Nanai a class act at school

BOOM Cowboys rookie Jeremiah Nanai will help his former school, Trinity Bay High, in its bid to join the Aaron Payne Cup.

The Cairns school was one of several prospective teams earmarked for the revised competition this season, but opted to sit out a year while it launched an inaugural Rugby League School of Excellence.

The Payne Cup, which will feature six teams from Cairns to Mackay, will form part of News Corp’s exclusive schoolboys rugby league live-stream coverage this year.

While Trinity Bay might not be in the competition this year, Nanai has backed Far North Queensland newcomer Mareeba High to prove it has the talent to match the top sides, including Ignatius Park College and his alma mater, Kirwan State High.

Nanai, who has had a breakthrough start to the NRL season, is excited to help Trinity Bay step up to the elite level of schoolboys footy.

“One hundred per cent I want to see (Trinity Bay) involved,” Nanai said. “That is the school I grew up at. It is a good footy school. I still have a connection with the teachers there and they have been telling me it might be a possibility. It is great to hear. Hopefully one day Trinity Bay will put a team in. They have some good young players there.

“I would definitely go back and (help) them. I did my whole high school there and loved it. I would be happy to one day go back and give the kids a bit of training, give them (the assistance) that I went through.

“Mareeba has some speedsters and young talent with plenty of footwork. Hopefully they do well when they come up in the Payne Cup.”

Nanai knows what it takes to succeed in the Payne Cup, having helped Kirwan High to back-to-back state championships after moving there to finish his schooling.

The Aaron Payne Cup will kick off on June 1 and run alongside Queensland’s top schoolboys competitions, the Langer Trophy and Dolphins Cup.

News Corp will live stream every game of the season, including the Phil Hall Cup (state) final and National Schoolboys Cup final.