Live stream: Ipswich State High v The Cathedral College, NRL Schoolgirls Cup Queensland final
Ipswich State High proved too big, too strong and way too powerful as they ran away with the NRL Schoolgirls Cup Queensland state title. Watch the full match REPLAY.
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Led by Brisbane Broncos young gun Shalom Sauaso, Ipswich State High proved too big, too strong and way too powerful as they hoisted the NRL Schoolgirls Queensland state trophy.
Sauaso made her mark both with and without the ball as the southeast Queensland champions powered past The Cathedral College 22-10 in the state final on Thursday.
The Ipswich side was bluedgeoning in defence, with several bone-crunching tackles in the first half making clear their intention in the final.
WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
Despite their advantage, Ipswich conceded first blood to The Cathedral College after several costly errors and ill-diuscipline opened the door for the regional champions.
Cathedral’s defensive confidence meant they were able to find some nice momentum with the footy and after a few repeat sets it was left winger Rhiannah Brown who crossed untouched for the first points of the match.
That try seemed to add fuel to the fire for Ipswich as they were quick to hit back thanks to a sneaky dummy half dive over from Bailey Sorbello who converted the try from right in front.
Superstar teenage talent Sauaso went ever so close before half time before a wall of Cathedral defenders were able to force the ball loose.
The teams returned from the halftime break with Ipswich leading 6-4 and it took them just one attacking set to extend their lead after prop forward Orianna Clarke proved too hard to stop close to the line.
See the full schedule of our NRL Schools League finals coverage across the country below.
Ipswich continued to keep there foot on the throttle after a pass to the touch judge was quickly forgotten thanks to a one-on-one strip from Sauaso in Ipswich’s own 20m line.
Ipswich’s recipe of getting their forwards early ball and close to the line kept proving the difference as Lishainah Ulgia barged her way over before right winger Emily Jackwitz finished off a great team try shortly after.
A late hit from the Ipswich defenders invited Cathedral hooker Josie Wogand to weave her magic as she sliced through the defensive line before placing the ball down under the sticks.
As time ticked down Cathedral showed glimpses of a fight back but in the end it was Ipswich who walked away with a 22-10 victory.
Ipswich head coach Alex Nicholson said he was extremely proud of his side.
“I think it’s safe to say Cathedral came out hard and they played to their strengths which got on top of us early,” he said.
“I’m really proud of the girls to have regrouped at halftime, they held themselves accountable for every mistake in that opening half and showed in the second half why they’re a special team.
“The chat at halftime was still very positive as the girls like get around each other and focus on what we’re doing well which is playing quick and running through teams which we did pretty quickly in the second half.
“It’s exciting and we’ll celebrate today but the girls are all pretty excited to take that next step and we all know Hills College won’t be easy.
“They’ve got plenty of talented players and they’ll take it to us so our job now is to prepare well mentally because we already know we’re okay physically.”
PREVIEW
They stand on the edge of a historic moment for the school, but according to Ipswich State High coach Alex Nicholson it is business as usual ahead of the Queensland Schoolgirls Cup final.
Southeast Queensland champions Ipswich will clash with Rockhampton nursery The Cathedral College in the Queensland state final at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Thursday.
The Queensland Schoolgirls final will be exclusively live streamed on KomunnityTV as part of our extensive coverage of the NRL Schools League seasons.
Ipswich, who have been riding a high after their dramatic final win over rivals Marsden State High last week, were brought back to Earth quickly this week by their coaching staff.
“We have processes in place to reset the girls,” Nicholson said. “We acknowledge and spend time celebrating our victory but as soon as this week starts its back to work.
“We reflect on the things we need to improve on out of our last match and look towards the competition we are going up against.
“Our girls are not complacent, they are determined to win the next game. They are excited by what they have achieved but they are genuinely focused on the challenge that lies ahead.”
A big part of that challenge comes in the form of The Cathedral College’s lethal left-edge backrower Zoe Robson.
The Queensland schoolgirls representative, who teamed with Ipswich stars Shalom Sauaso and Mercedez Taulelei-Siala at the nationals last month, has proven unstoppable across The Cathedral College’s rise to the state final after making the switch from fullback this season.
Nicholson identified the fleet footed backrower as a key to shutdown, but admitted he left it in his players hands to find the answers to her ability.
“She is great in open space and her shift to the backrow will be a little bit of a challenge for our outside backs,” Nicholson said.
“You have to pressure her and take space away from her. If we give her time to wind up, she is very hard to stop in open space.
“I present the girls with problems around what we face and they are really good at finding solutions. We pretty much just lead them towards a particular play style we want to focus on, from there they take a lot of ownership over each other’s performances.”
The winner of the Queensland state final will move onto the NRL National Schoolgirls final on September 11 against the winners of the NSW Schoolgirls State final.
Originally published as Live stream: Ipswich State High v The Cathedral College, NRL Schoolgirls Cup Queensland final
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