There are comfortable victories, and then there are the wins that become part of club folklore.
The MacKillop Saints Open Boys produced one of the latter at MacKillop Field last Thursday, overcoming a halftime deficit to defeat the newly formed Driver Secondary School and reclaim the Palmerston Cup.
The victory completed another memorable season for the Saints and provided a fitting farewell for a celebrated group of Year 12 players making their final appearance in navy and ochre.
For the opening ten minutes, MacKillop appeared ready to put on a clinic.
The Saints completed their sets, controlled possession and spent much of the early contest camped inside Driver’s red zone at the Sacred Site end of the field.
Their pressure produced points in just the fourth minute.
Captain Alex Liddle identified space around the ruck, darted from dummy half and forced his way over for the opening try. It was the first of two for the influential skipper.
Minutes later, a slick right-edge movement created space for winger Byron Pearce, who finished confidently in the corner to extend the lead to 10-0.
MacKillop had the momentum, the territory and the vocal home crowd behind them.
Then the game changed.
Perhaps given a little too much confidence by their dominant opening, the Saints began to drift away from the structures that had put them in control. Passes were forced, simple errors crept in and Driver was repeatedly invited back into the contest.
The visitors accepted the invitation.
Three unanswered tries turned a 10-point deficit into a 14-10 halftime lead, leaving the Saints with plenty to discuss in the dressing sheds.
A Halftime Reality Check
Coach Matthew Sharp was reportedly less than impressed as his players headed from the field.
The dressing-room doors were closed, the message was delivered and, according to those inside, there was little confusion about what was required in the second half.
“We played some outstanding football in the first ten minutes and then seemed to decide the job was already done,”
Sharp said after the match.
“We stopped respecting possession, stopped playing for one another and gave Driver every opportunity to take control.
At halftime, I reminded the boys who they were. This is a team with experienced First Grade players, representative players and NT champions. More importantly, they were playing at home, in their final game together.
They didn’t need a complicated tactical speech. They just needed to show some pride, trust the player beside them and go out there and put things right.”
The Saints may have received the message, but their execution remained shaky after the restart.
MacKillop completed just one of its opening four sets of the second half, placing its defensive line under immediate pressure.
Fortunately, the Saints’ commitment without the ball prevented those errors from causing further damage. Driver was repeatedly turned away, giving the home side enough time to rediscover its rhythm.
Vice-captain Cooper Moore eventually decided that enough was enough.
Receiving the ball 20 metres from the try line, Moore accelerated through a gap before carrying several defenders with him to the line. His powerful finish levelled the scores at 14-all and brought the MacKillop crowd roaring back into the contest.
The Saints were alive again.
A Pass Worthy of the Occasion
The decisive moment came through match MVP Rohan Cram, who was making his first appearance of the season.
With the Driver defence compressed, Cram produced a superb long pass to the left edge. The ball flew across several defenders and landed perfectly in the hands of winger Kian T’Lam, who crossed for a spectacular go-ahead try.
It was the type of pass that appeared to have been launched with military precision.
For T’Lam, it was also a storybook finish. The versatile back may have scored with his final touch of the football in Saints colours.
There was still work to do, but Moore once again ensured the result would be beyond doubt.
As he has done repeatedly in important matches, the vice-captain appeared when his team needed him most, crossing for his second try in the dying stages to seal the victory.
With the Palmerston Cup secured, Sharp emptied the interchange bench and ensured every graduating player was on the field when the final siren sounded.
It was no longer simply about winning a game.
It was about giving the Year 12s one final moment together.
The End of an Era
The celebrations that followed were mixed with reflection as MacKillop farewelled a senior group that has made an enormous contribution to the Saints program.
Captains Alex Liddle and Cooper Moore leave having led the program with distinction. Both delivered when it mattered in their final match, combining for four of the Saints’ tries.
Rohan Cram finished his school career in style, producing a Player of the Match performance that mirrored the achievement of his older brother Angus, who received the same honour in the Palmerston Cup two years earlier.
Forward leader Hunter Knight walked from MacKillop Field as a champion alongside younger brother Luke, captain of the Saints Under 16 side. Hunter’s courage, consistency and willingness to take on the hardest work will be difficult to replace.
Sonny Watkinson, who first became involved with Saints through the Future Saints initiative in Year 7, completed a remarkable journey from enthusiastic junior to accomplished senior player.
Kallen Cunningham will be remembered as one of the team’s most dependable workers. Kallen was a player who rarely sought attention but gave everything whenever he pulled on the jersey.
Former captain Jackson Jones provided the composure and steady leadership that has long made him such a valued member of the team.
Kian T’Lam filled almost every role asked of him throughout his Saints career and was rewarded with a final try worthy of the occasion.
George Shoko, who joined the senior team in Year 12, delivered one of the tackles of the afternoon and completed his brief but memorable schoolboy career with a perfect record: two appearances, two trophies.
Then there was Maverick Failla. A powerful forward with an even bigger personality, Failla became one of the most popular figures in the squad. Teammates loved playing alongside him, supporters loved watching him. Should a MacKillop Saints Celebrity Team of the Decade ever be selected, Mav would almost certainly be one of the first players called.
A Team in Every Sense
Reflecting on the graduating group after the match, Sharp said their greatest strength had never been individual brilliance.
“This team will sit proudly alongside the best groups we’ve had,” he said.
“We’ve had some exceptional individual players come through the program over the years with players such as Jayden Hunter, Stepheno George, Brandon Norris and Koen Hughes, but this group’s strength was always the collective.
“There were no egos. Nobody cared who scored the tries or received the praise. They defended for one another, celebrated one another’s success and understood that the jersey mattered more than the individual wearing it.
“They were tough, talented and completely selfless. As a coach, you spend years trying to build that kind of culture. With this group, it was already there.
“I could not have asked for a better group of young men to represent the Saints.”
Perhaps the moment that best captured that culture occurred before the match.
Liddle, the team’s captain and one of the program’s most respected leaders, approached Coach Sharp with a final request.
“Sir, can all the Year 12s be captains today?”
It was a small question that said everything about the team.
Even in his final match, Liddle’s instinct was not to hold tightly to the honour of captaincy. It was to share it with the teammates who had completed the journey beside him.
The answer was always going to be yes.
The Class of 2026 leaves MacKillop Rugby League with trophies, memories and a reputation as one of the most united teams in the program’s history.
More importantly, they leave the Saints in a stronger position than they found them.
Champions forever.
MacKillop Saints forever.
