Redland’s Alex Sexton, playing witth the Gold Coast Suns Reserves last weekend, has won the Round 9 nomination for the NAB NEAFL Rising Star Award (Northern Conference).

Brisbane Lions NSW scholarship holder Richard Newell has been cleared to represent the Australia Post Queensland Scorpions in the 2011 NAB Australian U18 Championships.

The AFL has confirmed that they will stick to an eight-team finals format for at least the next two years despite the increase to 18 teams next year. But there will be a change to the NAB Cup format

Three Queensland umpires have been chosen to officiate in the Australian U15 Schoolboys Championships in Canberra in July.

Corinda and Benowa State High Schools have won the division two and division three titles in the Brisbane Lions Cup, sponsored by Quest Community Newspapers.

COOLANGATTA kept alive their finals hopes and at the same time dented those of Gold Coast rivals Surfers Paradise in the local derby at Len Peak Oval on Sunday.
After trailing at quarter-time, the Blues took control of the clash and ran out deserved winners by 14.16 (100) to 10.13 (73).

Selectors have trimmed a 43-man Young Scorpions squad to 25 as they head towards the NAB Australian U16 Championships at Blacktown in Sydney in mid-July.

SANDGATE and Wilston-Grange continue to set the pace at the top of the Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder after seven rounds.
The northside Brisbane clubs have 24 points from six wins and a draw with Sandgate holding top spot courtesy of their impressive percentage of 164.1.
The Hawks survived a trip to Chelmer on Saturday where they beat home side Western Magpies by 13 points on the back of an outstanding first quarter.
Wilston-Grange did not have things their own way against bottom Mayne, beating the Tigers by 27 points.
In other matches, Palm Beach-Currumbin scored another runaway win, this time by 174 points over Springwood, and Burleigh came from behind to beat Maroochy-Northshore by 60 points.

EIGHT months ago Burleigh’s games record-holder Aaron Pianta was adamant he was retiring after Burleigh lost the 2010 preliminary final to Noosa.
That ‘retirement’, even though at the time Pianta insisted he was finished, proved to be a furphy because the big forward resumed training earlier in the year and found the lure of footy too strong to resist.

WILSTON-Grange maintained their share of ladder leadership after a harder-than-expected success away to Mayne at Everton Park on Saturday.
The Gorillas took the points by 21.16 (142) to 18.7 (115) but coach David Martin was not exactly over the moon with the performance.

SPRINGWOOD’S woeful record against Palm Beach-Currumbin continued on Saturday when the Lions tamed the Pumas in a lopsided match at Salk Oval.
PBC took the match by 33.17 (215) to 6.5 (41) for their eight successive win in the battle of the big cats – the weekend score being the third time in a row this season the Lions have kicked 150-plus points.

Coorparoo will be up against the Aspley Hornets at Giffin Park to kick off the action in round nine for the State Association division one. Both sides had solid wins last week and are running into some good form after…

Caboolture will open round ten in State Association division two on Saturday against a depleted Redcliffe outfit. The Tigers were upset by UQ last week by 19 points. The loss proved to be even more costly following the other round…

CO-LEADERS Sandgate and the Western Magpies lock horns in yet another appetising match of the round in the Pineapple Hotel Cup at Chelmer Oval on Saturday.
Fresh from bowling over former ladder leaders Wilston-Grange last weekend, the Magpies look forward to another stern test against last year’s beaten grand finalists.
The Magpies and Sandgate share top rung on the ladder with five wins and a loss, along with Wilston-Grange, who should get back on track away to Mayne after losing for the first time last round against Mayne after losing to the Magpies last round.
Sandgate (173.5) hold a significant percentage advantage over the Grange (134.2) and the Magpies (116.9).
Elsewhere on Saturday, Palm Beach-Currumbin’s climb from the cellar should continue when they host Springwood at Salk Oval, Burleigh are at home to Maroochy-Northshore, and Coolangatta play Surfers Paradise in a Gold Coast derby at Len Peak Oval on Sunday.

