So, it begins! After winning selection into the Victorian Schoolboys State Finals, our rugby league program continues to experience major team and individual success.

Our Under 16 Rugby League team departed Staughton College on a miserable, cold and rainy winter morning at 7:45 am and travelled over 2 hours across Melbourne to Clayton to fulfill our mission and team goals. We have been training hard and now was the time for us to shine and compete against a host of quality rugby league schools and demonstrate our teamwork, responsibility and skills.

On the way, our boy’s got dressed and prepared for battle on the bus as the trip took much longer than expected due traffic. We arrived and literally ran to our first match on field 1 against Craigieburn Secondary College. This team beat us in the qualifier, and we were ready for them. Our boy’s tackled hard, showed great confidence and most of all had fun. We beat Craigieburn 10 to 4 and every one of our players gained a higher perception of their abilities and demonstrated skills in perseverance, never giving up and putting in a higher effort.

Our second game was against Westall Secondary College who carry a reputation of being State Champions in rugby league, touch football and rugby union. We were up for this game after our win against Craigieburn and our boys went about a destruction of their defence and won the game 22 to nil. Outstanding!

The Third game was against Melton Secondary who have quickly become our arch adversary as they beat us in the qualifier. Our team were better focused for this game than the last and read the play beautifully by understanding what their opposition were doing and the type of game they wanted to play. We drew this game 14 to 14. Tough game this one!

Our fourth game was against Narre Warren South who have a strong association with the Victorian Rebels Rugby Union development program and boast a couple of State players in their team. This was a real tough game with solid tackles made causing a couple of their players to leave the field. Our attack and defence were awesome, and this game was easily the most important as the winner was guaranteed a spot in the final. We drew this game 4 to 4. Unfortunately, we did not make the final due to for and against where another team jumped above us because of a point differentiation. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. It is what it is!

All our players displayed individual brilliance and talent. It is important to recognise this team’s courage to take on powerful opposition players, demonstrate stamina and fitness, attacking and defensive principles, sportsmanship, effort, and teamwork while never taking a backward step and earning respect. Great capabilities!

Our team consisted of the following:

Parryson Toafa (Captain), Elbjorn Fiaui, Filipo Faamanu, Tony (Leeroy) Tauamiti, Josh Leasi, Junior Kult, Joel Papali Seu, Lopeti Amato, Jack Mundy, Feleti Valoa, Kadison Munn, Edwin Tonga.

Amongst the team brilliance stood out a few players who demonstrated exceptional tactical, technical, physical and socio-emotional skills of the best standard.

Parryson Toafa is our Captain and his ability to read plays and make sense of things on the field is something to behold. He broke the line consistently, he scored run away tries and made extremely hard tackles that made the opposition think twice about running at him. Parryson was the standout player in the championships, and I spoke with a number of coaches who also recognised his skills. I really like how he is growing into leadership and his ability to inspire his players to make better decisions and compete is awesome. I have high aspirations for Parryson and recognise him as a Staughton leader and potentially a future NRL star.

Elbjorn Fiaui could one of the best ball runners I have seen for his age. He is feared by the opposition and runs with such determination, power and acceleration. His defence on the try line resulted in him saving a few tries being scored on us. Elbjorn broke the defence consistently and I expect him to transition to a higher level of rugby league as he gets older. Great effort!

Filipo Faamanu is a “man mountain” and it is hard to see him as a 15-year-old teenager. His ability to draw and pass, commit defenders, kick to strategic spots on the field and pull off great hits is something to behold. I remember helping one of the opposition players off the field that Fillipo tackled and him not being in a good state from a fair and hard tackle. Fillipo has already earned a reputation as a player with so much potential and as he matures, I expect him to build his focus, model positive behaviours and maintain his completive spirit to be the best player possible. Expect to see Fillipo playing rugby league at the highest levels.

The learning from this day, was the emphasis on our continual development, our arduous work and effort. I was particularly impressed with the team sportsmanship at the end of the games by lining up and shaking their opponent’s hand. As part of our debrief, we acknowledged our mistakes and to take the learnings to mind and continue to develop to be the best rugby league team we can. We do not underestimate the impact of playing high stakes rugby league competition and how its helps with learnings in life and that sense of purpose that we will take into our adult lives. I am pleased how Staughton College has built a real sense of rugby league community by connecting our students to a sport they play very well. The takeaway is of course the memories and the sense of satisfaction that we were not beaten on this day. The reflection is on moving forward and recognising we fielded a very young team comprising six 14-year-old players and five 15-year-old players. This is certainly making next year look very encouraging.

Thank you Ms Nicole Jowett and Mr Jesse Sciberas for your support. Thank you to Staughton College for unlocking the potential by fostering an environment of inclusion, confidence and a sense of community that develops camaraderie, respect, self-esteem, teamwork, selflessness, and resilience. Our rugby league players appreciate it very much.

Daryl Nayler

Teacher / Coach

School Holiday Soccer Camp