Some of the best school football will be played at Yeronga AFC this Friday night.
In its inaugural year, the GPS Division of the AFL SportsReady Queensland Independent Schools competition is drawing to a close with some closely contested games and future stars of the game emerging.
The pinnacle of the competition for the GPS Schools involved, the night will include the best AFL players from each school contesting the four premierships on offer.
It is a popular carnival night with hundreds of parents, families, fellow students and supporters coming along to support their school.
So who is contesting all the divisions? We look at the four finals in more detail:
FIRST XVIII – Jason Dunstall Cup 7:00pm (Field 1)
Nudgee v Churchie
Since the Independent Schools competition’s inception in 1991, no one has won the Jason Dunstall Cup more than Brisbane Boys’ College. Taking it home a record eight times and appearing in the last three grand finals, the boys from BBC won’t get that chance in 2012 with Nudgee and Churchie to contest the grand final. Nudgee has been undefeated and goes in to the final as firm favourites. With the likes of Bill Pendlebury, Casey Brittain and Fletcher McIvor, they will be hard to beat. Churchie also have a strong team with several of their best players absent for the Round 1 Nudgee clash returning. It will be a revitalised team that takes the field Friday led by Josh Mazoletti, Harry Baxter, and the dangerous Declan Smith up forward.
YEAR 10 – Stephen Lawrence Shield 5:45pm (Field 1)
BBC v Churchie
The Year 10 competition was so close this year that come Semi Final time it was impossible to predict who might make it through to the Grand Final. Brisbane State High kicked off the season with a one-point win over BBC, which set the tone for the competition with most games decided by less than a kick and one even resulting in a draw. Nudgee finished on top and hosted the fourth placed Churchie in their semi, with Churchie putting on a great performance to qualify for the grand final. Likewise State High and BBC met in the other semi, with BBC looking to avenge their Round 1 loss, which they did very strongly. Players to watch for in the final on Friday include BBC’s 2011 Grand Final Best-On-Ground Tyson Rech and Liam Reynolds showing consistent form throughout the season while Churchie have been well represented by the likes of Clancy Needham, Ezekiel Stanley and Ben Krieger.
YEAR 9 – Clint Bizzell Cup 4:30pm (Field 1)
BBC v Nudgee
This is very much an open book as to how the match will pan out. With only Nudgee and BBC in the division, fielding multiple teams, the strongest 22 from each side will take the field to decide the premiership for 2012. It is sure to be an engaging battle.
YEAR 8 – Robin Hull Cup (Field 2)
BBC v Nudgee
It will take an extraordinary effort from Nudgee to stop the BBC juggernaut in the Year 8 Grand Final. BBC haven’t had a point scored against them this season and have dominated all contests. The team who won last year’s Year 7 premiership had some handy additions in 2012 including last year’s Queensland Schoolboys Under 12 Captain, Jack Clayton. Perhaps Nudgee’s exciting newcomer to AFL, Semisi Tupou, who has been in impressive form, will step up to the challenge?
It is sure the be an entertaining night of school football, and we once again thank our fantastic sponsor, AFL SportsReady, for their tremendous support this season assisting AFL Queensland to run the competition.
