Emmaus fall short in league final

A double to Brady Williams helped St Brendan’s to a grand final win over Emmaus.

Allan Reinikka AR--

WHEN it comes to grand finals, the old saying goes that you have to lose one before you can win one.

Emmaus College first XIII is hoping that is the case next year after their 20-point loss to St Brendan's in the Rockhampton Secondary Schools grand final on Saturday night.

There was no stopping a classy St Brendan's College outfit, which was out for revenge after its mid-week loss to Keebra Park in the ARL Cup.

Emmaus College pushed St Brendan's for the opening 15 minutes of each half but could not maintain the intensity and fell away at the end, allowing St Brendan's to win 26-6.

The margin did not reflect the closeness of the contest for much of the match, with St Brendan's scoring two tries late in the first half and another late in the second half.

While coming up against state finalists St Brendan's is always a daunting task, coach Scott Fuller was critical of his team's inability to stick to what they have done best this season.

“We went away from our game plan,” Fuller said.

“We played to their forwards, which isn't our game.”

The 20-point grand final margin was the biggest between the two teams this season.

In their last meeting, at the Confraternity Shield earlier this year, only four points separated the two teams.

However, as the Rockhampton schoolboys grand final is a big event on the local secondary school sporting calendar, Fuller believes his team might have become caught up in the occasion.

“We've played better than that this year,” he said.

“There is a lot of hype surrounding the grand final and a bit of extra pressure on us because we haven't won it in a few years.”

Despite the loss, Fuller was confident the team would be better for the experience next season.

The Emmaus team had a talented group of 16-year-olds who would be returning for the school next year and would be hoping they could go one better, he said.

Among them are lock Jack Rycen, halfback Luke Guinane and utility Nathan Marshall.

Guinane usually controls the game at halfback. However, St Brendan's defence prevented him from making his mark in the grand final.

“Luke played really well last weekend in the semi-final against Rockhampton Grammar,” Fuller said.

“He was running the ball to the line and challenging the defence, but he didn't get the chance to do that against St Brendan's.”

Rycen, an under-15 Australian schoolboys player last year, was particularly impressive, working tirelessly in attack and defence.

Along with Rycen, Marshall and captain Jordan Wheeler stood up not only in the grand final but throughout the season.

Front-rower Wheeler was rewarded at the school's recent awards night with the team's best and fairest award.

In the open seconds match, Emmaus College defeated Rockhampton High School 22-16.