Schoolgirls Cup

Underdogs Erindale into Grand Final

by
dailytelegraph
28/08/2023

Underdogs Erindale into Grand Final

Author : Katrina May News Corp Sports

Underdogs Erindale into Grand Final

NRL Schoolgirls Cup grand final live stream: Underdogs Erindale take on undefeated Hills Sports High

They’ve already done it once, now Erindale College are ready to bring their unique brand of upsets to the grandest occasion of all. See the NRL Schoolgirls decider LIVE on Wednesday.

Watch a full replay of Bass High v Erindale College.

Australian Schoolgirl Faustina Akeje dives in for a Semi Final try (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Erindale College will head into the NRL Schoolgirls grand final on Wednesday as the ultimate underdog when they face off against the undefeated Hills Sports High School.

But it is not going to stop the girls from the nation’s capital from believing.

Erindale go forward in the Schoolgirl Cup Semi Final (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

The Canberra-based side barely scraped through to the semifinals, only picking up one win in the pool stage over Matraville Sports High School and narrowly beating out Illawarra Sports on points difference to make the knockout stages.

Erindale go forward in the Schoolgirl Cup Semi Final (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

No one expected Erindale to make it to the grand final, but the team turned it up a notch in the semis, upsetting Bass 12-8 to book their place in Wednesday’s decider.

“I’m so ecstatic for the girls,” Erindale coach Ashley Barnes said of the shock win.

“Obviously we came in as massive underdogs and to turn up and play like that, the girls should be very proud and the school is very proud of them.”

The massive NRL Schoolgirls Cup grand final clash against Hills Sports will be available to stream LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV on Wednesday at 11:30am, ahead of the must-watch Peter Mulholland Cup final between Westfields Sports and Patrician Brothers Blacktown.

WATCH THE PETER MULHOLLAND CUP FINAL LIVE HERE

Erindale College schoolgirls into this years Grand Final (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Bass High School Schoolgirls Semi Final team photo (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Bass High School Schoolgirls Semi Final team photo (Photo : Steve MOontgomery)

NRL Schoolboys/Girls Finals Live Stream Schedule

Wednesday August 30

Campbelltown Stadium

Schoolgirls Cup

11:30am: Hills Sports High School v Erindale College

Peter Mulholland Cup

1pm: Westfields Sports High School v Patrician Brothers, Blacktown

Despite Erindale’s underdog status, coach Barnes said he has complete belief in his team to pull off another upset and take out the title.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we … continue to work,” he said.

“A lot of these girls haven’t been playing rugby league for a long time, some only six months to a year, so it’s still all so new to them.

“We’ll be going home and watching the footage (from the semi-finals), watching Hills and working on the areas we think need improving.”

Hills Sports High have been the standouts of the inaugural NRL Schoolgirls Cup competition, coming through the pool stages undefeated.

Hills Sports boast an undefeated NRL Schoolgirls season in 2023 Picture: Tim Hunter.

The semi-final win over Westfields Sports High showcased the side’s never-say-die attitude, coming back from a 6-4 halftime deficit to take out the match 18-12.

“We dug deep when we were 4-6 down after the first half and we came back, it was just crazy,” Hills co-captain Olivia Vaalele said after the match.

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While they might enter the grand final as the favourites, Vaalele said the side neded to have an honest appraisal of their semi-final performance with several areas that need to be worked on.

“We’ll really need to work on our penalties, just staying onside and keeping everything together,” she said.

“I’m definitely nervous for the grand final, but I think with the support we have we can put in a good performance.”