Jacob Iosefa inspiring Erindale College's NSW school competition bid

The schoolboys team is driven by redemption after having their Peter Mulholland Cup campaign ended in golden-point heartbreak 12 months ago.

The schoolgirls team is playing in a NSW-wide competition for the first time, and can see a pathway to the future after watching a former graduate make her Canberra Raiders NRLW debut last weekend.

The real reason the both teams have embraced the theme will be sitting next to them on the bus on Wednesday morning.

Jacob Iosefa, a highly-rated junior already in the Raiders' system, was supposed to be on the field for the clash against Westfields Sports High at Campbelltown.

But he won't be. Not because he doesn't want to be. But because he can't after he was involved in a serious car crash earlier this year, which left him fighting for his life in an induced coma.

Now on the path to recovery, and slowly starting to run again, Iosefa will serve a different purpose for the semi-final doubleheader. He's the inspiration.

"He's improving. It was his 18^th birthday on the weekend and he came back to Canberra ... I gave him a big hug and spoke to his dad. We changed a couple of appointment times and he's going to travel with us," Erindale rugby league coordinator Ash Barnes said.

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"That's going to be awesome. We've spoken about that for any young person, particularly males ... part of our theme of this year is to make it count. Jacob was someone who was chasing [an NRL dream] and he was going so well.

"To have that happen to him at the start of the year was shocking for the boys. You never know what's going to happen in life, so every day you have to work hard to chase these things you aspire to.

"So that's our theme and it will be great to have him there with everyone."

Barnes is confident Erindale can complete an historic double to book the school's place in the grand finals of the boys and girls competition.

The girls are first up with a showdown with Bass High School before the boys take on Westfields in the afternoon, with both games to be live-streamed.

While the boys team has been a breeding ground for Raiders stars, including Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric and Harley Smith-Shields, the girls team now has a chance to follow the same path after the Green Machine joined the NRLW this season.

Erindale graduate Ahlivia Ingram made her Raiders debut against Parramatta last weekend and Barnes is confident more talent will follow.

"It's real for the girls," Barnes said. "Ahlivia was in the inaugural Erindale girls squad in 2017 and now that pathway is something that's tangible for the rest of them. It's a step forward rugby league is making."

Schoolboys captain Sam Gash is the Mulholland Cup leading point-scorer and is second on the try-scoring list. Max Mercer and Ethan Alaia are also in the top five try-scorers.

The boys had to pull off a golden-point comeback to get into the semi-final, which went some way to easing the pain of being knocked out of title contention in similar fashion last year.

"We're really confident in what we can do, we don't think we've played anywhere near our potential yet," Barnes said.

"We've got a number of guys from last year who are still there ... we're hoping to draw on the experience from that and what they've gained through the Raiders' pathway systems.

"We let it slip a bit last year in the semi-final. We haven't won the competition since the late 1990s, but these guys are close mates and they know this is their last one for Erindale. So there's a fair bit of motivation."

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