Live stream: Inside Palm Beach Currumbin’s rise to NRL National Schoolboys Cup
In a suprise twist set to break Queensland hearts, the man tasked with bringing the national schoolboys trophy back north of the border is actually a Blue. Find out more ahead of the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final.
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He is the leading halfback prospect north of the Tweed but Palm Beach Currumbin captain Zane Harrison is harbouring a secret that will break the hearts of all Queenslanders.
The halfback ace has revealed he is a True Blue and will be NSW eligible when state selectors come knocking in the future.
The revelation has come as the young halfback prepares to fly the flag for Queensland hopes in Wednesday’s NRL Schoolboys Cup national final against NSW champions Patrician Brothers College, Blacktown.
The NRL Schoolboys Cup final will be live streamed on KommunityTV and through the all News Corp Australia digital mastheads. Check out the schedule below.
Harrison, along with twin brother and fellow Palm Beach Currumbin national title hopeful Isaac, grew up merely ‘30 seconds walk’ from the Queensland border.
But, just not on the right side of it.
As a Tweed Heads native, the young halfback said his loyalties lie with the Blues.
“I have always been New South Wales. I have always supported New South Wales,’’ Harrison said.
“I played for New South Wales country under-16s, I played under-17 for New South Wales and I was 18th man for the New South Wales under-19s this year.’’
It makes it all the more strange that Harrison pulled on the maroon of Queensland earlier this year, captaining the Queensland schoolboys side at the ASSRL National Championships in Port Macquarie.
He is not the only NSW flavour in the Gold Coast school’s ranks with a trio of Northern Rivers footballers among the eight players that hail from south of the border in the Palm Beach Currumbin top squad.
Josh Donovan, Beau Hartmann and Callum Bowles all cut their teeth at the Grafton Ghosts and have relished the opportunity to pull on the red and white since they made the move north in year 10.
“They wanted an opportunity to play at PBC, a school rich in history in rugby league and to better their skills,” recalled Reds head coach Tim Maccan of the Grafton trio.
“They’ve been really handy for us, they do their jobs really well.
“They’re not the flashiest players but they’re very good at what they do and their persistence and resilience to come up and have a crack here in the big smoke has paid off for them.”
Hooker Kaleb Smith, second-rower Reuben Tamariki and Cruz Dangerfield - who’s dad Brian played alongside coach Maccan in the PBC side of 1999 and 2000 - round out the NSW contingent donning red and white in the national final.
The Reds have taken down all-comers in Queensland, including North Queensland powerhouse Kirwan State High in the Phil Hall Cup final a fortnight ago.
Zane Harrison missed Palm Beach Currumbin’s win in the Phil Hall Cup state final due to concussion protocols but will be fit and firing as the school hunts for redemption after they were pantsed by rivals Westfields Sports High in last year’s national decider.
Harrison is among a host of Palm Beach Currumbin players who have backed up from last year’s heartache including fullback Ray Puru, centre Sam Stephenson, try-scoring machine Sunny Kama and back-row duo Isaac Harrison and Jac Finigan.
Maccan said that loss was merely a distant memory for this group, who are hellbent on adding a fourth national title to the school’s bursting trophy cabinet.
“We don’t necessarily think too much about it, it’s a different group and there’s a lot more experience in this group,” Maccan said.
“I know they’ll be better for the experience of last year and that will drive them to play better tomorrow and to go one better.
“It’s going to be a good opportunity for us to try and get another national title … these boys have been successful and this is their last crack, they want to make sure they finish on a high and our preparations have been really good.”
Titans lock down greatest modern day schoolboy grand final winner
He is tough as nails middle forward with a penchant for lifting silverware, a fact that will be music to the ears of the Gold Coast Titans faithful.
Isaac Harrison joins twin brother Zane, and a long line of previous Palm Beach Currumbin State High guns, to ink his future at the Titans.
It is just reward for Harrison who enters his 15th grand final - between club and school football - in the NRL Schoolboys Cup national final against Patrician Brothers Blacktown next week.
