2013's big improver, prop Sam Moa and Greg Eastwood are doing New Zealand proud whilst that good English Lad Rangi Chase is proving to be a pivotal piece in The "Whites" bid for a finals spot, Dean Parata deserves his spot in the Italian squad and big Ben Murdoch is proudly representing the Tongans.

One lesser known but now on the radar graduate is the USA prop Lester Solai who is a giant of a man who graduated in 2007 and after stints in rugby union and basketball seems to have found his niche in league.

With Richard Kingi and Dion Taumata playing union in France and Italy respectively, there really is an international flavour to 2013 and this highlights the range of opportunities open to program graduates.

2014 is already gearing up to be a good year with a plethora of quality new recruits enrolled and hoping to follow in the footsteps of their idols.

Its also time to say goodbye to our graduates for 2013 and wish them all the best as they head of to tackle the Holden Cup trials at various clubs.

Watson Heleta, Hala Masila,Marion Seve, Te-Maire Martin, Lamar Liolavave, Sione Alofi and Jamion Iroa are sure to be welcome additions and names to watch out for at Wests Tigers whilst, O'Shae Tuiasau will bolster the stock at the Titans.

Workhorse Kelly Tate will head to Sydney and the Dragons and his attitude and determination will be an asset to the Red and Whites and prove to be an astute signing ... well done boys.

Jj Collins kisses the GIO Schoolboy Cup (Photo : stolen from FB -shotz jj lol)

Marion SEVE - 2013 Peter Sterling Medalist (Photo : steve monty / OurFootyMedia)

GIO SCHOOLBOY CUP GRAND FINAL

PATRICIAN BROTHERS v KEEBRA PARK SHS PRE GAME | 1st HALF | 2nd HALF | CELEBRATIONS |

Those at the game will forever remember the dynamic duo who made up the Keebra cheer squad at this years GIO National Schoolboy Cup Grand Final. On the left was the legendary Mrs Vela who has been ejected from much better stadiums than Kogarah and on the right was a newcomer in the shape of “The Man in the Green t-shirt”.

Between them were the massed drums and pipes of St. Patrician Brothers Blacktown with 800 supporters attired proudly in Blue and Green.

While the boys from Pats definitely took out the pre-game cheer contest with wonderful renditions of the “Okey Pokey” and a version of “When the Saints go marching in” that started with the following intro….

“Knock Knock”
“Who’s there?”
“Wendy”
“Wendy who?”………..

It was the man in the green t-shirt who emerged victorious with his “Keebra Park is on Fire” and “We are having Patties for dinner” chants that will reverberate around the foreshore for decades to come.

However I digress and it wouldn’t really be one of my match reports if I didn’t…..so on with the show.

Patties came out of the sheds looking strong……even their mascot Super Pattie looked strong and they commenced their warm up with a show of athleticism rarely seen outside of the professional ranks.

They leapt, they caught, they kicked and they ran and put on a great display for their fans and truth be told it even lead to some doubt creeping into the lower reaches of this spectators mind.

Meanwhile Keebra ran through their traditional warm up with traditional focus and when all was warm they headed back to the sheds.

Being privy to the inner workings of the Keebra Program I witnessed the pre-game message and as I looked around the room I could see the message was well received, the boys were focussed and they were here for business…we were in for an epic game.

As the game progressed, Patties probed and prodded they earned repeat sets and once more probed and prodded. Where against other opposition they had found gaps and the try-line, no quarter was given and the initial forays ended up in the unfamiliar surroundings of the touch line.

In contrast Keebra’s initial forays lead to two tries to bustling centre Watson Heleta who while as capable as right centre Marion Seve, had gone under the radar in recent weeks as Marion gained the lion’s share of the football.

This turn of events seemed to shock the boys in Blue and Gold and left them behind the posts scratching their heads and asking themselves questions.

“Why can’t through?, how did they bust our line? …who is the man in the green t-shirt singing about his dinner?”

Another quick fire try to flying winger Taylor Walters after a disallowed try to man of the match Temaire Martin compounded this self doubt and whilst the Patties boys did cross for a four pointer minutes before half time, they entered the sheds at 16-4 down and in a world of unfamiliar pain.

