Sport
4 July, 2023
Junior Snakes have a ball at State of Origin
A contingent of Caboolture Snakes rugby league juniors had the privilege of playing in the curtain-raiser to State of Origin game two at Suncorp Stadium.
It was a case of ‘mate against mate’ if not ‘state against state’ in the curtain-raiser, as the teams contained players from the Sunshine Coast Junior Rugby League (SCJRL) competition.
Caboolture’s Aiden Gordon captained the Silver team which also included Snakes players Jasper McKenzie, Deklan Tomasi and Dallas Carmody, while the Maroon team included Snakes trio Will O’Mara, Brodie Baldwin and Edward Ryan.
Dallas scored a try as Silver won 12-4, while the crowd was building towards its eventual tally of 52,433.
Snakes U14 coach Dave Carmody said it was a terrific opportunity for the players, and that they represented themselves and their club with respect and outstanding conduct.
The boys said they were thrilled to be in the sheds and to see their names on the big screen and being broadcast to the crowd. They described playing at Suncorp as “awesome and amazing”, and they predicted in the lead-up to the main event that Queensland would run away with the game.
So it proved, as the Maroons wrapped up the series with a convincing 32-6 triumph.
The players in the curtain-raiser were selected from the Sunshine Coast Falcons RISE pathway program, with eligible players for the curtain-raiser being in their second year of participation in the program.
Selection criteria included aspects such as effort, behaviour, attitude and attendance at RISE training sessions.
