STERLING EFFORT
Palm Beach Currumbin go to top of class
TOM Dearden has joined illustrious company in winning the prestigious Peter Sterling Medal after his Palm Beach Currumbin side won the NRL Schoolboy Cup national final.
The Reds beat NSW champions Patrician Brothers Blacktown yesterday with captain Dearden (left) named player of the competition.
TOM Dearden has joined illustrious company in winning the prestigious Peter Sterling Medal after his Palm Beach Currumbin side defeated Patrician Brothers Blacktown to be crowned NRL Schoolboy Cup national champions.
Having won the state title last week, the Reds produced another stellar display on Wednesday afternoon to win 20-12 at Redcliffe.
Will Evans was named man of the match while captain and halfback Dearden was recognised as the competition’s premier player across the year.
Ben Elias, Greg Alexander, Jason Taylor, Nathan Cayless, Ben Te’o, Adam Reynolds, Ryan James and Jordan Kahu spearhead the former medal winners list, with Keebra pair Payne Haas and David Fifita winning the past two years.
Dearden scored a stunning solo try from a kick-off to give his side a crucial 10point buffer heading into halftime.
“You can tell why every club in the NRL was chasing him,” said James, who travelled north to watch the match in-person.
Reds winger Ryan Garner’s second try further extended the lead before Blacktown staged a comeback to have the game on a knife’s edge at 14-12 – until Evans crossed with three minutes left on the clock to seal the result.
“The message from the sideline was just to try to control the ruck and keep turning up in defence and when we got the ball, hold it and complete our sets,” Dearden said of talk during their opponent’s resistance.
“We just had to stay in there. Everyone kept turning up, with our scramble defence we saved a few tries and our defence in the middle third was pretty key for us. That’s what we focused on all during the week and we executed it perfectly and in our attack we just took our opportunities when we could.”
On becoming the newest Peter Sterling Medallist, a proud Dearden simply said “it’s unreal”.
Coach Aaron Zimmerle praised his side as “an amazing group of young men” while James – a member of the school’s previous national champion team in 2008 – was also impressed.
“I thought PBC were a class above them,” said the now Gold Coast Titans skipper.
“We had a bit more solid players across the field whereas it looked like their fullback (Stephen Crichton) was their most dominant player. Across the field we were throwing better shape at them and defending better.
“There’s a couple of good young kids in that team so it was great to see them get the win.”
PBC’s triumph is another fillip for Gold Coast rugby league, following Keebra Park making the previous two national finals including winning the 2017 decider.