St Laurence’s College built a black-and-gold wall of defence today to claim a fairytale berth in rugby league’s Confraternity Shield final.
The young men from South Brisbane withheld The Cathedral College, Rockhampton 22-8 in a stirring semi-final at the famous ACU Confraternity Carnival, hosted by Marist College, Ashgrove.
On a neighbouring field, “Confro” powerhouse St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon surged to a 22-0 halftime lead before outlasting Iona College, Lindum 22-10 in the other Shield semi-final.
St Brendan’s College will start favourites in tomorrow’s decider – they toppled St Laurence’s 30-0 in Tuesday’s final pool match – but that won’t matter to a St Laurence’s team that has defied the odds all week.
Last year, St Laurence’s won the Division 2 final in Rockhampton and weighed up whether to use that winning ticket for promotion to Division 1. They moved up this year for the first time and came to the Carnival hoping to retain their spot in the top grade.
They have done more than that despite only focusing on their league season once their school rugby union season finished two weeks ago. St Laurence’s league coach Paul Boase used the fortnight to concentrate on defence.
That focus paid off today as St Laurence’s repelled waves of attack from The Cathedral College. Eamon Tuite’s grasscutter on Ashton Ketchup was among the best of many desperate tackles, saving a try that would have put the Rockhampton school ahead.
At the other end, St Laurence’s general Harry Taylor, who is signed to the Brisbane Broncos, steered his team to decisive tries that delivered them to tomorrow’s final.
The Cathedral College could be proud of their efforts under coach Tony Martin, a former Melbourne Storm NRL premiership winner. The Cathedral College turned a winless Monday into a quality drive towards a final berth, highlighted by Tuesday’s quarter-final win over Townsville’s Ignatius Park College.
Tomorrow’s decider will be the last match of another outstanding week of rugby league featuring boys’ teams from 56 Catholic and Independent schools across Queensland and another 16 girls’ teams. The carnival is run by Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Rugby League and sponsored by Australian Catholic University.
Coach Boase said his players enjoyed today’s dry conditions after showers made for greasy matches on Monday and Tuesday.
“We really preferred the dry track today because it suits our footy,” Boase said. “I was proud of the way our players kept turning The Cathedral College away. We had to do that because we gave some ball up but they held steady when they needed it.”
St Brendan’s College began well against Iona College with Dolphins-contracted hooker Jay Marsh – the son of former Origin utility PJ Marsh – scoring twice in the opening eight minutes.
The St Brendan’s defence has been remarkable, conceding only 20 points across five matches, as they attempt to win their first Shield final since 2023.
St Brendan’s coach Scott Minto, a former Broncos and Cowboys NRL back, said: “It was a tale of two halves, we defended well, but the possession flipped in the second half. It was a tough game and that’s been something that we’ve really experienced in this carnival.
“Our squad this year has some more maturity with some good experience under their belt from Rockhampton last year. We have some boys banged up but we will do our best to get them right for tomorrow.”
St Patrick’s College, Mackay appreciated the drying ground today when it qualified for the Bob Lindner Trophy final tomorrow with a 26-6 win over Shalom College, Bundaberg. St Patrick’s will meet St Mary’s College, Toowoomba for the trophy for the bottom half of Division 1.
The Neil Bloxsidge Plate for Division 2 will be decided tomorrow between Brisbane teams Villanova College, Coorparoo and St James’ College, Spring Hill.
The third division’s Confraternity Cup final will feature St John’s College, Roma and Southern Cross College, Townsville while the fourth division’s Confraternity Classic decider features two teams from far north Queensland: Good Counsel College, Innisfail and St Mary’s Catholic College, Cairns.
Photo by QISSRL / Bradley Kanaris
Boys’ semi-final results
DIVISION 1
Confraternity Shield semi-finals
St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon 22 d Iona College, Lindum 10
St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane 22 d The Cathedral College, Rockhampton 8
Positional playoffs
Marist College, Ashgrove 30 d Padua College, Kedron 12
Ignatius Park College, Townsville 38 d Marymount College, Burleigh Waters 0
Bob Lindner Trophy semi-finals
St Patrick’s College, Mackay 26 d Shalom College, Bundaberg 6
St Mary’s College, Toowoomba 16 d Rockhampton Grammar School 6
Positional playoffs
Emmaus College, Rockhampton 10 d St Patrick’s College Shorncliffe 6
St Peter Claver College, Riverview 12 d St Augustine’s College, Cairns 6
DIVISION 2
Plate semi-finals
Villanova College, Coorparoo 18 d Marist College, Emerald 12
St James College, Spring Hill 30 d St Edmund’s College, Ipswich 20
Positional playoffs
St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie 44 d Holy Spirit College, Mackay 6
Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers 18 d Ryan Catholic College, Townsville 6
Bowl semi-finals
Xavier Catholic College, Hervey Bay 28 d Assumption College, Warwick 16
All Souls St Gabriel’s College, Charters Towers 28 d St Columban’s College, Caboolture 16
Positional playoffs
Blackheath and Thornburgh College, Charters Towers 48 d St Thomas More College, Sunnybank 6
Clairvaux Mackillop College, Upper Mt Gravatt 30 d Aquinas College, Ashmore 6
DIVISION 3
Cup semi-finals
St John’s College, Roma 18 d Chanel College, Gladstone 14
Southern Cross Catholic College, Townsville 10 d St Michael’s College, Merrimac 6
Positional playoffs
Trinity College, Beenleigh 22 d d Mt Maria College, Mitchelton 0
Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby 12 d Emmaus College, Jimboomba 6
Challenge semi-finals
St Patrick’s College, Gympie 10 d Unity College, Sunshine Coast 8
St John’s School, Nambour 32 d Faith Lutheran College, Plainland 6
Positonal playoffs
Chisholm Catholic College, Cornubia 18 d St Joseph’s College, Toowoomba 6
McAuley College, Beaudesert 12 d Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham 6
DIVISION 4
Classic semi-finals
Good Counsel Catholic College, Innisfail 24 d Siena Catholic College, Sippy Downs 16
St Mary’s College, Cairns 14 d Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mt Isa 8
Positional playoofs
Good Samaritan Catholic College, Bli Bli 38 d St Augustine’s College, Augustine Heights 6
Burdekin Catholic High School, Ayr 4 d St Anthony’s College, Townsville 0
