Colts 1 club rugby’s Rd 7 team of the week as Brothers break duck to win first game of the season
Who made the Colts 1 club rugby round 7 team of the week? All you need to know here as Brothers break the duck while University and Bond assert dominance.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Round 7 of Colts 1 club rugby saw Brothers snare its first win in stunning fashion when lock Flynn Martinez-Briggs landed the dagger on the stroke of time to go ahead 42-39.
In a back-and-forth battle against Easts, each team traded haymakers before Martinez-Briggs lunged over the stripe to deliver head coach Josh Nielsen his first win at the helm.
The Brethren suffered near misses in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s three-point pipping at Bottomley Park. This season they have lost 22-14 against Bond Uni, 32-31 against Norths, 15-3 against GPS before a storm called the game off 20 minutes early and lost 20-7 against Sunnybank. Wests had their measure a fortnight ago winning 45-12.
In other round 7 matches, Wests hooker Harry Solofa scored a try five minutes from full time to make it 17-15 with a kick to come.
Halves utility Jamie Alexander, as cool as you like, slotted the conversion to snare a 17-all draw.
Alexander played the first 50 minutes as a scrumhalf before shifting gears to flyhalf. This allowed spark plug Stan Keats to come on and run amok at halfback.
Down the coast, Bond Uni’s set-piece was humming again. Key forwards Blaze Moana (hooker), Keanu Rasch (blindside flanker) and Harry Ole (No. 8) each scored two tries in the 50-19 win over a hot-and-cold Sunnybank outfit which beat Wests in round 6.
At University, The Students won 21-17 over Souths to consolidate first position on the ladder.
Blindside flanker Hugh Chapman was a unanimous game-changer against the Magpies with his heart and hustle.
An injury to Mitch Waldon opened the door for the Perth breakaway to make his first start and he played till the wheels fell off.
In a thriller at Bottomley Park, Brothers toppled Easts 42-39 on the hooter when lock Martinez-Briggs bound over in the most dramatic fashion.
Easts had returned from an early 19-0 deficit to lead with a few minutes to play.
Powerhouse prop Byron Murphy looked to have scored the winner when he shrugged off three defenders to score under the sticks and make it 39-37.
The match had to-and-froed up until that point and when the Brothers forwards starting rumbling in the final two minutes, you had a feeling Easts weren’t home yet.
Martinez-Briggs’ try was a reward for some mammoth efforts by the Brothers forwards.
Prop Reagan Knowles, prop Isaac Ratuere, and flankers Oli Clarke and Niheta Pala’amo were just tireless.
Clarke won a timely breakdown penalty in the second half when Easts were closing in while the big front-row duo ran their socks off on a sodden surface, which just two weeks ago entertained a 34-32 nail biter won by Uni over Easts.
In the midfield, Brothers flyhalf Charlie Johnstone asked questions from start to finish with his attacking chip kicks and running game, with Josh Takai’s defence menacing at times.
Closer to the ruck, scheming scrumhalf Joe Post was at his scurrying best and he scored a quick-tap try for his troubles on the stroke of half time to recapture a 26-20 lead after Easts returned from 19-0 down to lead by one point.
Prop Conrad Scott, wing Emmanuel Taviri and No. 8 Juan Falaniko each scored tries with Taviri’s 60m intercept try the pick of the bunch in an enthralling first half of footy.
Easts found themselves up 20-19 after a penalty try, a Sam McGahan five pointer, and two Tom Lambo penalty goals gave Brothers a reality check.
Into the second half, hooker Jakeb Horne and impressive interchange forward Caleb Godfrey dealt five-point blows around two great penalty goals by Brothers sniper Johnstone.
It was 32-all when Horne burrowed over but down the other end Pala’amo made it 37-32.
When Murphy took two big charges in two minutes to dent Brothers’ line and then scored a tremendous try, the Tigers were up 39-37.
Then Martinez-Briggs broke the Tigers hearts with a pick-and-drive dagger.
TEAM OF THE ROUND
15. Finn Mackay (Souths)
Mackay was at his masterful best.
