The Confraternity Carnival, commonly referred to as Confro, is the premier rugby league competition for Catholic and independent secondary schools in Queensland, Australia, held annually since 1980. Administered by the Queensland Rugby League and run by the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Rugby League, the competition is a week-long carnival that features over 1200 students from up to 54 schools in July each year.
In 2020 a Girls competition was introduced for the first time. However, this was cancelled in 2020 and cut short in 2021 due to COVID-19. The historic inaugural Girls winners were Marymount College in 2022.
The carnival has featured a number of current and former Australian and Queensland representatives, including Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Scott, Matthew Bowen, Bob Lindner, Xavier Coates, Wendell Sailor, Daly Cherry-Evans, Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster.
The most successful school is St Brendan's College, Yeppoon, while the current holders of the Confraternity Shield are Ignatius Park College, who won the competition in 2019 and 2022.
History In 1980, the first Confraternity Carnival was held in Bundaberg and featured just six teams. Prior to this, Christian Brothers schools from Bundaberg and Ipswich competed against each other for the Bunswich Shield. The first winners of the Confraternity Shield were Aquinas College, Ashmore, who also won the second carnival in 1981, becoming the first side to win back-to-back shields.
By 1990, the Carnival had grown to 21 teams. From 1988 to 1992, St Patrick's College, Mackay won the shield five times in a row, a record as of 2020. In 2006, 40 schools took part for the first time, growing to 48 in 2015. In 2013, Ignatius Park College became just the second school to win three straight shields.
In 2018, St Mary's Catholic College, Casino became the first New South Wales-based school to compete at the carnival. They were coached by former North Sydney Bears halfback Paul McCaffery.
On 3 April 2020, the Carnival was cancelled for the first time in its history due to COVID-19. The competition was set to take place at Brisbane's Iona College.
Format As of 2019, the format of the carnival sees the 48 schools divided into pools of four, with four pools making up the three divisions (either 1, 2 or 3). The schools play the other teams in their pool once before the finals begin. Which division a school is in determines which prize they compete for. Teams in Division 1 compete for the Confraternity Shield, the biggest prize of the carnival, and the Confraternity Trophy. Teams in Division 2 compete for the Confraternity Plate and the Confraternity Bowl, while teams in Division 3 compete for the Confraternity Cup and Challenge Trophy.
The first two days of the carnival are for the pool games and the quarter-finals. A rest day is then held before the semi-finals take place on day four. The final day then features the six Grand Finals, with the Shield game played last. Also on the final day, the team who didn't make the Grand Finals compete in consolation playoff finals.
Until 1988, the schools competed solely for the Shield. As more schools joined, more trophies were added. The first was the Confraternity Trophy, which is known as the Bob Lindner Trophy. Lindner was the first Carnival participant to represent Australia.
Results Year Location Winners 1980 Bundaberg Aquinas College, Ashmore 1981 Ipswich Aquinas College, Ashmore (2) 1982 Brisbane St Brendan's College, Yeppoon 1983 Yeppoon St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (2) 1984 Brisbane Pauda College, Brisbane 1985 Bundaberg St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (3) 1986 Cairns Clairvaux MacKillop College, Brisbane 1987 Australia St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (4) 1988 Brisbane St Patrick's College, Mackay 1989 Toowoomba St Patrick's College, Mackay (2) 1990 Yeppoon St Patrick's College, Mackay (3) 1991 Charters Towers St Patrick's College, Mackay (4) 1992 Brisbane St Patrick's College, Mackay (5) 1993 Cairns St Augustine's College, Cairns 1994 Rockhampton St Mary's College, Toowoomba 1995 Toowoomba St Mary's College, Toowoomba (2) 1996 Mackay St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (5) 1997 Townsville Pauda College, Brisbane (2) 1998 Ipswich St Mary's College, Toowoomba (2) 1999 Rockhampton St Teresa's College, Abergowrie 2000 Bundaberg St Patrick's College, Mackay (6) 2001 Yeppoon St Patrick's College, Mackay (7) 2002 Charters Towers St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (6) 2003 Gold Coast St Patrick's College, Mackay (8) 2004 Townsville St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (7) 2005 Toowoomba Pauda College, Brisbane (3) 2006 Brisbane St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (8) 2007 Ipswich St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (9) 2008 