ST GREGORY’S will go up against the best primary school rugby league sides from across the state later this year at the Legends of League tournament in Sydney.
St Greg’s qualified for the prestigious competition after claiming this year’s Laurie Daley Shield with a five tries to two win against Gowrie’s Holy Family primary school in last Thursday’s grand final.
The Laurie Daley Shield serves as the qualifying event for the Legends of League Carnival and is open to year 5 and 6 students from primary school teams across Canberra.
In an impressive display, St Gregory’s moved through tournament undefeated. They last made it through to the Legends of League Carnival in 2008 where the school finished third.
‘‘The Queanbeyan community obviously prides itself on its strength in a lot of sports but particularly rugby league ... and I think St Greg’s reflects that,’’ St Greg’s team manager Ben Mockler said.
‘‘We’ve got big expectations of ourselves and big shoes to fill given how well the school has gone in the past so we’ll just do what we can to make Queanbeyan proud.’’
St Greg’s has long been a local powerhouse in the junior rugby league ranks and has traditionally performed well in Canberra-based competitions.
The Legends of League Carnival will see sides representing every zone of NSW including areas as far afield as Dubbo, Northern Rivers and the Sydney metropolitan region.
Mockler said the school would be looking to the local rugby league community in a bid to help raise the funds required for the side to travel to the tournament.
And he said despite the quality of the opposition expected at the carnival, St Greg’s wouldn’t be going there to make up the numbers.
‘‘You see some of these kids from the Sydney teams and they’re bigger than I am,’’ he laughed. ‘‘We seem to do very well though and I think our success is down to the fact we don’t look just for size.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of little guys who’ve got the leg speed to still be going 100 miles an hour all the way through. At the end of the day those are the guys who win it for you.’’
