Live stream: How to watch Cowboys Challenge GF, Kirwan v Mercy College (Payne Cup)

Kirwan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as an incredibly brave last-minute kick-off routine caught Mercy College napping. RELIVE all the action from our LIVESTREAM.

Kirwan State High School are the new Cowboys Challenge champions, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by scoring a try in the final play of the match to cancel out the one-point lead Mercy College had kicked just a minute earlier.

Locked at 10-10 late in the contest, a successful 40-20 kick gifted Kirwan the perfect opportunity to take a late lead, but a coach-killing messy play-the-ball gave away a penalty in attack.

WATCH THE REPLAY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

Mercy College fought their way into good field possession before their five-eighth made his field goal attempt, striking the ball cleanly through the posts. But it was an all-or-nothing piece of individual brilliance that opened the door for the Kirwan side.

With less than a minute remaining, Logan Deininger decided a short grubber-style kick off was the best option, kicking the ball softly and chasing hard to reclaim possession for his team.

Instead of taking the safe one-point to send the game into extra time, Kirwan High were brave to go for the match-winning try.

Don Paiyala scored the match-winning try Picture: Evan Morgan

The 11-14 win in Mackay means Kirwan are the new Cowboys Challenge title holders, reversing the result from earlier this year when Mercy College beat Kirwan by six points.

Kirwan had almost no time with ball in hand to start the first half, but they made the most of their limited possession by pummelling any Mercy College player brave enough to take a hit up.

After defending three or four consecutive sets without too much trouble, Kirwan were finally given a chance to use the ball and they didn’t take long to march up the field and score via some quick hands and a cut-out pass to formidable winger Paiyala.

Mercy College were struggling to breach the Kirwan defence, and it took a stroke of luck to score their first try.

It appeared that Mercy had kicked the ball too deep when Paiyala fumbled the ball in the in-goal, right into the waiting arms of the Mercy College halfback who scored one of the easiest tries of his career, putting his team in front 6-4 with 9 minutes remaining in the first half.

Standout defence was the recurring theme of the first half, before both teams devolved into giving away penalties and making simple errors, disrupting the flow of play.

It was third time lucky for Kirwan High, who crossed the line for two disallowed tries in five minutes to open the second half, before a strong run and offload from CJ Tapaitau set up Brooklyn Ivey to dot down in the corner.

Kirwan State High School are Cowboys Challenge champions

A fantastic conversion from Deininger lifted his team to a 6-10 lead.

Moments later it was Egan who made a try-saving tackle on his line in an overlap situation to keep his team ahead. But the defence couldn’t hold up forever, and a deft grubber into the in-goal allowed Mercy to level the scores with 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Kirwan State High School are now the 2022 Cowboys Challenge champions, while Ignatius Park College will play St Patricks Mackay in the Aaron Payne Cup grand final on Friday at 3:30pm.

MATCH PREVIEW

- Phil Dillon, 16 August

Kirwan State High School coach Mitch Wells says his players have done their homework on Cowboys Challenge rivals Mercy College ahead of Wednesday’s grand final in Mackay.

The under-15s were beaten earlier in the competition by these opponents and Wells, in his first year of coaching at the Townsville school, said he and the players had studied well as they looked to avenge that six-point defeat in a decider livestream exclusively for Townsville Bulletin and Courier-Mail digital subscribers via Kommunity TV.

Five-eighth Logan Brookes of Kirwan State High School.

“Through the regular round games, we do incorporate a review session each week to analyse and identify areas that we can target,” Wells said.

“We’ve certainly done our homework and it’s now at the point where we’ve done everything that we can do.

“It’s about going out and putting in a really good performance.”

Kirwan defeated Townsville rivals Ignatius Park College 26-4 in last week’s semi-finals and Wells has named an unchanged line-up for the grand final.

Wells said the loss to Mercy, who are defending the Cowboys Challenge title, earlier in the year hurt but he was keen for the players to right the wrongs from that game.

“I think (the defeat) was the learning curve we needed, and we improved last week in our performance,” he said.

“We’re looking to carry that through and do a job on Wednesday.

“The players are starting to build that continuity with each other and bounce off each other well.

“So, we’re hoping for that to carry through and put in a lot of good performances this week.”

Wells said Kirwan’s halves pairing of Logan Brookes at five-eighth and Jay Whaley at halfback would be key to success at Mackay Junior Rugby League today.

“We need our halves to get us around,” he said.

“If they do their job well, the players around them will bounce off that and we will be able to score some points.

“We are also looking for that middle third to stay strong and do a job there defensively. And then let our halves lead by example with the ball in hand.”

Originally published as Live stream: How to watch Cowboys Challenge GF, Kirwan v Mercy College (Payne Cup)