Rugby League
St Brendan’s College has forged a distinguished reputation as an outstanding rugby league nursery, unrivalled by any other institution in Central Queensland.
The College has produced numerous Australian and Queensland State of Origin representatives along with a host of former and current NRL First-Graders. In 2018 St Brendan's College was proud to have its first NRL Head Coach, with the announcement of 1991 Senior Anthony Seibold as South Sydney Rabbitohs Coach.
In the last 15 years the College’s First XIII has featured in numerous State finals and won the Confraternity Shield, the premier Queensland Independent Schools Rugby League Carnival on nine occasions. St Brendan’s College also provides the Rockhampton and District Rugby League competition with 16 teams each year as every student is given the opportunity to play Rugby League at the level that they are best suited to.
Currently we have quite a number of former students playing in the NRL. These include: Matt Scott, Jake Granville, Ben Hunt, Kurt Mann, Corey Oates, Harry Grant and Jonus Pearson.
Rugby League:
- Aaron Payne Cup/Cowboys Challenge – The top 8 Northern Rugby League teams play each other in a round-robin format in both the Year 10 and U/18 age groups.
- Confraternity Shield – A fantastic week of Rugby League held during the June/July School Holidays. Approximately 48 teams take part in the carnival with St Brendan’s College being the most successful school in the history of the Shield having most recently won in 2014 & 2015.
- Inter-School competition – Throughout Term 3 Rugby League is offered to all students from Year 7 to Year 12, approximately 400 students take part each season.
- GIO Cup – the top 2 teams from the Aaron Payne Cup take part in the State semi-finals of this National Schoolboys Competition.
- Tour games – Throughout the year St Brendan’s College plays against schools from right across Queensland.
- Bi-Annual England Tour - Students in Year 8 & 9 are given the opportunity to tour and play against teams across England.
AARON PAYNE CUP / COWBOYS CHALLENGE
The Aaron Payne Cup/Cowboys Challenge is an annual event with the top 8 Northern Rugby League school boy teams playing each other in a round-robin format in both the Year 10 and U/18 age groups.
Games:
ROUND ONE
Tuesday 28th July
Kirwan SHS v Mackay SHS (Townsville) 12.05 (CC) and 1.15pm (AP) Kirwan SHS
Wednesday 29th July
The Cathedral College v St Pat’s Mackay (TCC) 2.30pm (CC) and 3.30pm (AP) TCC
St Brendan’s College v Ignatius Park College (Magpies Mackay) 10.45am (CC) and 11.45am
(AP)
Livestream link for subscribers to The Morning Bulletin
https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/livestream-how-to-watch-ignatius-park-v-st-brendan/4067198/
RESULTS
Yr 10 Report
The Yr 10s began their Cowboys Challenge campaign with a tough first up clash with last years winners Ignatius Park College. The game was in the balance with 10 minutes remaining at 16-6 however a late consolation try to Ignatius Park in the dying seconds saw the game finish at 22-6. Strong performances from Hoani Harris including a powerful try and Jett Manion who made well in excess of 50 tackles for the game kept SBC in the contest. Controlling simple errors and cohesion will be a key focus over the next 7 days in preparation for the clash with Mackay SHS next Wednesday.
Dallas Williams | Director of Sport
Opens
The first round of the Aaron Payne Cup saw St Brendan’s take on a very determined outfit from Ignatius Park College, Townsville. The game started well for the St Brendan’s unit as we jumped out to an early 4 point lead through a pinpoint kick from Peyton Jenkins to Kalani Sing. St Brendan’s then extended their lead from a try to Peyton Jenkins who won the race to ground the ball. Peyton then converted his own try to take a 10-0 lead. This was the half time score. In the second half, a lapse in concentration saw Ignatius Park score a close range try. St Brendan’s converted a penalty to extend their lead to 12-6. Unfortunately that is where the scoring stopped for St Brendan’s with a fortuitous intercept to the Ignatius Park College winger which resulted in a 12 point turn around. Some lapses in defence invited two more tries to Ignatius Park with the fulltime score 24-12 to Ignatius Park College.
Nathan Doyle | Director of Rugby League
ROUND TWO
Wednesday 5th August (Central Venue)
Ignatius Park College v The Cathedral College (Mackay JRL) 11.30am (AP) and 12.45 (CC)
Mackay SHS v St Brendan’s College (Mackay JRL) 3.00pm (AP) and 2.00pm (CC)
Thursday 6th August
St Pat’s Mackay v Kirwan SHS (Mackay) 11.00am (AP) and 12.30 (CC)
Watch the game below.