Joel Macdonald will become the 31st Queenslander to play 100 AFL games tonight.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has set hugely ambitious targets of one million participants and one million AFL club members for the national competition by 2016.

Wednesay 25 May 2011 A forced change to the Queensland Sunfire women’s line-up sees Cairns product Staci Trindle-Price getting the call up ahead of the AFL Women’s Nationals Championships. Women’s AFL ambassador Kate Misson (pictured right) was dealt a devastating…

Helensvale State High continue to show the way in the Division One Brisbane Lions Cup.

Tuesday 24 May 2011 Impressive Mt Gravatt utility Jesse Green missed the Vultures win at Broadbeach last Saturday – he was playing at the MCG instead. Green played for the South against the North in the curtain-raiser to the Richmond-Essendon…

Dr Alan Mackenzie has been named the ninth ‘legend’ in the Queensland Football Hall of Fame.

St.Teresa’s (Noosaville) and St.Ursula’s (Toowoomba) have won the Jonathan Brown Cup girls competition grand finals, played at Sherwood on Thursday 19 May.

By Ashleigh McIntosh Kate Guy is giving the benefit of more than 40 years’ experience to the youth girls team at Mt Gravatt. The Under 15 coach has a simple message for all girls – ‘get involved, bring a mate,…

AFLQ has appointed its first Indigenous trainee to the AFL Capricornia region. Daniel Bartlett has already begun work in the Rockhampton-based office with regional development manager Scott Smithwick. Daniel grew up in Gayndah near Bundaberg until Year 9 when he…

Queensland coach Jason Cotter will take a largely new-look side to Perth next month for the clash with Western Australia after adopting a “horses for courses” policy at selection today.

THE Western Magpies ended the unbeaten run of Wilston-Grange to force a three-way tie at the top of the Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder on Saturday.
The Magpies scored by 17 points in the match of the round at Chelmer for their fifth win of the season.
That victory, added to Sandgate’s success over Burleigh on the Gold Coast, means there are three clubs on 20 points with 5-1 win-loss records after six rounds.
Sandgate (173.5 per cent) have top spot at the moment, ahead of Wilston-Grange (134.2 per cent) and the Magpies (116.9).

On the Gold Coast not even the presence of former AFL star Jason Akermanis could save Coolangatta from a mauling from Palm Beach-Currumbin, who took their derby by106 points.
In other matches, Maroochy-Northshore broke their season duck with a nine-point win over Mayne and premiers Noosa had too much class for Springwood, taking their match by 81 points.

Kedron are at home to the UQ Red Lions on Saturday to open proceedings for round eight in the State Association division one. The Lions had another good win against Robina last week to move them into fourth spot on…

Caboolture will host Ipswich in the opening game of round nine in the State Association division two on Saturday. Both sides are coming off encouraging wins last week, but it is the Lions home ground advantage and superior ladder positioning…

AKAMANIA has hit the Gold Coast in time for the big southern derby between Coolangatta and Palm Beach.
Jason Akermanis – colourful, controversial and classy – will be lining up for Coolangatta in what the club hopes will be a major finance-raiser.But the match of the round, from a Gold Coast perspective at least, is at Len Peak Oval where former Brisbane and Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis will make a guest appearance for Coolangatta in the local derby against Palm Beach-Currumbin. There is plenty of hype about the appearance of ‘Aka’ in a one-off fund-raiser for the Blues. Elsewhere, Burleigh host Sandgate at Bill Godfrey Oval, Maroochy-Northshore take on Mayne at Fisherman’s Road, and Springwood host premiers Noosa at Lowe Oval.

RAMPAGING Wilston-Grange have already come through two tough challenges this season, beating 2010 grand finalists Sandgate and Noosa over the first five rounds of the Pineapple Hotel Cup.
Fresh from victory over reigning premiers Noosa last weekend – and at Noosa to boot – the Gorillas now travel to western Brisbane to play the Western Magpies at Chelmer Oval on Saturday in the match of the round.
Can the Gorillas continue their dream start under new coach David Martin, who has oversees a remarkable transition of the club from being forever on the periphery of finals action to what appears to be a genuine title challenger?