Coach Joe Dolan satisfied with third-placed finish for The Southport School in GPS football

THE Southport School’s premiership dream is over but coach Joe Dolan has nothing but praise for his side following a season of immense improvement.

THE Southport School’s premiership dream is over but coach Joe Dolan has nothing but praise for his side following a season of immense improvement.

Seventh at the end of last year’s GPS First XI assault, TSS will finish third or fourth in 2019 after wrapping up their campaign with a 0-0 draw away to Ipswich Grammar School on Saturday.

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With a bye in the final round, TSS will end the season on 14 points and will now wait to see if fourth-placed Ipswich can secure the two-goal victory needed to leapfrog them into third spot.

Churchie are in the box seat for the title after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Toowoomba Grammar School in a top-of-the-table clash gave them a three-point buffer.

The Southport School’s Harry Blok. Picture: Richard Gosling

Despite leading the competition after three rounds courtesy of a hat-trick of wins, Dolan said he was satisfied with the end result for his troops.

“It’s my first year of coaching so third place is a real plus, a real positive finish for us,” said Dolan, whose side was chasing its first crown since sharing the 2014 silverware with Nudgee College.

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“We’ve set a standard now. We always knew it would be a tough start (to the year) and we did have a really good start.

“We’ve got some really talented Year 11s and 10s so I’m looking forward to working with them next season.”

TSS and Ipswich both entered Saturday’s game with a slim mathematical chance of taking the title, with Dolan praising his charges for their never-say-die spirit.

“It was a really tough game, it always is going up to Ipswich. Ipswich still had a chance for the premiership as well so it was always going to be a tight game,” he said.

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“We showed some real resilience and grit so I’m really proud of the group. We could’ve even nicked it on the break so I’m really happy with the performance.”

Ipswich will play away to slowly Gregory Terrace in their final fixture.