RESULTS
Cowboys Challenge
Round 2 of the Cowboys Challenge saw the Year 10’s make their way up to Mackay to take on noted Rugby League nursery Mackay SHS. Mackay began the game with plenty of confidence and were the first to score taking a 6-0 lead after the first 10 minutes. This was the wake-up call that was needed for our boys to click in to gear. Jackson Miller would score the first of his two tries due to some great lead up work from Mack Nixon and Alistar Lasker. The remainder of the half was a tough affair with some heavy collisions and impressive defence on show with Jett Manion and Hoani Harris leading the way. Right on the stroke of half-time a clever set play saw Ryan Keating streak away leaving defenders in his wake to take a 10-4 SBC lead at half-time. The second half was very similar to the first half with defence being the key aspect as both teams tried to gain an upper hand along with valuable field position. However, Jackson Miller would seal the game with a crafty solo try from dummy-half and would in turn provide another 6 points to the scoreboard. The boys would eventually held on in the dying minutes after a spirited comeback from Mackay SHS to register their first win for the Cowboys Challenge with a 16-10 win.
Dallas Williams | Director of Sport
ROUND THREE
Wednesday 12th August
St Brendan’s College v St Pat’s Mackay (St Brendan’s College) 2.00pm (CC) and 3.15pm (AP)
Ignatius Park College v Mackay SHS (Townsville) 11.45am and 12.45 Ignatius Park
The Cathedral College v Kirwan SHS (Mackay) 11.45am (AP) and 12.45 (CC)
RESULTS
Cowboys Challenge
Round 3 of the Cowboys Challenge found us at home against the highly fancied Mercy College, Mackay. Mercy were coming off the back of two impressive wins against TCC and Kirwan SHS and were firming as the team to beat in the competition. After a torrid first ten minutes of solid defence and sustained attack Mercy College were the first to score crashing over next to the posts to take a 6-0 lead. It wasn’t long before Alistar Lasker would catch the markers napping and made them pay with Mack Nixon pushing up through the middle to score under the posts to take the score to 6-6. With some huge hits and well structured play Mack Nixon would find his way to the try-line once again with a powerful run on the right edge carrying two players over the line. This would take the score to 10-6 with SBC leading at half-time. The first 15 minutes was much the same as the first half with SBC dominating in defence and attack leading to Jackson Miller catching out the Mercy College defensive line with a 20m solo effort taking SBC to a 16-4 lead. This was where ill-discipline and silly errors crept into our game and would allow Mercy College to gain momentum and get back into the match with two quick tries and a penalty goal. With less then 1 minute remaining in the game the scores were locked at 16-16 and with Mercy College in field goal position the SBC Defenders shot out of the line leaving space out on the edges whereby Mercy would capitalise and shift the ball wide to score in the corner and win the game 20-16. We will take a lot of positives out of this game and have great confidence in knowing that we can compete with the best teams in the Cowboys Challenge competition, we look forward to another tough match against Kirwan this coming week.
Dallas Williams | Director of Sport
ROUND FOUR
Tuesday 18th August
St Brendan’s College (Magpies Mackay) v Kirwan SHS 11.00am (AP) and 12.30 (CC)
Wednesday 19th August
Ignatius Park College v St Pat’s Mackay (Mackay JRL) 10.30am (CC) and 11.40am (AP)
Mackay SHS v The Cathedral College (Mackay JRL) 11.45am (CC) and 12.55 (AP)
ROUND FIVE
Tuesday 25th August
St Brendan’s College v The Cathedral College (Rockhampton) 4.00pm and 5.00pm Browne Park
Wednesday 26th August
Kirwan SHS v Ignatius Park College (Townsville) 3.45pm and 4.45pm Brothers Townsville
Mackay SHS v St Pat’s Mackay (BB Print Stadium Mackay) 4.30pm (CC) and 5.45pm (AP)
Semi Final 1v4 and 2v3 Wednesday 2nd September 2020 (Week 8, Term 3)
Grand Final SF Winners Wednesday 9th September 2020 (Week 9, Term 3)
Queensland Final Wednesday 16th September (Potential curtain raiser to Broncos v Cowboys on first Thursday of the school holidays)
To support parents to view matches in the current climate where social distancing, venue numbers and health concerns may exist, the Brisbane Broncos Allan Langer Trophy and North Queensland Cowboys Aaron Payne Cup games are being streamed via News Limited online services.
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- A match of the round will be shown on NITV approximately two weeks after the game, with commentary free of charge.
Watch the Games
Rugby League Skills Series