Two Sunshine Coast footballers who were at the same school and local club are set to collide in the NRL grand final.
Trent Loiero, 24, and Tyson Smoothy, 26, will lace up for the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos respectively at Accor Stadium on Sunday.
Both went to Mountain Creek State High School and played for the Kawana Dolphins. They also played for the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
The Dolphins expressed their pride and well wishes, via social media.
“What a journey for two of our own.”
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“No matter who takes the trophy, a Kawana Dolphin is guaranteed to be a winner.
“Our club couldn’t be prouder, with Kawana pride behind you every step of the way.
“You carry the spirit of our players, volunteers, families and supporters onto the biggest stage and remind every Kawana Dolphin what’s possible when you dream big, work hard and never give up.”
Their football careers followed similar trajectories for some time.
After playing for Mountain Creek High and the Dolphins, albeit in different age groups, they both played for the Falcons’ under-20 team in their grand final win in 2019, when Smoothy was named player of the match.
They both linked with Melbourne and made their NRL debuts three weeks apart in 2021.
Loiero, a lock, has since become a mainstay at the Storm, and he has a deal until the end of 2028. He featured in the grand final loss to Penrith last year and earned a Queensland jersey for State of Origin this year.
He’s set to play his 100th NRL game on the sport’s biggest stage this weekend.
But Smoothy, a utility forward, was released by the Storm at the end of 2021 after playing four games and, after returning to the Falcons for a year in the Queensland competition, joined the Broncos.
He’s now notched 45 NRL games and this will be the final game of his deal with the Broncos before he joins Wakefield Trinity in the UK Super League next year.
Loiero is set to start in the No.13 jersey while Smoothy is set to come off the interchange bench in the No.17 jersey.
Mountain Creek State High is also celebrating the achievements of another former student, after 19-year-old Ty Gallop won the AFL premiership with the Brisbane Lions last weekend.
Kick-off will be at 6.30pm AEST and will be televised live on Channel Nine.
