The words of famous old boy Johnathan Thurston have driven St Mary’s College, Toowoomba, within reach of their fourth Confraternity Shield after today’s semi-finals in Charters Towers.
St Mary’s will meet St Peter Claver College, Riverview in tomorrow’s final meaning the Confraternity Shield is headed back to southeast Queensland for the first time since 2005.
St Mary’s were the last southeast Queensland team to dominate when future Broncos Chris and Shane Walker helped them to three wins in five years in the 1990s before the central and north Queensland grip took hold.
Thurston was a Confraternity Carnival standout for St Mary’s and his old school focused on his words as they outpaced Ignatius Park College, Townsville 22-6 in today’s semi-final.
St Mary’s and Ignatius Park had been unbeaten in this carnival but the Toowoomba team pounced early, riding some handy penalties into a 6-0 lead in the seventh minute.
Tries in the 21st and 25th minutes sent St Mary’s to halftime with a 16-0 lead that proved too much for Ignatius Park.
“Johnathan (Thurston) has spoken to our school and his words are something we take with us when we play,” St Mary’s coach Rob Anderson said.
“He talks about doing the little things right and about paying attention to so many different elements. We talk about his advice not just on the field but how we behave off the field as well.”
In the other semi-final, Anthony Milford’s former school St Peter Claver College recovered from a halftime deficit to overcome The Cathedral College, Rockhampton 20-14. St Peter Claver must now overcome their loss to St Mary’s in the pool matches but they showed great fight today.
The Cathedral College scored in the minutes before halftime to spring to a 14-8 lead but St Peter Claver dug deep to reach the final.
In today’s other divisions, Marist College, Ashgrove sprung a major upset when the traditional rugby union school defeated Confraternity powerhouse St Patrick’s College, Mackay 22-10 in the Bob Lindner Trophy semi-final.
Ashgrove will meet St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon in tomorrow’s decider after their 30-0 win over St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie.
Charters Towers has been a great host for this carnival and local teams Columba Catholic College and Blackheath and Thornburgh College brought joy for the locals when they qualified for tomorrow’s final for the Confraternity Bowl.
Tomorrow’s final day will also feature playoffs in the Confraternity Plate, Cup and Challenge.
That will bring an end to a Carnival that has brought together 47 teams from across the state and the first team from New South Wales.
The Confraternity Carnival is staged by the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools’ Rugby League with this year’s matches played at Columba Catholic College’s grounds in Charters Towers.
QISSRL president Peter Elmore said the semi-finals were well contested.
“We continue to be proud of the way these young men represent their schools. This Carnival is all about sportsmanship, respect and fellowship and we saw plenty of that today,” Mr Elmore said.
“Tomorrow’s finals will be exciting and we wish all teams the best of luck.”
>> Full results can be found on the Confraternity Shield app: Apple: http://apple.co/2tt17LK or Android: http://bit.ly/2ttr6CJ
Today’s results
Confraternity Shield - Semi-finals
St Mary’s College, Toowoomba 22 d Ignatius Park College, Townsville 10
St Peter Claver College, Riverview 20 d The Cathedral College, Rockhampton 14
Other matches
Marymount College, Burleigh 24 d St Augustine’s College, Cairns 6
Rockhampton Grammar School 36 d Aquinas College Ashmore 6
Confraternity Trophy - Semi-finals
Marist College, Ashgrove 22 d St Patrick’s, Mackay 6
St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon 30 d St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie 0
Other matches
St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe 36 d St Edmund’s College, Ipswich 18
Emmaus College, Rockhampton 22 d Padua College, Kedron 0
Confraternity Plate
Iona College, Wynnum 28 d St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane 0
St Michael’s College, Merrimac 8 d Clairvaux Mackillop College, Upper Mt Gravatt 0
Other matches
St Thomas More, Sunnybank 32 d Marist College, Emerald 10
Faith Lutheran College, Plainland 24 d St Joseph’s Stanthorpe / Assumption College Warwick 4
Confraternity Bowl - Semi-finals
Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers 22 d St Columban’s College, Caboolture 6
Blackheath & Thornburgh College, Charters Towers 18 d St Mary’s College, Maryborough / St Patrick’s College, Gympie 16
Other matches
St Joseph’s College, Toowoomba 6 d All Souls St Gabriel’s College (1), Charters Towers 4
Ryan Catholic College, Townsville 25 d Holy Spirit College, Mackay 20
Confraternity Cup - Semi-finals
Xavier Catholic College, Hervey Bay 16 d Trinity College, Beenleigh 10
Chanel College, Gladstone 32 d Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby 10
Other matches
Emmaus College, Jimboomba 36 d St James’ College, Spring Hill 18
Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa 18 d Shalom College, Bundaberg 16
Confraternity Challenge - Semi-finals
St John’s Catholic School, Roma 28 d Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham 4
St Anthony’s Catholic College, Townsville 26 d St Augustine’s College, Springfield 10
Other matches
St Mary’s Catholic College, Woree 26 d St Mary’s Catholic College, Casino 6
All Souls St Gabriels College (2) 14 d Mt Maria College, Mitchelton 10
