While the Keebra Park Open A side will not progress further in this year’s GIO Cup after a loss to cross town rivals PBC, 2015 has seen the school emerge as the top school in the South Queensland region, winning 3 out of the 6 Broncos competitions.

The Opens finished number one in the Langer Trophy, topping Wavell with an unbeaten season with the Under 15’s replicating this success finishing an undefeated season with a 24-10 victory over Coombabah SHS.

THE FINAL BRONCOS STANDINGS WERE:
Under 13 Renouf Shield: Wavell
Under 14 Hancock Cup: PBC
Under 15 Walters Trophy: Keebra Park SHS
Open B Gee Shield: Keebra Park SHS
Open A Langer Trophy: Keebra Park SHS

With 12 boys from this year’s firsts in grade 11 and eligible for next year and with the obvious talent coming through from the Under 15’s – 2016 looks like another year when the standards at Keebra Park will take yet another step forward, making for a season to savour.

In other news Redbank Plains SHS took out the crown of top school in the Ipswich district with a win in the inaugural Broncos year 7 competition.

Open Season Round Up

The staff did however enter into the holiday spirit and took them to a lovely beach called Currumbin where the sun shone, the breakers crashed gently onto the golden sand and the boys were introduced to …….THE STAIRS.

Consisting of 130 stairs and an off road circuit, this session was designed to keep the boys in the right headspace as we enter the business end of the season.

Many ask the secret to success of the program here at Keebra and why there are 18 current NRL players plying their trade in the elite Football competition and another 30 or so working their way through the tiers below and herein lies the answer.

Keebra Park is a development program….its role is to develop players who are capable and disciplined enough to make a go of a career in first grade.

It is about consistency, focus and commitment from both the staff and the boys.

Many programs have a focus on winning trophies for either the coach or the school and while that is no mean feat and a recognition of a period of hard work and discipline over a short period of time, this does not develop the long term determination and consistency required for the graduates of those programs to be able to move ahead and replicate their success in a new environment.

This sort of development needs a much higher level of commitment by all involved and it all builds a culture that cannot be obtained by the pursuit of short term gains.

The boys running these stairs this week taught them that they need to keep themselves healthy and fit as a lifestyle, that they need to be punctual, that they are part of a team and part of a culture and who knows when they will need to draw on this experience when the going gets tough (as it undoubtedly will) as they chase their sporting dreams.

In other news congratulations to all the boys who contested the recent Under 15 National Championships in Penrith with special mention to Geordie, David and Tana who were selected in the Australian Schoolboys merit side. (Photos to come)

The Keebra Park Opens finished first in the Broncos Langer Trophy which is a seeding competition for the South Qld knockout component of the National GIO Cup.

It and not however as some of the more delusional amongst us would have themselves believe the competition that decides the best team in the Qld, The Country and the known Universe as mapped by the Star Ship Enterprise.

This seeding will see Keebra up against Marsden in a term 3 week two knockout while second placed Wavell take on Coombabah, Third and fourth seeds Ipswich and PBC take on two qualifying sides as yet to be decided.

As the mists rose from the dewy grounds, a hundred loyal warriors disembarked their carriages and strode steadily into enemy territory.

They were ready to do battle.

The Northern enemy held the high ground but the Coast dwellers had been here before and knew that with a steady hand and by holding firm they would emerge victorious.

While it may sound like a scene from Game of Thrones, it was in fact the Wavell Homecoming round of the Broncos Super Six and with pride and a spot at the top of the table on the line it would make Game of Thrones look like little less than the episode in Neighbours when Json Donovan argued with Craig McCloughlin over who had stolen his pencil sharpener.

Keebra came into the game as favourites having disposed of Coombabah and Marsden while Wavell wore the tag of the ones to beat having shown well as the Met North team at the recent QSSRL Sate carnival at Arana Hills.

However before the main game there was the much anticipate clash of the juniors across the 13, 14, 15 age groups and the Open B game where a glimpse of the future of both “Programs” would be there for all to see.

Game one and two saw Keebra somewhat ambushed with the younger boys unfamiliar with the big crowds, big band and carnival atmosphere that is “Homecoming”. The 13s went down 18-10 and in quick succession the 14's followed them on the wrong end of a 32-4 scoreline.

These boys will be better for the experience and come back bigger and stronger as always.

In the Open B game there were some ferocious early collisions and when the game settled down it was Keebra on top and this is where they stayed until with a final second try and conversion, Wavell managed to draw the game and save face in front of a growing parochial crowd.

The Keebra 15's were always going to be difficult to beat with 9 Qld players and Wavell were considered the best chance so this game was probably as much anticipated as the Opens game.

An arm wrestle ensued and no side really managed to gain momentum with mistakes and poor last tackle options seeming to be the flavour of the day. As the game progresses however Keebra did manage to create more opportunities through consistent completion of sets and ran out well deserved winners with an 18 point margin.

In the Open division Wavell and Keebra would have to be the two most consistent teams over the past 5 years with Keebra managing to execute when it counted and Wavell often failing to capitalise on opportunities.

Going into this game Keebra were down three of their key players but the attitude has always been that there are no excuses with plenty of depth and opportunity presenting itself to the boys who got the call up.

The game kicked off and sustained pressure lead to a half time score line where Keebra were rarely not in control and a 12 nil half time score.

Wavell did put a few attacking sets together early in the second half but a try to Keebra at the midway point put the kybosh on any Wavell hopes of a comeback and the final 18-10 result was a fair reflection of a game that to some extent was spoiled by slippery conditions.

As hoards dispersed and the Coast dwellers returned to their own lands they were content and the mission had been completed. It was said there were celebrations in Westeros like never seen before.

On a more serious note it must be said that the entire Wavell school were fantastic hosts, and it was a privilege to be involved with such a well run and attended event.

Cooper Cronk & Greg Inglis training at Keebra Park

The Australian Kangaroos training at KeebraPark

One such opportunity presented itself last week with staff from Keebra Park invited to Kangaroos training at Suncorp where the Keebra Coaches were able to network and learn from the training and management staff of the National team.

It was a welcome break for Junior development co-ordinator Jade Hounsell who has been hard at work over the past 9 months with the various development days and grade 7 and 8 activities we run at the school.

“Attending this session has been a very worthwhile experience, and one where we are able to pick up invaluable coaching experience from the very best in the industry” She said. “We like to keep at the forefront of schoolboy rugby league and it is through opportunities such as this that many connections are made and much knowledge and experience gained” She added

Keebra Park graduates are among those in this year’s competition with Issac Liu and Sam Moa donning the Blue and White of Samoa while Greg Eastwood and Bodene Thompson will be representing the Kiwis.