A Marymount College past student will be doing his best for Queensland this week while the next wave of rugby league players emerges from the Gold Coast school.
Xavier Coates will represent the Maroons in Wednesday's State of Origin series opener, adding another career highlight for the 2018 graduate from Marymount.
The Coates' name is well known at the school with Xavier's brother Phillip, a current Year 12 student, recently selected for the Queensland secondary schools team along with his classmate Cooper Bai.
If you recognise that last name, it's just one of the many National Rugby League connections at Marymount.
Bai is the son of former Melbourne Storm and Papua New Guinea cult hero Marcus Bai.
His Year 12 teammate is Oscar Laffranchi, son of former Australian and Gold Coast Titans forward Anthony Laffranchi.
The college's rugby league teams also include other sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of NRL players.
Marymount College's senior girls and boys' teams are coached by staff teacher Matt Geyer – the former New South Wales State of Origin winger who won two premierships with the Melbourne Storm.
For all of his personal highlights, Geyer rates his work with Marymount's rugby league teams among his favourite moments including their efforts at the annual Confraternity Carnival which is set for later this month.
“We're a school that doesn't offer any incentives to enrol rugby league players – this has grown organically and with the support of many people who enjoy the many parts of Marymount College," Geyer said.
“We have a great community supporting this school.
“Former students send their children here and their friends have come to understand our culture and have entrusted their children's education to us.
“It's a real thrill for us to watch them grow into fine young people and to play their footy for the right reasons."
Xavier Coates has been among Marymount's highest-profile players, following his father as a College student. Coates also has a nephew at Marymount primary school.
Coates reached the NRL in his first year out of school in 2019, playing with the Broncos before he moved to the Melbourne Storm.
He has represented the Maroons in eight Origin matches and played for Papua New Guinea.
Geyer first coached Coates in an Under 12 competition and remembers the athleticism of a player who stunned the league world earlier this year with a remarkable try to win a game for the Storm.
“He's always had that ability but he's really developed physically in the last year or two which has taken his game to another level," Geyer said.
“He's always been courageous and he's been resilient because he never made any junior representative teams.
“I remember when he was considering whether he had a future in rugby league and then he went from local A grade footy into the Queensland Cup and then into the NRL in a really short space of time.
“We're proud of him just as we're proud of all of our students who try to do their best in whatever field they're in."
Marymount College will again be among the schools to watch in this month's annual Confraternity Carnival, being held in Townsville.
“Confro" brings together more than 50 schools across girls' and boys' divisions. Almost all schools are Catholic schools including many Brisbane Catholic Education schools.
Marymount has become a regular participant in a carnival first played in 1980, claiming the historic first girls' competition in 2022.
“It's a carnival that we always look forward to playing and we'll have our girls' and boys' teams in Townsville again this year representing our college," Geyer said.
Marymount provided a combined six players across the girls' and boys' merit teams named after last year's carnival.