From not knowing a lineout from a 22metre line or a wether the fullback should be we...aring Number 1 or number 15, Keebra Park have emerged from the hallowed halls of the Queensland Rugby Union with a new title.....QRU Schoolboys sevens Champions.

After winning the right to contest the finals by topping their group in the round robin stage of the competition including a win over reknowned union heavyweights St Josephs College Nudgee, the boys headed to Suncorp on Friday night to face Brisbane State High in the semi final.

Winning this game comfortably set them up for a showdown with competition favourites IGS (Ipswich Grammar to you and me).
second half of story...................

Ipswich were lightning fast and would pose a threat out wide but Keebra kept it tight and counted on their union counterparts not being up to making one on one tackles.

This proved to be the case and Grammar had to commit to the ruck or otherwise the bustling Keebra forwards would simply dominate through the middle. By sucking them in it was us who created the overlaps and at half time had a comfortable 19-12 lead.

The second half was a differnt story with Grammar spreading the ball and with weight of position lead 38-28 with two minutes to go.......................however..........there was one thing that we knew we were superior in and that was pride in the Keebra Park jersey...........this jersey is not won on privelige or who you know.......this jersey is built on hard work and discipline, on commitment to your team mates and commitment to the school and with the seconds ticking down the boys steeled themselves and when possession came they capitalised on it and ran out winners 38-28.

The boys now head of to the Nationals in Sydney adn with the return of their SG Ball and Mal Meninga Cup reps will be side to be reckoned with.

Keebra Park SHS rugby league program resulted in winner the National Arrive alive Cup in 2009

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Training has recommenced at the school and Friday morning training has become the place for the new recruits to show the coach their talents and a place to start the long journey that will be season 2010.

There have been some good gains in all age groups and that combined with the existing talent is sure to make competition for spots quite tight.

A number of last years Arrive Alive Cup side were in grade 11 and this means that once again they should feature in selections and they also have the advantage of knowing what victory in this elite competition takes.

This year there have been students enrol from a myriad of locations including Murgon, Tonga, Western Australia, Torres Straight and even the Uk which is a pleasing sign that the reputation of the school is definetly becoming global...................

Keebra Park SHS celebrate their AaC semi final win over old enemy Endeavour SHS (Photo : ourfootymedia)

PLENTY OF FOTO'S HERE

WELL DONE TO THE KEEBRA BOYS IT WAS GREAT MEETING U ALL AND WATCHING YA'S PLAY SOME GOOD FOOTY - Instead of just reporting all your games, see ya's at the grand final - ourfootyteam

Keebra shocked the crowd at ANZ stadium, closing down the game and successfully closing down the skilled Endeavour backs.

This is the 3 rd time these two highly rated schools have fought the Arrive alive duel, the previous 2 occasions were the 2005 & 2006 grand finals where Endeavour were the winners on both occasions.

Not this time, Keebra Park were the first to score in this semi final after they had half a dozen or more repeated sets inside Endeavour's 20 meter line.

Endeavour were marvelous in defence, dropping the attacking Queenslanders within millimeters of the try line.

The weight of possession eventually told and Keebra Park were able to break the Endeavour line when Sione Akoula scored, the conversion was straight thru the goal posts and the score was 6 - 0.

Endeavour finally held the ball for a full set, the footy was like a hot potato with the Sydney boys passing the ball along the line to Rass with flicked the ball to Tom Wishardt who was 10 cm from the line put the ball down and was smashed for his efforts, the kick from near the sideline hit the near post.

Endeavour were in again when Endeavour covered the length of the field in one set to see the Somoan flier DJ Percell had momentum to slide into the in goal to give his school the lead. Skipper John Nicholas converted to make the score 10 - 6.

It didn't take long in this mistake riddled game for Keebra to once again grab the lead when big Ben Murdock bashed his way through a few tired defenders to run the rest of the 40 meters to out the ball down under the black dot.

Keebra Park were very well organised in defence, they slide across, pick a defender and every man is involved, skipper and fullback Jordan Kahu is calm and clear in his instructions to the troops.

HALF TIME SCORE 10 - 12

First we had a victory in the Titans Cup with our Under 16 side beating PBC 20-14. This was a first for the Titans Cup boys so well done Mr Woolf.

They were to quick in the opening encounters and built a 16-0 half time score that PBC never really managed to reel in.

Special mention to Andrew Vella, Johnny Pati and Nofoa Leapi for outstanding seasons. Here's looking to next year and more success.

Then our 13 Premiers demolished St Mary's Toowoomba 72-0 with some great strong running and patient, structured play.