The second half began much as the first had ended with Mrs Vela dancing the man in the green t-shirt singing and Keebra crossing for another four pointer.

By now the Patties band had ceased banging their drums and when star Holden Cup fullback Watene- Zelesniak was rested it was a sign of a conceded defeat. Tempers flared when Keebra copped one too many head highs and after a brief push and shove, that compounded the fact that the Gold coasters were not a team to be bullied the game resumed with Keebra once more crossing the stripe.

The final score of 28-4 was an endorsement of what is sometimes overlooked in schoolboy football, the fact that a team who plays basic old fashioned football where the ability to defend your line is equally as important as the ability to run a structured offense and where discipline and the willingness to put your body on the line for the team, is more than a match for a team of gifted individuals who rely on their own ability to break the line through brute strength.

Having witnessed the season of Queensland schools football also leads one to wonder why there is only one Qld qualifier for the National semi- finals and three NSW teams. By my reckoning, PBC, Wavell, Kirwan, Marsden and St Brendans would all have made a significant impression in the finals series and is something for organisers to consider for the coming seasons.

While it has been a successful season for Keebra Park, Patties should be congratulated on their effort and school spirit and they really gave the National final the atmosphere it deserves.

Good luck to all schools in this years competition and thanks to GIO for their support and heres looking forward to 2014.

Postscript: Mrs Vela was last seen in the queue for the “Samoa has got Talent” contest and the man in the green t-shirt was seen heading into Macdonalds to make good on his statement that he was having patties for dinner

ILLAWARRA SHS 18 - 38 KEEBRA PARK SHS TRIES : Jordan Harty 2, Lachlan Stein, Adam Clune GOALS : Jackson Hastings TRIES : Jamian Iroa 3, Braydon McMahan, Sione Alofi, Marion Seve, Lamar Manuel-Liolevave GOALS : Jamian Iroa 5 GIO "Most Trusted Player" AWARD. Lamar Manuel-Liolevave (Keebra Park)

Keebra Park SHS gio Schoolboy Cup team after the good win over Illawarra SHS in the Semi Final @ Pizzey Park (Photo : D Hart / OurFootyMedia)

Illawarra SHS gio Schoolboy Cup team good game with QLD Champions Keebra Park SHS in the Semi Final @ Pizzey Park (Photo : D Hart / OurFootyMedia)

Hastings and fellow Australian schoolboys squad member Tom Freebairn formed the backbone of an Illawarra side who had successfully overcome Sydney schools, Hunter, Bass and Holy Cross to take their place in the Gio Schoolboys Cup Semi and were the form team coming into the clash.

Keebra had downed, Marsden, Kirwan and St Brendans in do or die knockouts and although considered underdogs for this encounter had developed a reputation for fitness and determination.

Illawarra spent the morning playing beach cricket, topping up their tans and working of the parmiganas from the night before but they were under no illusions that the holiday was over when Keebra crossed the stripe early in the game to open the scoring.

They replied with a try of their own soon after and the tit for tat scoring saw the Keebra enter the sheds with an 18-12 lead at halftime.

The second stanza opened along much the same lines and an arm wrestle ensued with neither side able to really stamp their authority however a 45th minute flurry of Keebra pressure saw them push out to a 32-18 lead and put the game beyond Illawarra's reach.

A knock on over the line and a Liolavave try called back for a forward pass would have seen the score blow out but as the final siren sounded, the 38-18 final score line was indicative of a game that featured some passages of open play with both sides happy to push the pass out wide.

Keebra's Australian centre Marion Seve bagged a double while Jamion Iroa went one better with a hat trick.

Kelly Tate was relentless in defence and Lamar Liolavave was awarded the GIO "Most Trusted Player" award.

Keebra Park SHS head rugby league coach Mr. Greg Lenton watches his boys in the 2009 AaC grand Final in Sydney (Photo : OurFootyMedia)

KEEBRA Park mentor Greg Lenton has warned his side will have to lift their game if they are to have a chance of winning the GIO Cup national title.

