Mounting a charge
College looks to make it three wins from four
MARYMOUNT College will look to ramp up their Confraternity Shield preparations as they enter the second lot of NRL Titans School Boys Competition round robin fixtures.
The premiers will take on their 2018 grand final opponents Keebra Park at Firth Park at 7.30pm tonight, having taken the head-to-head honours 18-12 in Round 1.
Keebra effectively field their second-string side in this competition, with their top squad preparing for a shot at reclaiming the prestigious NRL Schoolboy Cup they won in 2017.
Marymount rugby league co-ordinator Jason Hamilton knows Keebra will bring a big, organised side to play and listed three things he wants to see in his own team: “Discipline, communication and defence.”
The Burleigh Watersbased school have won two of their first three games, with Hamilton labelling their 18-16 loss to Beenleigh State High in Round 2 a wake-up call.
Charlie Murray will resume the captaincy from hooker Max Mallory on return from injury. Murray will switch from lock into the halves for the Keebra clash.
Talented halves Oliver Singh and Harry Bryant plus hooker Cole Geyer all graduated from Marymount at the end of last year, leaving a playmaking void.
“While we don’t have the same quality in the halves that we had, we probably have a bit more size this year which is nice to have because we don’t normally have size,” Hamilton said.
“We’re just a school of homegrown talents, there are no scholarships or stuff at our joint, our kids come all the way through.”
In the other top division game tonight, Beenleigh will take on Aquinas College at Bill Norris Oval from 6pm.
The Confraternity Shield is an annual statewide competition that will this year be held in Bundaberg from June 30 to July 5.