Friendship put aside as school set to collide
RUGBY LEAGUE: Throughout the school rugby league season they’ve battled it out alongside each other for a year they will never forget at St Mary’s College.
In Sunday’s TRL U18s grand final however, loyalties will be split down the middle as Highfields and Southern Suburbs go head to head.
A total of 11 students who helped contribute to the school’s Confraternity Shield victory and NRL Schoolboys Cup quarter final berth will take to the field at Glenholme Park.
They include five Eagles (Dan Betros, Alex Brighton, Samual Elara, Cory Haywood, Jack Hutton) and six Tigers (Cooper Howlett, Jordan Lipp, Tate McCormick, Jake Simpkin, Connor Williams, Riley Wilson).
With so many players involved in the biggest game of their TRL season, the boys are making the most of the week as the days count down.
“There’s been plenty of banter thrown around in the leadup,” Highfields’ Alex Brighton said.
“It will be good to get out there against the boys.
“We had a good training session before watching Souths and Dalby on the weekend.
“Our focus is holding the ball. We didn’t do that well (in the grand final qualifier) against Dalby but got away with it.”
They will face a tough task this weekend however, coming up against a red-hot Southern Suburbs team that has ran rampant through the finals series to date.
The side has largely battled with player availability due to representative duties, but will have all hands on deck for Sunday’s clash.
“It’s good to see what we can do with a full-strength team,” Southern Suburbs hooker Jake Simpkin said.
Highfields finished the regular season in second behind Dalby, before beating them to qualify for a grand final spot.
This weekend’s opponents helped send the Diehards out in straight sets with a dominant victory in last weekend’s preliminary final.