Keebra snared back-to-back Queensland titles in the prestigious schoolboys rugby league competition with their 28-14 win against St Brendan's College at Wynnum yesterday.

While Keebra pushed the lead out to as much as 28-6 in the second half, Lenton was unimpressed with an undisciplined first-half performance and let his troops know in no uncertain terms at the break that their performance had been lacklustre.

"We decided that we just wouldn't stick to everything we learnt this year and we played some terrible football," a frank Lenton said.

"We were very lucky that a couple of things went our way and we got out of it."

Keebra led their Yeppoon-based rivals 12-6 at half-time but squandered several scoring chances in some "terrible decisions" -- something that surprised Lenton given his team's regular good attitude, discipline and work ethic.

And the veteran coach did not spare his charges' feelings at the break.

The frank discussion led to a second-half turnaround, with front-rower JJ Felise leading the way, laying the platform for his team to follow.

Hooker Junior Marsters was named man of the match for his service around the ruck, while Braydon McMahon, Lamar Liolavave, Talor Walters, Jamion Iroa and Marion Seve scored tries to set up a national semi-final showdown against Illawarra Sports High at Pizzey Park on September 10.

Lenton praised the individual efforts of players such as Felise for "pulling the game out of the fire".

"In this particular game, we didn't work for the win," he said.

"We worked defensively but we weren't smart with our win.

"If we go out and play that sort of football against Illawarra Sports High, it will be all over.

The win puts Keebra at the top of the group as we head into the knock out stages of the competition.

PBC stuck with Keebra for most of the first half with a game plan that seemed to consist solely of laying in the tackle for as long as possible in order to slow the play down which led to frustration and a few unforced Keebra errors.

This questionable game plan was destined to fail though and once the Keebra boys cleared their own red zone it was one way traffic with PBC unable to combat Keebra out wide.

This inability manifested in ill discipline and PBC soon found themselves down to 12 men after a flurry of punches were thrown at Keebra winger Marion Seve who had sliced through the line and was destined for a four pointer.
The wet conditions hampered a free flowing game but all boys played well and all the atmosphere of the Keebra V PBC clashes was there.

In earlier games the Keebra 13's got up 42-0 over PBC, THE 14'S WON 44-10, Keebra 15's lost 16-12 and the Keebra Open seconds were too strong for PBC.

In the local schools competition the 13 B's are unbeaten and looking very strong while the 14's and 15's have had a mixed bag of wins and losses.

In the Titans Cup their is the stiff competition and as we get into last four rounds, both the 16's and Open C's will need to notch up as many wins as possible to ensure they enter the knock out rounds in good draw position.

This week sees the opening round of the Open A's Langer Trophy, the second tier Gee Shield and the under 15's Walters Cup kick off and for Keebra that means a much anticipated clash with the big improvers Marsden.

In other news, well done to the Keanu Dawson, jj Felise, Lamar Liovave, Jamion Iroa, O'Shae Tuavase, Guy Hamilton, Marion Seve and Kelly Tate who were selected for the South Coast team.

Well while it would seem that there has been little football in QLD schools thus far this season there has in fact been plenty.

The Bronocs competitions kicked off last week with Keebra under 13's and 14's up against Marsden and while the 13's had a convincing win over their opposition it was an 18 all draw in the 14's.

In the local schools competition the 13 B's are unbeaten and looking very strong while the 14's and 15's have had a mixed bag of wins and losses.

In the Titans Cup their is the stiff competition and as we get into last four rounds, both the 16's and Open C's will need to notch up as many wins as possible to ensure they enter the knock out rounds in good draw position.

This week sees the opening round of the Open A's Langer Trophy, the second tier Gee Shield and the under 15's Walters Cup kick off and for Keebra that means a much anticipated clash with the big improvers Marsden.

In other news, well done to the Keanu Dawson, jj Felise, Lamar Liovave, Jamion Iroa, O'Shae Tuavase, Guy Hamilton, Marion Seve and Kelly Tate who were selected for the South Coast team.