St Mary’s downs Mountain Creek SHS to advance to Gee Shield grand final
St Mary’s College is still celebrating after an incredible Gee Shield comeback to down Mountain Creek State High School. Watch the replay of a thrilling schoolboy rugby league contest.
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RUGBY LEAGUE: A gallant St Mary’s College has staged a remarkable comeback in its Gee Shield semi final against Mountain Creek State High School.
Two tries in the last seven minutes saw the boys in blue and white overcome a tough visiting outfit to enter into the finale of the schoolboy competition next week.
St Mary’s were brave in the first half, with the first 15 minutes played virtually in their own end, but they managed to keep Mountain Creek at bay.
They almost immediately struck first points, with a diving Lachlan Hilton losing possession just before the line.
The struggle between both sides continued, before the visitors struck first to break the deadlock in the 25th minute to take a 6-0 advantage into the break.
As the wind continued in the second half, a Kobe Timms chip forced a mistake close to the line, but again MCSHS were able to defend their line.
The likes of front rower Darcy Carswell and interchange forward Botrus Dokshen tried their best to get their school on the front foot with some big charges and a tireless work rate.
It was Carswell again that set the tempo after receiving a penalty inside the visitors half, and later in the set they were rewarded with a barnstorming Jai Purser crashing his way over the line to level the scores with seven minutes to play.
Back-to-back-to-back penalties marched St Mary’s up the field following the try, and they were able to make Mountain Creek pay with a try in the corner to Cruz Williamson.
Purser looked to have his double in the dying stages of the game but was denied, however it mattered little, with St Mary’s College left to celebrate a surging comeback ahead of a test against the might of Stretton State College next week.
MATCH PREVIEW
They crashed out at the quarter-final stage of the Confraternity Carnival, but that run has St Mary’s primed for a shot at silverware in a different competition.
St Mary’s have one eye on the Gee Cup trophy but must overcome Mountain Creek State High School in their semi-final on Wednesday.
The Chronicle and Kommunity TV will livestream the St Mary’s semi-final clash along with a host of other schoolboys’ games.
Head coach Luke Duggan is expecting an arm wrestle but believes his side is primed and ready to fire.
“They (Mountain Creek SHS) are a bit like us. They’ve played in some pretty tough matches of late and have recorded some good results,” he said.
“They’re a very disciplined team from what we’ve heard, and I expect it’s going to be a real arm wrestle.
“The boys are up for it, though.
“We’ve been a bit shorthanded this season with injuries, but the boys keep stepping up.
“I’ve been particularly impressed with our defence – you can score all the tries you want, but you have to defend as well and we kept our last opponents scoreless.
“Hopefully being at home will give us a bit of an edge as well.”
Duggan attributes his side’s recent change in fortunes and performance to their carnival run in Mackay.
Away from home and playing against other elite schoolboy rugby league teams helped unite the squad.
“We’ve certainly seen a change in the boys since Confraternity,” Duggan said.
“The boys have really gelled coming out of that time in Mackay.
“Playing in those tough games and just spending that time together has helped a lot.
“Our attack has really gelled in the past few weeks.”
Kick off is 2pm.
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