Endeavour SHS and Patrician Brothers Blacktown will clash in the 2014 GIO Schoolboys Cup Grand Final at Jubilee Oval on Wednesday the 17th of September, with kick-off at 11:30am.
These are the only two teams to be undefeated in this year’s competition. Endeavour head coach, Dave Howlett, puts this down to his players' commitment to each other on the paddock.
“We’ve worked hard and trained well all season,” said Howlett.“The boys all have excellent attitudes and we’ve proven that so far through our performances.”
Endeavour started their finals campaign with an impressive 50-0 victory over Farrer MAHS and then backed it up by defeating Wavell SHS 28-10 at Kougari Oval, Wynnum Manly.
Meanwhile Patrician Brothers head coach, Greg Beacroft, has been happy with the resilience his side has shown against quality opposition and as a result, making it this far.
“The most pleasing thing is getting to the grand final,” said Beacroft. “It’s such a tough competition with a lot of great sides, so it’s an honour in itself.”
Patrician Brothers’ finals wins have been a lot closer than Endeavour’s, edging out Erindale College 20-16 followed by a 20-18 win over Palm Beach Currumbin SHS in a nail-biting Semi-Final.
Patrician Brothers have started well in both games, but being a bigger team, fatigue is what has closed the game to such tight margins.
Beacroft has identified this, saying: “We [Patrician Brothers] need to focus on our second-half fade-outs.
“We have been well beaten in the second half in those games and can’t afford to drop off to a team like Endeavour,” said Beacroft.
“It’s crucial we put together a 60-minute performance because they certainly will.”
Endeavour’s coach Howlett believes they need to raise the bar with their physicality which was tested in the Semi-Final against Wavell SHS.
“Our semi-final against Wavell was pretty different compared to the other games,” said Howlett.
“Physically it was a big step up and it is a strong indication of how it will be in the final, so we’re preparing for the same contact.”
Endeavour and Patrician Brothers met in last year’s Semi-Finals, in which Patrician Brothers won the match by 16 points with the score at 26-10.
Endeavour can therefore find extra motivation with the challenge of defeating the team that knocked them out.
Patrician Brothers on the other hand, will be looking to take their journey in this year’s competition one step further, after going down in the 2013 Grand Final to Keebra Park.
