LOGAN will have two schools in the premier southeast Queensland rugby league competition, the Allan Langer Cup, this year.
Only eight schools compete in the elite competition in which Marsden State High is defending its title.
However, Mabel Park State High defeated Toowoomba’s St Marys College last week to take out the final spot up for grabs before the competition starts in a few weeks.
Mabel Park is also celebrating new territory in its rugby league program – every grade has successfully qualified for a spot in the Broncos Challenge.
The Broncos Challenge is a series of invitation-only tournaments showcasing the best high school rugby league teams in southeast Queensland.
Mabel Park’s head of health and physical education Brett Beavan said it has taken them four years to reach this point after starting their rugby league program in 2018.
“It’s the first time in Mabel history that our year seven, 8s, and 9s have made it,” he said.
“Prior to that they had never qualified before, so it’s a massive achievement for our school.
“It just shows what good work the kids are doing.”
Mr Beavan said Mabel’s girls’ team trailblazed the path to this achievement.
They were the ones who put Mabel on the map as a league school when the program started in 2018.
“We started with our girls’ program – we had a boys’ program, but it was very small – so we put a lot of emphasis in the girls’ program at the start,” he said.
“Our girls have been quite successful and the reason we were able to start a footy program.
“They helped us put our name on the map.”
Mr Bevan said by then end of this year, construction should have started on a dedicated girls’ only gym for the football program, meaning both girls and boys teams will have their own facility.
