to the players, but we don’t have to remind them. The boys know that history is there.
“We try not to focus on the outside noise. It is about this side doing their best. It would mean the world to the school and our community if we could get the job done.
“We have a rich history of Old Boys, and they continue to support us and get around and celebrate our successes. Once a Patties’ boys, always a Patties’ boy.”
Meares paid tribute to Patrician Brothers stalwart Greg Beacroft, the long-time rugby league co-ordinator at the school who was in the coaches chair across that two decades of dominance.
While his involvement with the top side has taken a more hands off approach in recent seasons, Beacroft’s name will still find its way to the national final team sheet as team manager.
While the school had a host of the Panthers players at their training in the lead up to their Peter Mulholland Cup final triumph, Meares said he was trying to organise something similar north of the border in the lead up to Wednesday’s decider.
Panthers young gun rises from the ashes to spearhead Patties assault
Panthers rising junior halfback Jhett Sydir has built a reputation for never saying die on the field.
But this year it has been a motto he has lived off the field.
The young playmaker will make a triumphant return to the field on Wednesday, two months after he was carried off the field with a busted MCL and dislocated kneecap, when he runs out for Patrician Brothers College, Blacktown in the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final.
The national final will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV across all of News Corp Australia’s digital mastheads.
Despite the horror injury, which Sydir suffered early in NSW Combined Catholic College’s title-winning campaign at the ASSRL Nationals, Patrician Brothers coach Noah Meares said he had no doubt his star playmaker would be back in time for the schoolboys finals.
The teenager told him as much.
“He has been the most meticulous person I have ever seen in regards to his rehabilitation,” Meares said.
“He has gone through all the protocols, done everything right and worked hard to get himself back. I think it speaks to his dedication as a player but also to how much he wants this.
“I think I had a feeling deep down that he would always be back. I know what he is like as a player and person, his diligence is unparalleled to anyone I have seen.
“Even when he did it and had the diagnosis, he was on the phone to me letting me know the injury time frames and that he would be back in time for the finals.”
Sydir was touch and go to make it back for Patrician Brothers’ Peter Mulholland Cup final against Endeavour Sports High, but instead used the extra week to get himself fully fit.
The playmaker, who was part of the Panthers Harold Mathews Cup side this season, will step straight back into the starting halfback role for the national showdown against Queensland Schoolboys halfback Zane Harrison.
Meares said he believed Sydir had come back from the injury a better player and was determined to realise a two-year dream to take the school to the top of the mountain.
“No one wants a setback but it has made him a better player for it, he has come back with his eye set on doing a job for the team,” Meares said.
“There was never pressure from us to be back this year. This was always his desire.
“These boys, the one thing about the culture in our team is that this is their bigger picture. This is what they want and what they strive for. They grow another leg when they play for their school and beside their mates that they spend every day with.
“It means so much to them, it is what their focus is on.”
Sydir’s understudy, 16-year-old Jesais Ah Kee, has been a revelation since stepping up into the halves for the Patrician Brothers side, scoring an emphatic try in their Peter Mullholand Cup final.
Meares said the young playmaker would “certainly” be on the plane to Queensland for the national final, but that his role in the squad would likely take on a different shape.
“I honestly think Jesais has been phenomenal for us,” Meares said.
“He always knew that if Jhett was back, he would go back into the halves. That is a testament to the mentality of the squad, they all know what their role is and what is best for the team and they get it done.”
Why this Eels young gun is key to national title hopes
Lachlan Coinakis is giving Parramatta Eels fans reason to believe.
Forget this year and the Spoon Bowl, it’s all about what’s to come. Or, rather, who is to come.
The young dummy-half is a blue chip prospect in the Eels junior representative ranks and a key reason Patrician Brothers Blacktown are headed to the NRL Schoolboys National final.
Patrician Brothers Blacktown will fly the NSW flag in the National final against Gold Coast nursery Palm Beach Currumbin on September 12. The match will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV.
The Australian Schoolboys dummy-half rarely receives the accolades like high-profile teammates Jacob Halangahu and Jared Haywood, but his work behind the ruck is far from unnoticed by talent scouts across the country.
A true ‘heads up’ style hooker, the Rouse Hill Rhinos junior has been one of the linchpins behind the school’s rise to Peter Mulholland Cup champions for the first time since the trophy was renamed in honour of the schoolboys league pioneer.
“He is a big cog in the machine and a massive reason we have been successful as a school,” Patrician Brothers coach Noah Meares said.
“He is a very calm player. He has a level head and a good footy IQ. When he is on his day, he controls the game well from dummy-half which really takes the pressure off the halves.
“I think people forget the importance of having a good nine and their scanning ability to read defences and where the space is.”
Regardless of natural talent, Meares was adamant Coinakis’ best quality was his determination.
The tough-as-nails number nine fits well into a Patrician Brothers College system that includes workhorses like Halangahu and fellow backrower and Australian Schoolboys representative Tyson Sangalang.
Meares admitted the competitive drive in his side could come at the players’ own detriment, but he would not be asking them to turn down the dial any time soon.
“The big thing about (Coinakis) and the others, they are the ultimate competitors. They don’t want to lose and they won’t stop playing until they know they have won.
“If that means I have to pick them up off the ground and carry them off the field at the end of the game, then I will do that.”
With former Patrician Brothers College teammate Matt Arthur understood to be heading for the exits at the Eels, it has opened the door for Coinakis to fast track his development through the Eels system.
The young gun was part of the Eels SG Ball Cup side, along with Sangalang, which made it to the first week of the finals this season.
Originally published as Live stream: Get inside Patrician Brothers Blacktown’s road to the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final
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