Peter Mulholland Cup

Peter Mulholland Cup Semi Finals

by
dailytelegraph
24/08/2023

Westfields SHS run out for their Peter Mulholland Schoolboy Cup Semi Final (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Peter Mulholland Cup Semi Finals

Author : Katrina May News Corp Sport

Peter Mulholland Cup Semi Finals

Peter Mulholland Cup semifinals live stream:

Patties Blacktown v St Dominic’s, Erindale v Westfields

While Westfields were class under pressure, they will have to be at their very best in the final if Patties Blacktown produce a repeat of their NRL Schoolboys Cup semi masterpiece. Relive the action.

Watch a full replay of Westfields Sports v Erindale College.

Westfields held off a tenacious challenge from Erindale to set up a Peter Mulholland Cup grand final showdown with Patrician Brothers Blacktown next Wednesday.

Lachlan Galvin was one of the stars of the show, scoring a try and contributing to multiple others to help his side to come from behind to beat the Canberra-based school 22-16 at Campbelltown Stadium.

It was the second year in a row Erindale have gone out at ther semifinal stage.

Westfields’ Roy Quiroz-Mapusa said getting to the grand final is an incredible feeling.

“What an adrenaline rush,” he said.

Lachlan Galvin dives in for a Semi Final Try (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

“We just had to keep believing in each other.

“There’s a reason Erindale got to the finals, but I had full confidence in the boys.”

Erindale gained the advantage early, with Olli Bolatagici benefiting from a Jonah Anderson kick to claim the first try.

Australian Schoolboy Xavier Cacciotti doubled the advantage for Erindale soon after, and a perfect two from two from Sam Gash gave the Canberra side a solid 12-0 lead early on.

Westfields coach Troy Weeden admitted the two early tries was concerning, but the boys didn’t let it impact their confidence.

“To go 12-0 down made me nervous,” Weeden said.

“Our mentality changed after that, we know we can score points when we are in the area, but we just weren’t there enough.”

Galvin was the first to reduce the deficit with a try followed by Brycen Anae Roberts and Sosefo Finau in quick succession to hand Westfields a 16-12 lead heading into the break.

Westfields made it four unanswered tries 10 minutes into the second half as Heith Pritchard powered through from dummy half for the try. A third successful conversion for Quiroz-Mapusua put the side 10 points in front.

Erindale’s Bolatagici was able to claw back some points off the back of an impressive run from Mathias Tomuli-Ah-Koui, but an unsuccessful conversion from Gash kept Erindale just out of reach.

The pro-Erindale crowd were fired up and a sin-bin for Westfields Markuzz Ofanoa only made them louder.

But Westfields held their nerve.

Super Patties Blacktown turn in semifinal special

Patrician Brothers Blacktown have shocked the NRL Schoolboys competition by demolishing the previously undefeated St Dominic’s 32-0 to secure a spot in next week’s grand final.

Fullback Wilson De Courcey called the result and performance ‘amazing’.

“Just crazy,” he said.

“I wasn’t expecting that scoreline, I thought it would be a closer game.

“But we’ve been aiming for this since the start of the season and to get this result is amazing.”

The opening few minutes were very physical with neither side giving an inch.

Marcellus Iakopo got the scoring underway early, dodging past St Dom’s defence before Thomas Epere doubled the lead soon after, following a kick from De Courcey.

St Dom’s were plagued by errors close to the line and the Pats defence was unyielding.

Australian Schoolboy De Courcey grabbed a try of his own just before halftime to extend the lead to 18-0 and it was a long way back for St Dom’s.

Watch a full replay of Patrician Brothers Blacktown v St Dominic’s College.

Roy Quiroz Mapusua diving try in the Schoolboy Cup Semi Final (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

St Dom’s were gifted a much-needed advantage midway through the second half when Patties player Langa Tokuafu was sent to the sin-bin for a late tackle.

De Courcey said going a man down was frustrating.

“It’s little things like that, discipline, that we really need to sort out,” De Courcey said.

“If it was a closer game, that could have really affected us.”

St Dom’s though couldn’t break through. The closest they got was when a powerful charge from Jack Attard was thwarted by the defence right on the line.

Even down a player, Patties were unstoppable.

A brilliant run from Jaxon Edgar was rewarded as Jack Nicholas found the tryline, and co-captain Finau Latu added a second try in as many minutes to put St Dom’s out of their misery.

