League: WBHS do top job in big league

The other teams labelled them the blowflies of the competition but coach Craig Bird said it was a compliment that Whangarei Boys' High School were proud of.

Boys' High completed their first national secondary schools rugby league competition at Papakura, finishing in 12th place - well ahead of the 16th seeding they took into it - but they established a never-say-die reputation for the high school that will long remain in the memory of the other teams.

"They were smaller than any of the teams there but they never took a backward step and that earned them a reputation among the other teams for swarming all over them like blowflies," he said.

Although they lost most of their matches against the established league colleges of Auckland, they improved in every game they played and were generally in the match right up to the final five minutes.

Bird said he didn't like singling out players in a fantastic team effort but captain Leroy Broughton had been exceptional throughout in the loose forward role and had tackled himself to a standstill in every game. Kadince Christiansen and James Fisher-Harris were both in the thick of every game, even though they carried injuries into the tournament, while Kauri Harema, Seth Going, Whetu Naera, Tremaine Hepi and Rhys Birmingham were the other standouts. Itai Wells got the coaches' vote for the most improved player.

Bird said the young players relished the opportunities that were thrown up by the tournament - not just on the field.

"It wasn't just a tournament and NZRL deserve a lot of credit for their organisation of the week, the boys went through the whole Warriors set-up, from head office to gym, and got to watch them train too ..."

They also got to attend coaching sessions with Stacey Jones and other Kiwi stars.

He said the team bonded with Kamo High School, who also played at the tournament for the first time in the Developing Schools division of the tournament, with the sides able to catch parts of each other's games and support each other.

Both schools now return to play in the NorthTec Adam Blair Trophy held to decide who will be regarded as this year's top Northland secondary school rugby league side.

Whangarei Boys' High have a tough quarterfinal against Northland College this Wednesday.