George Fai and Sigalu set a strong platform which was ably exploited by the speedy backs. Jayden Heu played a blinder on the wing and looks to have cemented a spot out wide.

The 14's progressed with a scrappy win over Kawana Waters from the Sunshine Coast.

The 15's came up against Ipswich Grammar and put on an awesome display of structured football. Halves, Zac Walsh and Dallas Wells showed some maturity in their ball playing that put player after player away into holes that saw the score exceed 50.

They are really coming together as a unit and have some exceptional talent. Well Done Quaid for making the Australian merit side and to Costner, Filo, Zac, Dallas and Tuila who all made various Qld rep sides.

The Opens came up against a talent stacked PBC at Pizzey Park this Wednesday and while many thought that they were just there to make up the numbers, the boys themselves had been quietly confident all week that they had the goods to come away with a win.

Boasting Jordan Rankin;s NRL experience and with 7 Titans Toyota Cup Players, 2 Australian Reps and 5 Qld players they were on paper an daunting proposition.

The boys knew they would have to be smart and play to their strengths and negate PBC'S strengths and in the end it was this battle that decided the game.

Our strengths were our go forward and their perceived strengths were the edges and the bomb.

Rankin put up spiralling torpedoes that came down with snow on, only to have Keebra fullback Jordan Kahu, leap above the opposition, wipe the snow laden pill clean with one hand and mould it into snowballs, while fending with the other and then make twenty metres through traffic, finding body position, getting a quick play the ball and puttting PBC on the backfoot while throwing snowballs at Mr Rankin.

Our go forward was constant and almost like watching a piston engine punching rhythmically through the opposition. Ignatius, Mosese, Ice, Ignatius, Mosese, Ice,Ignatius, Mosese, Ice, Ignatius, Mosese, Ice,Ignatius, Mosese, Ice,Ignatius, Mosese, Ice,.......you get the picture.

This disciplined commitment dragged the PBC edges into the fray and Keebra exploited the gaps.

At half time the score was 6-0 and while it wasn't the start Keebra had hoped for it seemed to take more out of the PBC boys than it did Keebra and this was evident with the boys being able to put on two tries.

One to Mosese and another to bustling Ben Murdoch.

Kahu then kicked a smart, demoralising field goal and it left too little time and too much to do for PBC.

It is always a shame that someone has to bow out with both these schools being worthy South Qld representatives but having been on the losing end of two close games in the past two years it was great to get back on the winners dias and to show that we are a school that has a long, proud tradition of rugby league and are as competitive as we have ever been.

With the juniors going so well it has been a great week of reassurance for all on staff at Keebra that what we are doing is working and that we are still innovating and at the cutting edge.

Well done boys and good luck as you move onto the next stages of the various competitions.

The new cohort of grade 8's are well and truly into training and looking like a team that could emulate the unbeaten antics of last years 8's.

The Nines are looking good. With only a couple of losses from last years team that won the Renouf Shield 74-0, however they have gained a number of juniors from as far afield as Tamworth and North Queensland.

The Under 15's have also profitted from the reputation the school has aquired across both Australia and New Zealand with a number of new recruits filling the ranks.

There are 80 students in the Open Divison with a number of students on contracts with the Wests Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans. The Wests Tigers players are looking particularly strong with gains throughout the forwards anda couple of useful looking halves.

Another positive addition to the school this year is the appointment of a Polynesian guidance officer who is on hand to work with the students for whom the schooling system is often different to the one they are used to andd often speak a language other than English at home.

Steve Renouf shows up

Both on and off the field they are constantly under scrutiny and it is important that they are equipped to deal with this sometimes sudden status.

A man who has achieved at the highest levels in Rugby League for club, State and Country and who always presents himself impeccably is Origin legend Steve Renouf.

In July this year and in conjunction with Queensland Rail, Keebra Park was lucky enough to host Steve as he spoke to out footballers about the demands and expectations that go along with belonging to an elite programme.

Steve told the boys that when he first joined the Brisbane Broncos, Wayne Bennett had told him that from now on he was representing the team whenever he was in public and not only when he was playing, and this was something he had worked on maintaining.

He spoke of how being identifiable as a member of any team, whether it be The Broncos or Keebra Park, meant that the public form opinions about you and it was easy for those opinions to be negative. He also spoke of how bad behaviour in public is not a cultural thing it is a personal choice and that we as people are responsible for those choices.

Steve was well received and fielded questions from the boys on how to make sure that they presented a positive image of themselves and their school and also a few questions regarding his long career.

After the session Steve took the squad down to the oval and imparted a few of the secrets that earned him his 'Black Pearl' nickname.