Patties’ confidence only grew from there as Nicholas picked up his second try of the match for a stunning 32-0 lead.

PREVIEW

The grand finalists from 2022 may be gone, but there is certainly no doubting the quality of this year’s Peter Mulholland Cup final four.

Patties Fairfield went out in the group stages while Hills were quarterfinal victims, but in Westfields Sports, Erindale College, St Dominic’s and Patrician Brothers Blacktown, there are four teams in peak form and all are capable of winning the title on their best day.

And the semifinal draw only adds to the intrigue.

Catch all of the action from Campbelltown Stadium LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV from 12:30pm on Wednesday, along with coverage of the NRL Schoolgirls Cup semi-finals from 10am. See the full draw below.

WATCH THE NRL SCHOOLGIRLS SEMIFINALS RIGHT HERE

NRL Schoolboys/Girls Semifinals Live Stream Schedule

Wednesday, August 23

Campbelltown Stadium

Schoolgirls

10am: Westfields Sports v Hill Sports

11.15am: Bass High v Erindale College

Peter Mulholland Cup

12.30pm: St Dominic’s College v Patrician Brothers Blacktown

1.45pm: Westfields Sports v Erindale College

Westfields boast a four-game unbeaten run as they prepare for a match-up with Erindale.

Winger Will Craig has been one of the stars of the show, scoring 10 tries in those four games.

FOOTBALL FACTORIES: EVERY AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLBOY OF THE LAST DECADE

“He’s just so strong,” coach Troy Weeden said after Westfields’ 52-6 quarterfinal demolition of All Saints Maitland.

“He’s good at the art, everything he does is just superb and he gets us out of a lot of trouble.”

Australian schoolboy Lachlan Galvin has also been pivotal to Westfields’ success this year and Weeden praised the No.6’s ability to ‘always scoring tries, or contribute to them.’

COUNTRY STANDOUT READY TO BEAT WESTFIELDS TO DOUBLE PUNCH

Lachlan Galvin has been Westfields’ best in 2023. Picture: Steve Montgomery

While heading into the semifinals with plenty of momentum, Weedon conceded there were a few areas he wanted his team to pick up in.

“We need to fix our possession with the ball and control overall,” he said.

“As long as they put on a good performance and look after themselves we’ll be in with a shot.”

RELIVE ALL THE QUARTERFINAL ACTION HERE

Erindale’s quarterfinal clash against Endeavour Sports High School was ‘a bit of a weird game’, according to coach Ashley Barnes.

They eventually pulled off a 28-24 golden point win to reach the semifinals for the second year in a row. Last year they were knocked out in a thriller by Hills.

Barnes said he’s not underestimating the challenge Westfields will pose.

“If we’re as ill disciplined as we were against Endeavour, we’re going to have a really tough game,” Barnes said.

“They’re a powerful side with some really good players there, so we’ll really need to tidy up our game.

“I think if we just focus on us we’ll be really competitive.”

Jack Nicholas scored four tries in the quarterfinals.

In the other game, Patrician Brothers Blacktown have suddenly found a winning formula and head into their clash with St Dominic’s College feeling good about their prospects.

Their 64-6 win over Victorian University Secondary College in the quarterfinals featured an incredible 12 tries, four of which came from Jack Nicholas.

Nicholas said the result was a testament to how well the team are working together now after they fixed the mistakes that plagued them throughout the competition.

“We’re spreading the ball really well, our defence is really good,” Nicholas said after the quarterfinal win.

“Those four tries came from my teammates, we were just strong as a team and hopefully that takes us all the way.”

With St Dom’s going into the clash without yet losing a match in the competition, Nicholas said it’ll be a really tough battle.

“It’ll be a hard game, they’re a good team,” he said.

“It’s always tough when we play Dom’s but we’ll get back to training, work hard and give it a good crack.”

St Doms have been impressive form all year.

More Coverage

REPLAYS: Why NRL Schoolboys coach needed to ‘calm my kids down’

‘Real sense of calm’: Patties relieved to get their ‘X-factor’ back

St Dom’s struggled with discipline issues during their 26-18 win over Hills Sports, letting in three tries in the second half and having Jack Ewer sent to the sin bin for a high tackle after looking comfortable in the opening half.

“We just switched off,” coach Kyle Churchill said.

“We weren’t cohesive as a group both in defence and in attack, and it took its toll.”