Fresh off leading his school to victory in the Phil Hall Cup final, Harrison signed a multi-year deal with the Titans to join a succession class to star middle forwards Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Mo Fotuaika.
Harrison was inspiring for the red army in the absence of twin brother Zane, who missed the state final with a concussion.
“It was different circumstances for myself (captaining PBC without Zane), but it was great to lead the boys out and I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts,’’ Harrison said.
“I feel I gave it a good crack. I just tried to put in as much effort as I could and I feel everything else fell into place in the end.’’
Palm Beach Currumbin coach Tim Maccan said Harrison’s ‘persistence and determination’ to continually improve and adapt his game were the young forward’s greatest assets.
“He is not your regular size middle forward,” Maccan said.
“He is shorter and stocky, however he adds a point of difference with his ability to ball play in the middle or hit and spin in attack and get a quick play the ball for the team.
“His defence has been rock solid the last few weeks and has contributed to the team playing well.”
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Harrison has won more than two-thirds of the grand finals he has been involved in, including doing the Mal Meninga Cup and Langer Trophy double this season with Tweed Seagulls and Palm Beach Currumbin respectively.
He is adamant there is no secret to the success, just the right mentality.
“We have won a lot of grand finals, including the Mal Meninga Cup at the start of the year, but in my eyes winning the Langer Trophy two years in a row is unbelievable,’’ Issac said.
“A big part of it (the record) is that each time we go into (a season), we try and build a team culture and set that winning mentality through the squad.
“Obviously as a halfback, leader and captain, Zane has a big influence on our plays and we just try and do our best to influence our mates.”
Revealed: Secret dossier driving PBC to grand final glory
The driving force behind Palm Beach Currumbin State High’s almost decade of dominance on the schoolboy rugby league field can finally be revealed.
A secret one-page dossier, titled ‘The Power of Red’, has been hand delivered to every player who pulls on the red and white of Palm Beach Currumbin has been credited as giving the players the superpower to vanquish their schoolboys rivals.
A power they will look to tap into against NSW juggernaut Patrician Brothers College Blacktown in the NRL National Schoolboys Cup final on September 11.
The national final will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV.
Every year since the document’s creation in 2018, it has been handed out to players ahead of finals reminding them of what it takes to be a schoolboy champion.
The document was created by current PBC coach Tim Maccan, former coach Brad Davis, and current PBC youth coach Aaron Zimmerle, and was first penned in 2018 as motivation for the PBC SHS national championship-winning side which featured current NRL players Toby Sexton and Tom Dearden.
At the time Zimmerle was head coach of the side with Maccan as his assistant coach.
The document talks players through the emotions and feelings of playing in finals, and the harsh realities that usually take time to sink in.
“You’ll feel numb, your arms weak as newborn puppies, the strength leaking from them as you wait for the whistle and the adrenalin to fire,” it reads.
“You’ll feel empty rather than pumped up. It will be a worst moment brought about by the anxiety of all those months of work and hype... but it won’t be the ‘worst’ moment.”
The ‘Power of Red’ document goes on to detail the real mindset and quality that brings about wins in high-pressure, do-or-die finals.
Palm Beach Currumbin captain Zane Harrison said the document gave an insight into the mentality that connects every one of the school’s players.
“It is about bringing us all together about the jersey we are wearing, and how we perform in a do-or-die situation,” he said.
“It puts us in the mood to run out.’’
The 200 word document has contributed to extracting the best out of the Palm Beach Currumbin players in an amazing era of success.
The Power of Red document is only distributed to the players in the days leading up to a Langer, state or national final.
It states what it takes to overcome the fear of losing a final, and how to conquer on field adversity in a big match when “your heart can’t take any more and your muscles are eating themselves in a frantic search for more blood sugar’’.
“When the coach asked for more and you know there is no more to give because you’re already running on empty,’’ the document states.
“This is the point where you hang on. This is the worst moment. You will conquer it just hanging on with one single thought - to hold your ground because everything has to come to an end.”
Originally published as Live stream: Inside Palm Beach Currumbin’s rise to NRL National Schoolboys Cup
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