Live stream: St Patrick’s College v The Cathedral College, Queensland regional NRL Schoolgirls Cup final
The Cathedral College were clinical, soaking up the pressure of a hotly contested battle with an arch rival, and then pouncing when the opportunities presented themselves. Check out the REPLAY.
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Fortune favoured the brave as The Cathedral College emerged with an impressive 16-0 victory over St Patrick’s College in the battle of the regional Queensland Schoolgirls big guns in Mackay on Thursday.
While it was a defensive grind for much of the contest, TCC’s willingness to trust both their skills, athleticism and strength to take on St Pat’s at every opportunity proved the difference.
It was a clinical performance from the visiting girls as they soaked up the pressure of a hotly contested battle, conceding very few errors, and then pouncing when the opportunities presented themselves.
St Pat’s held up both of TCC’s attempts at breaking through early with some courageous defence, however persistence paid off when second rower Alexis Bukowski crossed for the opening try.
The subsequent conversion by Josie Wogand made it 6-0.
Defence continued to dominate in the remainder of the first half, but TCC showed the initiative after halftime by getting the ball quickly through hands and taking on St Pat’s defence to gain territory.
And the pressure told when Wogand crossed for TCC’s second try.
The subsequent conversion made it a 12-0 and left St Pat’s with a mountain to climb.
The arm wrestle continued with both sides playing through the middle, before TCC scored through winger Rhiannah Brown after more excellent ball movement.
PREVIEW
The rivalry between two of Queensland’s premier schoolgirl rugby league sides will come to a head once again on Thursday when St Patrick’s College Mackay takes on The Cathedral College Rockhampton.
St Pat’s and TCC earned their opportunity to come face-to-face after winning the Aaron Payne Cup and Dolphins Schoolgirls Challenge respectively, after previously playing off in the Confraternity Shield decider in June.
Watch the action LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV on Thursday.
St Pat’s coach Imogen Healy said her side’s ongoing success up to this point in this season came down to them maintaining their love for the game and desire to keep grinding.
“We try to wind back training to where we can and focus on the girls enjoying themselves, because at the end of the day we play sport because we enjoy it,” Healy said.
“We’ve had a great innings so far, between the ‘Confro’ title and locking up the Aaron Payne title. So the question has been for me about how to keep the girls motivated through all of this success that they’ve had.
“I’m sure TCC are in a similar boat, it’s a massive season for these young girls, so we’re trying to find ways to keep the interest high.”
Healy said the group was looking forward to the opportunity to face off against one of the best teams in the state in the form of TCC.
“They’ll be super motivated after the ‘Confro’ grand final, I think that loss in the final will have only made them keener to beat us this time around,” she said.
“But at the same time we’ll take a lot of confidence from our win against them last time. We’re familiar with their playstyle now and we have an idea of what they might look to do in this game.”
Meanwhile, the TCC girls are more than ready to “get one back” on their familiar foes.
TCC coach Damon Moore said his team was excited to get another shot at St Pat’s, which
they earned via an unbeaten run through the Dolphins Schoolgirls Challenge, culminating in their 24-10 grand final win last Friday.
“That was a really nice win, and the girls played very close to their potential,” Moore said.
“It was a good reward for a long season but we also know we’ve got one more job that we really, really want to get done - and we get that chance on Thursday.
“I feel like the teams are so evenly matched that whoever turns up on the day is going to get the reward.”
Moore will be looking for another big performance from dynamic hooker Josie Wogand, who was Player of the Final on Friday.
Heavily involved in every aspect of the game, she’s an explosive runner and tireless tackler.
Moore said lock Maycee Brown was cast in the same mould.
He said she was “pumped up” for a shot at St Pat’s after missing the Confro final because of her commitments with the Queensland 7s rugby team.
Another key for TCC will be Queensland schoolgirls rep Zoe Robson, who has shown her class this season.
Her switch to the second row has proven a master stroke, and she is almost unstoppable when she gets the ball in open space, as she showed with a double in Friday’s win.
Moore said St Pat’s were always consistent, and their damaging second rower Ebony Temple posed a constant threat.
Originally published as Live stream: St Patrick’s College v The Cathedral College, Queensland regional NRL Schoolgirls Cup final
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