Iggy to forget early Payne
IGNATIUS Park College duo Raheen Rolphe and Braithen Knox are intent on showing their side is still one of the big guns of this year’s Aaron Payne Cup.
The pair were part of an Iggy Park outfit that conceded 26 points in the second half of last week’s 26-8 loss to The Cathedral College, a result that has been widely labelled as one of the most disappointing Ignatius Park defeats in recent memory.
Today they get their shot at redemption against Mackay State High School, and what’s more, the Ignatius boys will be playing on their own school ground.
“We’ll definitely get out there and let teams know last week was just a minor setback,” Knox said.
“I think we needed a wakeup call, we couldn’t be sitting on our high horse for the whole season.
“We just needed to be aware that there’s other teams out there wanting to win as much as we do.
“Our skills and effort – especially in the second half – need to be better. We got out to a 8-0 lead and I think we just rested on it.”
Ignatius Park host a Mackay High outfit that has the potential to be a tricky opponent.
Mackay were thumped 46-4 by Kirwan High in the Aaron Payne Cup’s opening round, but recovered last week to earn an impressive 12-all draw against central Queens
WATCH IT LIVE
land footy nursery St dan’s College, Yeppoon.
Ignatius Park is set to field an unchanged team from the one that lost to TCC, and Rolphe said confidence was high within the squad that they will right last week’s wrongs.
“We’ve worked hard after that game, and we’re confident we’ll get up,” he said.
“Our coach (Steve Lansley) pointed out where we went wrong after the game (last week) and what we need to work on, and he really drilled that into us.”
Knox hails from Mount Isa and started his schooling at Ignatius Park last year to help further his fledgling rugby league career, and Rolphe shifted from his hometown Bowen.
The pair know that the Aaron Payne Cup is their final chance at creating their own piece of history at Iggy Park, after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled this year’s Confraternity Shield.
Today’s Aaron Payne Cup game between Iggy Park and TCC kicks off at 12.45pm and will be livestreamed at townsvillebulletin.com.au
Bren