Marist College front rower Bailey Kelly has a tough task in front of him, but it’s one he won’t shy away from as the Dolphins Challenge newcomers aim to make a statement. Watch the clash against St Brendan’s LIVE on Tuesday.
But it is a challenge his coach, Mark Shields, is backing him not to shy away from.
The Emerald school, who sit at 1-1 to start the Dolphins Challenge season, will come up against the might of an undefeated St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon in a top of the table tussle.
The clash will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV and the Courier Mail at 2.30pm on Tuesday.
LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT MATCH? Check out the full Queensland Schoolboys Round 3 schedule below, click the links to watch live
St Brendan’s have one of the most powerful packs in the Challenge this season, and it has rumbled its way over the top of Shalom College and Emmaus College with ease over the past two rounds.
Shields said his forwards, led by their skipper Kelly, would need to bring their own firepower to overcome St Brendan’s.
“They are always a really strong team in this region,” Shields said. “We expect it to be a really tough contest. Our forwards will need to aim up in the middle.
“Bailey Kelly our captain and front rower, he has been great to start the season. I would say he has been the outstanding front rower in the challenge so far.”
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One of the main reasons the Marist side is in the Challenge for the first time this season is to prove they can match it with the heavyweights of Central Queensland.
Many former Marist students have trudged a well-worn path to St Brendan’s College in their senior years to get more opportunity to play top tier rugby league.
Marist College backrower Leo Fanuatanu scored two tries for the school in their loss to The Cathedral College last week.
It is one reason why this week’s clash takes on a bit more meaning for the Marist coach.
“That is part of the reason why we are in this competition,” Shields said.
“I would say from a coach’s perspective and leading a league program at our school, this game becomes very important. We need to show we can match it with these top schools.
“We proved it for most of the first half against The Cathedral College last week. Now, we need to do it against St Brendan’s.”
Marist are coming off a tough loss against The Cathedral College when they led 22-0 after 15 minutes before being run down 38-22.
Shields said his side almost tried too hard to make things happen after they fell behind on the scoreboard, which caused them to lose focus on the little things that mattered.
St Brendan’s a rolling into the game off the back of a 40-0 demolition of Emmaus College where everything went right for the home side.