TSS keep focus on next game, not title

COACH Mike Wallace insists The Southport School’s rising chances of reclaiming the GPS First XV crown haven’t been discussed as attention turns to winless Brisbane Grammar School today.

Runners-up to Nudgee College last season, TSS will enter the 2.15pm battle at home to Brisbane Grammar as the competition’s form team after four-straight victories.

With JoJo Fifita, Dion Samuela and Hamish Roberts running riot, they thumped Toowoomba Grammar School 65-3 in Round 4 last weekend to take the cumulative scores in this season’s games to 202-37.

But despite closing in on the title they last held in 2017, Wallace said their sights were set firmly on a Brisbane Grammar outfit struggling with two losses and a draw this year.

“We’re only halfway through the season so we’re not focusing on premierships or anything,” Wallace said.

“The only thing on our radar is Brisbane Grammar.

“The only thing we need to focus on is who presents the next threat and the boys have done a good job of doing that so far.”

Having fallen to Nudgee College in a final-round heartbreaker that ultimately decided the 2018 premiership, TSS were expected to again be among the challengers for this year’s title.

However, Wallace said the ever-changing nature of schoolboy football meant he had taken nothing for granted this season.

“One of the things about coaching schoolboys is that you graduate a team every year so this year’s team’s performance has no relevance to last year,” he said.

“We’ve got some kids back but we’ve got a lot who aren’t, so we can look at last year and go ‘that was a good season’ but it’s a different team this year.”