THE weight of Marist Brothers High School’s hopes now rests on a group of teenagers who have earned the right to dream big.
The school’s under-15 side will be its lone representative in the Vodafone Super Deans finals after last Saturday’s gritty 16-3 victory over Lelean Memorial School at the HFC Bank National Stadium in Suva.
For the U15 players, the final is more than another match. It is an opportunity to finish what they started last year.
The side reached the national semi-finals last season but fell short of the decider. Twelve months on, they had gone one step further and now stand on the brink of a chance at national glory.
Captain Augustine Paul said the achievement had given the players plenty to be proud of.
“We feel really proud. We’re really happy,” Paul said.
“The boys, my brothers, they’re really happy to reach the final this year, as we reached the national semi-finals last year.”
Their semi-final victory was built on resilience.
Marist spent long periods inside their own red zone, but held their composure to restrict Lelean to just three points and secured their place in the final.
Paul knows there is still work to do, particularly with their exit play, before they face Ratu Kadavulevu School in the final.
“The message from the head coach was to improve on our exit play, as we were playing in our red zone for half of the game,” he said.
“We’ll try to iron out our mistakes this week and come back stronger.”
Paul expects RKS to provide another stern test.
“We expect a tough team,” he said.
The skipper dedicated the semi-final victory to their parents, the Marist family and God.
“We’d like to dedicate this win to the parents, to the Marist family, and to the Lord Almighty.”
Now the U15 side carries the hopes of the entire Marist school into the final.
They are no longer simply last year’s semi-finalists.
They are finalists — and one victory away from turning unfinished business into championship glory.
“There’s still a lot to improve on,” Paul said.
“We’ll improve on it this week.”
