2025 NRL Schoolboys Cup: Brad Fittler celebrates 50 years of schoolboys rugby league, finals series, live stream
The hunt for the next Greg Alexander, Payne Haas or Tom Dearden is set to ignite over the next month as the NRL Schoolboys Cup finals series kicks off.
Schools in both Queensland and New South Wales will battle it out over a series of finals showdowns to earn their shot at becoming national champions.
Every match of the NRL Schoolboys Cup finals series on both sides of the border will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV.
Palm Beach Currumbin SHS will play in the Queensland schoolboys cup finals series. Picture: Liam Kidston
While the future will be on full display in the lead up to the national final on September 17, it will also be about celebrating the past as the schoolboys cup celebrates its 50th year.
From the moment inaugural champions Patrician Brothers College Fairfield hoisted the Amco Cup in 1975, through to Palm Beach Currumbin's last-gasp matchwinner in last year's national final, the schoolboys cup has produced countless memorable moments and a number of the game's best talents.
The list of Peter Sterling Medal winners, for the schoolboys player of the season, from the past 50 years features some of the game's top talents.
From Peter Sterling himself in 1978 to Paul Langmack, Nathan Cayless, Adam Reynolds and the three mentioned above, it is an impressive list.
Broncos veteran Adam Reynolds won the Peter Sterling Medal while steering Matraville to the schoolboys cup title in 2008. Pic by Andy Baker.
But the impact of the schoolboys cup runs much deeper, as it helped launch the careers of incredible talents like Keebra Park's Benji Marshall or McCarthy Senior Catholic School's Brad Fittler.
The NSW legend, who made his NRL debut while still eligible for the schoolboys cup, said the competition had provided some of his earliest memories around the game.
'The Schoolboy Cup is something I remember watching as a kid,' he said.
'I used to get up and watch Benny Elias, Greg Alexander and David Greene. I watched the Schoolboy Cup as closely as I did the Premiership. To be able to play in the Schoolboy Cup with McCarthy was a real highlight.
Brad Fittler gets in some math study with fellow students at McCarthy Catholic High School in between playing NRL games. Picture: David Hickson
'Then to be able to play with the players I used to watch as a kid – the players I watched on TV – that was really special and played a huge role in my own career.'
The national finals will be split across both states, with the Peter Mulholland Cup quarter-finals kicking off in NSW on Wednesday.
The opening round of the finals will feature a blockbuster clash between the most successful school in the competition's history, St Gregory's College, up against the most successful NSW school over the past decade, Patrician Brothers College, Blacktown.
The Queensland finals series is split across three regional competitions with the Langer Trophy (SEQ) and Dolphins Cup (CQ) semi-finals kicking off on Tuesday, while the Aaron Payne Cup (NQ) semi-finals are on Thursday in Townsville.
Reigning Peter Mulholland Cup champions Patrician Brothers Blacktown are into the finals once again. Picture: Tim Hunter.
'The finals in NSW and Queensland will no doubt produce some amazing moments and showcase the game's next stars,' Fittler said.
'It's remarkable that the competition has been going strong for 50 years and it will continue to be a major pathway for the game.'
Reigning champions Palm Beach Currumbin SHS, who were the first Queensland school to clinch the national title in 2001, are still in the race for the title and will look to continue a recent run of dominance for the Sunshine State.
Queensland schools have won six of the past eight national finals in the last decade with Westfields Sports High clinching the other two in 2016 and 2023.
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