2025 Aaron Payne Cup live stream: St Augustine’s College v Mackay State High, Round 3

A performance for the ages by a prop has propelled St Augustine’s to a hard-fought victory in the Payne Cup. Watch how they did it and the Cowboys Challenge in full REPLAYS.

St Augustine’s has staved off a valiant Mackay State High School to prevail 24-18 at Brothers Townsville fields in the Aaron Payne Cup.

Saints prop Cooper Meares’ performance for the victors was an extraordinary standout, as he ran in three tries, a rarity out of that position.

ROUND 3 REPLAYS

Mackay SHS v St Augustine’s College (Aaron Payne Cup)

Watch the full replay in the player above.

Mackay SHS v St Augustine’s College (Cowboys Challenge)

In what was a blistering start to the match, Elijah Williamson put the Saints on the scoreboard inside of two minutes from the first kick off.

Mackay responded almost as quickly through Kanoah Nawakie.

The first half mostly belonged to the Saints, as Meares ran in two more tries before half time.

But the boys from Mackay refused to go away, finding Nawakie again on the edge to close the gap once again.

And while Meares’ completed hat trick and a Daniel Brennan’s try put the game beyond doubt, Mackay refused to go away and crossed the line moments before full time.

Mackay had their own success in the earlier Cowboys Challenge fixture, prevailing 40-10 over St Augustine’s in a dominant display across both halves.

While the Saints scored the opening try of the fixture, Mackay hit back quickly and were not going to be denied a dominant victory.

PREVIEW

The belief flowing through the St Augustine’s College Aaron Payne Cup side is palpable.

Three years into their first foray in the top division, the FNQ nursery is determined that they have the potential to rival the competition’s heavyweight outfits Kirwan State High and St Patrick’s College.

But before they can start dreaming of finals football, St Augustine’s has a formidable task ahead of it with a roadtrip to Townsville to take on Mackay State High on Wednesday.

The clash will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV as part of a big double header along with the Cowboys Challenge (Year 10) clash.

St Augustine's players celebrate a try by teammate Ben Walker in the Aaron Payne Cup schoolboy rugby league match between St Augustine's College and Kirwan State High School, held at West Barlow Park, Cairns. Picture: Brendan Radke

St Augustine’s coach Kris O’Farrell said his side had been steeled from last week’s loss to Kirwan State High, when they managed to take it to the reigning Payne Cup champions.

“We had a great battle against Kirwan last week. We’re chasing their kind of status as the powerhouse school of the competition,” he said.

Elijah Williamson in the Aaron Payne Cup schoolboy rugby league match between St Augustine's College and Kirwan State High School, held at West Barlow Park, Cairns. Picture: Brendan Radke

“We’re really proud of the effort, but there’s of course still plenty of room to get better.

“I thought at times we controlled the middle third of the field. Our forward pack is really physical but also disciplined.

“We just weren’t quite able to pull the trigger when we had the chance to score and our execution let us down.”

It is an area in which the St Augustine’s side has worked extensively this week, with the team opting to focus on itself rather than getting wrapped up in its opposition’s results.

Mackay State High is coming off a tough start to its Payne Cup campaign, going down to last year’s grand finalists St Patrick’s College by 66-points last week.

O’Farrell said while they haven’t been game planning for Mackay SHS specifically, he still expects a good matchup.

“It’s always a good game when these two sides face off against one another,” he said.

“I’m expecting nothing different this time around, we’ll be ready.”

Originally published as 2025 Aaron Payne Cup live stream: St Augustine’s College v Mackay State High, Round 3