By ANT BRAND

Brisbane State High’s inexperienced charges learned some hard lessons in last week’s 52-12 defeat to Nudgee as they steel themselves for Saturday’s GPS First XV season-opener against reigning Premiers The Southport School.

That’s the reckoning of Brisbane State High coach Pat Byron whose side boast just two regular starters from last year’s crop which was telling as they were dismantled by a red-hot Nudgee outfit in their final trial match.

Byron said he expected last week’s reality check to pay dividends for season 2020 as many of his troops came to terms with the week-to-week rigours of GPS First XV rugby.

“Nudgee was a huge step up for them on the weekend. For some of them it was maybe a step too far. For others, it was a great learning experience,” he said.

“We are happy that we got to play Nudgee leading into Southport. It gave the boys a taste of what that really hard level of First XV will look and feel like.

“We think we should hopefully benefit from the experience and I think the boys learnt a lot from that game and the boys should be a lot better going into Southport.”

Brisbane State High last tasted GPS First XV Premiership glory in 2016 and will run-out their most inexperienced team in recent memory.

But that is not dampening Byron’s hopes for a successful 2020, with what his side lacks in experience made up for ten-fold with vigour and enthusiasm.

“The positives are as a group they are very keen to prove themselves. A lot of the boys will be in Year 11 this year so this will get them ready for First XV next year. The thing is you get better playing First XV by playing First XV,” he said.

“Generally, we have five to seven First XV kids that came back. But a lot of the guys have at least played a game of First XV as we had a lot of injuries last year.”

Leading the way will be Josh Mongard (prop), Vincent Sefo (No.8) and Ezra Howe (inside centre).
Mongard is a Souths Magpies junior who helped the Queensland Under 16s take out last year’s National Rugby Championship, while Sefo is a graduate of the illustrious Logan Brothers rugby league system.

“In terms of the senior players, those guys are going to be really important for us,” Byron said.
Byron said he anticipated a tough clash against last year’s premiers Southport when the sides go head-to-head on Saturday.

“It is usually a tough game between the schools,” he said.

“The boys have trained and prepared as well as we could. It was a pretty disruptive pre-season for everyone, but I think all the players and staff tried to make the best of the situation.

“I think everyone from parents, students and staff had to adapt a lot to the training environment and regardless of results, the boys so far have really put in and are ready to give it their best shot.”