Rockhampton Ignatius Park College, Townsville 2009 Bundaberg St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (10) 2010 Brisbane St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (11) 2011 Yeppoon Ignatius Park College, Townsville (2) 2012 Shorncliffe Ignatius Park College, Townsville (3) 2013 Townsville Ignatius Park College, Townsville (4) 2014 Gold Coast St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (12) 2015 Ipswich St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (13) 2016 Rockhampton Ignatius Park College, Townsville (5) 2017 Brisbane Rockhampton Grammar School 2018 Charters Towers St Mary's College, Toowoomba (3) 2019 Bundaberg Ignatius Park College, Townsville (6) 2022 Mackay Boys Ignatius Park College, Townsville (7) Girls Marymount College (1) 2023 Brisbane Boys St Brendan's College, Yeppoon (14) Girls The Cathedral College, Rockhampton (1) 2024 Townsville Boys Ignatius Park College, Townsville (8) Girls St Patrick's College, Mackay (1) 2025 Rockhampton Boys St Patrick's College, Mackay (9) Girls The Cathedral College, Rockhampton (2)
Boys School Titles Years wonSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 14 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2023St Patrick's College, Mackay 9 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2025Ignatius Park College, Townsville 8 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2024St Mary's College, Toowoomba 4 1994, 1995, 1998, 2018Padua College, Brisbane 3 1984, 1997, 2005Aquinas College, Ashmore 2 1980, 1981Clairvaux MacKillop College, Brisbane 1 1986Rockhampton Grammar School 1 2017St Augustine's College, Cairns 1 1993St Teresa's College, Abergowrie 1 1999
Girls School Titles Years wonThe Cathedral College, Rockhampton 2 2023, 2025Marymount College, Gold Coast 1 2022St Patrick's College, Mackay 1 2024
Male Player of the Carnival The Male Player of the Carnival is awarded to the most outstanding player in the competition. First awarded in 1982, past winners included future Australian and Queensland representatives Julian O'Neill, Wendell Sailor, Matthew Bowen and David Taylor.
Year Player School1982Paul YoungAquinas College, Ashmore1983Gary BeddoesSt Edmund's College, Ipswich1984Anthony GriffinEmmaus College, Rockhampton1985Gary AndersonSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 1986Clinton PetersMt Maria College, Mitchelton1987Andrew SchickSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 1988Allan BarrettSt Augustine's College, Cairns 1989Julian O'NeillSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 1990Peter PhillipsSt Patrick's College, Mackay1991Butch FatnownaSt Patrick's College, Mackay1992Wendell SailorSt Patrick's College, Mackay1993Cameron McNabbSt Augustine's College, Cairns 1994Robert BellaSt Augustine's College, Cairns 1995Shane WalkerSt Mary's College, Toowoomba 1996Chris WalkerSt Mary's College, Toowoomba 1997Danny BamptonSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 1998Ned MurphySt Mary's College, Toowoomba 1999Matthew BowenSt Teresa's College, Abergowrie 2000Grant RovelliSt Patrick's College, Mackay2001Ryan BartlettSt Augustine's College, Cairns 2002Darren RodgersSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2003Danny WilliamsSt Patrick's College, Mackay2004Jamie SimpsonSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2005David TaylorSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2006Ben BarbaSt Patrick's College, Mackay2007Jayden Maua'iClairvaux MacKillop College, Brisbane2008Jay LobweinIgnatius Park College, Townsville 2009Maipele MorseuSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2010Sam FosterIgnatius Park College, Townsville 2011Andrew ShipwaySt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2012Kieran QuabbaIgnatius Park College, Townsville 2013Josh BerkersMarymount College, Burleigh2014Brayden JosephsSt Mary's College, Toowoomba 2015Bailey ButlerSt Brendan's College, Yeppoon 2016Lochlyn SheldonAquinas College, Ashmore2017Ben CondonRockhampton Grammar School2018Jake SimpkinSt Mary's College, Toowoomba 2019Charlie MurrayMarymount College, Burleigh2020NoneCarnival cancelled (COVID-19)2021NoneCarnival cancelled (COVID-19)2022Jamal ShibasakiIgnatius Park College, Townsville2023Cooper BaiMarymount College, Burleigh2024Harrison HillSt. Brendan's College, Yeppoon2025Damon HumphrysPadua College, Kedron
Female Player of the Carnival The Female Player of the Carnival is awarded to the most outstanding female player in the competition. It was first awarded in 2022 with Lillian Yarrow named as the inaugural recipient.
Year Player School2022Lillian YarrowEmmaus College, Rockhampton2023Caitlin TannerThe Cathedral College, Rockhampton2024Bronte ParkerMarymount College, Gold Coast2025Josie WogandThe Cathedral College, Rockhampton
See also NRL Schoolboy Cup Australian Schoolboys rugby league team
References
External links QISSRL Confraternity Carnival website