Class acts in national crown tilt

TOWNSVILLE league nurseries Ignatius Park College and Kirwan High will be brought to a standstill today as students cheer on a Queensland Schoolboys side out to break a decade-long national championships drought.

The Queensland side features Kirwan speedster Hamiso Tabuai-fidow while Ignatius Park forward Isaiah Vailalo has been key to the side’s run to the finals.

The Queensland outfit has gone through the regular rounds of the tournament in Canberra undefeated and will meet NSW Combined Catholic Colleges in the championship game.

Kirwan High head of sport Dave Ackers said it was a proud moment to see TabuaiFidow head to the final.

“He is a talented player and he is a great kid,” he said. “Fingers crossed they get the win.”

Tabuai-fidow recently signed a contract with the North Queensland Cowboys and will be part of the club’s junior ranks next season.

It is not hard to see why the NRL club snapped him up.

“I think he ran 10.9 barefoot on grass in our athletics carnival the other week,” Ackers said. “He has got something that almost everyone doesn’t have. But he is also a great ambassador for our school.”

Across town, Ignatius Park will keep a keen eye on their own star Vailalo, who has been linked with a move south to the Parramatta Eels in 2021.

Vailalo grew up in Charters Towers and came to the league breeding ground this year to further his opportunities.

He was a key cog in the school’s charge to the Confraternity Shield earlier this month, and school coach Steve Lansley believes he was readymade for the national final.

“He is a young fella that, especially in these carnival situations, just gets better and better as the days go on,” he said.

“He just finds an extra level.” The final will be at 12.30pm today and will be livestreamed on the Australian Schoolboys Facebook page.