Illawarra Sports High School‘s Open Boys Rugby League team are set to play for a spot in the Peter Mulholland Cup grand final.
The team won their game on Wednesday, August 19, beating defending champions Patrician Brothers College to make the preliminary final and cementing their position in the state’s top four.
Coach Nick O’Hara attributes their success to some of the younger players, who have played their first year in the open-age team, as well as to some new students at the school.
“Mainly our changes came from a very successful under-sixteens team who are now into the under-seventeens. The cohort has had really positive results the whole way through year seven, and all the way to now into year eleven,” Mr O’Hara said.
“We had the introduction of a few students in year twelve from different schools around the area that have really boosted our playing roster as well.”
Prior to this season, the team went 1000 days without a win, marking an unprecedented turnaround to reach the semi-finals.
Mr O’Hara said the team faces an array of difficulties in maintaining results in the competition, but also off the field and in the classroom.
“With schoolboy footy, you’ve got external pressures coming from the representative side of things outside of school, and then you’ve got club footy, and then you’re juggling the student-athlete workload as well as being a good student, behaviour-wise. With all of those things tied together, it makes it difficult to have the same team week in, week out,” Mr O’Hara said.
Preparation begins again this week for their next game. Many players have club commitments over the weekend, which has impacted the intensity of their training.
The short turnaround means their training will consist of a video and field session to test their game plan.
“It’s a quick turnaround, just really focusing on the boys, looking after their bodies, and then we just try and execute our game plan,” Mr O’Hara continued.
The team will play Hunter Sports High School today for a spot in the Grand Final.