He kicked to corners, directed his forwards into position and unlocked his backs when the chances arose.
He is a class act, still just 17 years of age.
14. DJ Colaivalu (Wests)
Colaivalu was at the peak of his powers.
A BBC old boy, Colaivalu had been warming his engines in Colts 2 before he was deservedly promoted for the last month of matches. He had his best Colts 1 outing against GPS. His speed, toughness and acceleration was something to behold.
“He was rapid,” concluded startled GPS assistant coach Matt Mafi.
“Even off a standing start, he would break two tackles and he was away in the back field.”
13. Josh Takai (Brothers)
Takai rarely got the chance to wind up and let rip but his defence was rock solid.
Against a high-class Easts midfield featuring Larry Clark and Will Quinn, Takai shut everything down and made the dislodging tackle which led to a Conrad Scott try in Brothers’ stunning 19-0 start in the first 20 minutes.
12. Kye Porter (Uni)
Porter did his apprenicship playing rugby league for the Sunshine Coast Flacons in last year’s Meninga Cup before adding midfield punch and just another dimension to the Uni attack.
He was great last year but has started 2025 full of beans. The reliable inside centre was outstanding against Souths, alongside electric counterattacking fullback Tom Howard.
11. Gideon Lasaqa (Souths)
Lasaqa doesn’t touch the ball much but what he does for Souths is superb.
A New Zealand livewire, Lasaqa has a sprinkle of x-factor about him and his fast feet has caused no shortage of trouble for opposition defenders in 2025.
Against another light-footed fullback in Tom Howard, Lasaqa returned serve with fancy feet of his own in an enterprising fullback duel.
Like Howard, Lasaqa has been lightning up until this point.
10. Charlie Johnstone (Brothers)
How lucky are Brothers to have a flyhalf as good as captain Charlie Johnstone taking control in the absence of Illy Baravilala (Fiji Under-20s)?
Johnstone was top notch against high-performing Tigers No. 10 Sam McGahan. He challenged the Easts back three defenders with little chip kicks and a strong chase and kept defenders on their toes with his running game.
Importantly, Johnstone nailed a great conversion about 15m in from the sideline and also slotted two penalties from more than 30m out to keep the scoreboard ticking along as Easts clawed its way back into the game.
9. Jamie Alexander (Wests)
Just a bloody good footballer, Alexander aimed up yet again — first as a scrumhalf, then as a flyhalf.
A creative and fiercely competitive half, Alexander slotted the equalising conversion about 10m in from the left touchline.
It never looked like missing and the composed, left-footed sportsman also chewed off extra metres kicking well for touch.
When the scores were 17-all with one minute to go, Alexander’s smart quick tap 5m from his tryline and subsequent 60m spurt down field gave Wests the golden opportunity to steal the match.
8. Harry Ole (Bond Uni)
Ole has been one of Bond’s unsung heroes to start what is shaping up to be a promising campaign.
He is no flash dan but he gets the job done and he did just that against the Dragons. The No.8 scored two tries and alongside brilliant backrowers Keanu Rasch and Will Carter, Bond wore down the Sunnybank defenders and eventually let rip.
It was 19-all at half time before Bond pulled away and Ole’s two-try effort was a great reward for a bloke who bided his time in Colts 2 lat year before rising with the tide in 2025.
7. Riley Canavan (GPS)
Canavan was a colossus with his work rate and V8 engine.
After Alexander slotted the equaliser to make it 17-all, flanker Canavan was first to the halfway mark eager to apply pressure off the kick restart.
That said it all about his work ethic and exhaustive nature. He can go all day and he did just that, trucking the ball up and stealing breakdown ball, against the Bulldogs.
6. Hugh Chapman (Uni)
Chapman was chomping at the bit to make an impact at this level and he had a telling showing against Souths at home on Saturday.
The blindside flanker moved from Perth to College at St Leo’s and University Rugby Club, via the Wests Bulldogs, to enhance his rugby prospects.
Now a respected tearaway forward within the group, Chapman upped the ante in his first Colts 1 game with traditional backrow staple Xavier Grambower shifting into the second row.
It’s worth noting Chapman was recognised as the most valuable player in the Scotch College First XV for two years.
5. Raife McKenzie (Uni)
McKenzie was also influential in an arm wrestle against Souths.
The passionate Ipswich Grammar old boy was nowhere near 100 per cent, having missed training in the lead up while recovering from a sickness.
Despite not feeling his best, he looked at his best — disrupting lineouts, spearheading rolling mauls and tackling anything that moved.
4. Avery Thomson (GPS)
A project player at Yoku Road, Thomson has been putting his hand up for more playing time in coach Sio Kite’s first grade side.
He earnt a chunk of minutes off the bench on Saturday after his wholehearted, 70-minute performance against a strong Wests side very nearly delivered GPS its third win.
Thomson took no prisoners at lineout time, starving the slick Wests backs of any clean ball with his stifling play.
He stole a crucial lineout approaching full time which gave the Gallopers prime field position to win but Wests inside centre Charlie Bird had different ideas, pilfering the ball and winning a penalty 5m from his line.
3. Byron Murphy (Easts)
The whole Easts front row was solid. Loosehead Dante Febo and hookers Jakeb Horne and Cooper Hoare stood their ground.
But Murphy was a class above, especially when Easts needed someone to stand up. He was that man.
When Brothers led 37-32, Murphy channelled the best version of himself — the version that earnt him a Reds Under-19s call up in 2024 — and it saw Easts go up 39-37 with time running out for Brothers.
In the lead up to Murphy’s timely try, he took two runs in quick succession which virtually swallowed multiple defenders. The charge that saw him score was reminiscent of his destructive days as a pile-driving St Laurence’s College schoolboy. It was just brutal stuff.
2. Dre Loughlin (Sunnybank)
A terrific talent from across the ditch, Loughlin went hammer and tongs with a Bond front row which should feel bullet proof after their deeds over the last month.
Jake Leck (loosehead), Blaze Moana (hooker) and Jonah Rangiwai (tighthead) were a handful and Loughlin fought admirably, scoring two tries, scrummaging hard and defending bravely when Bond attacked the line.
There were passages of play where Bond pick-and-drove for more than 10 phases and the mobile Loughlin could be seen, among others, staving them off.
1. Viliami Motuapuaka (Souths)
Interchange prop Motuapuaka made a wonderful impact for Souths coach Matt Bennetts.
Called upon in the second half, he kept the pace of play up and locked down the scrum against a very formidable University tight five.
Uni props Kingbenjamin Swirling and Slater Galloway are about as good as it gets in under-20s rugby and Motuapuaka was rock solid when he came on.
Front rowers Jonah Landbeck, Max Munnery and Preston O’Brien started the match for Souths.
Reserves: Blaze Moana (Bond Uni), Callum Simpson (Bond Uni), Tom Hansson (GPS), Alex Watkins (Wests), Joel Broderick (Souths), Joe Post (Brothers), Sam McGahan (Easts), Trent Picot (Souths), Cooper Hoare (Easts), Max Campbell (Easts), Oliver Clarke (Brothers), Harry Solofa (Wests), Stan Keats (Wests), Xavier Grambower (Uni), Gideon Lasaqa (Souths), Darcy Rowan (Souths), Jimmy Jackson (Souths), Keanu Rasch (Bond Uni), Emmanuel Mara (Sunnybank), Mason King (Bond Uni), Tom Lambo (Easts), Juan Falaniko and Niheta Pala’amo (both Brothers).
Originally published as Colts 1 club rugby’s Rd 7 team of the week as Brothers break duck to win first game of the season
Brumbies backrower ends Reds’ home final fairytale
Brumbies backrower Tuaina Tualima ended the Reds’ dream of a home final, putting the finishing touch on Queensland’s loss in the nation’s capital.
AIC First XV rugby: Villa scare Padua, Laurie’s, Ash remain unbeaten
AIC First XV rugby round 3: Padua College received a big scare from Villanova while Ashgrove got up on Old Boys Day. More here.