Division One grand finals of the Queensland Independent Schools competition will be played at Coorparoo on Friday, weather permitting.
Thursday, 14 October, 2010
Brisbane Boys College will be chasing a ninth win in the Jason Dunstall Cup among a stack of other silverware as the 21st season of the Queensland Independent Schools competition reaches its climax at tomorrow (Friday).
First Division Grand Finals will be played in four age groups from 4.30pm at Coorparoo, with BBC, involved in three of them.
In the Open Division, the feature event of the program under lights on Coorparoo’s No.1 oval from 7pm, BBC will meet Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie).
BBC, former home of such AFL luminaries as Clint Bizzell, Courtenay Dempsey, Hamish Simpson and Jake Spencer, has eight times won the coveted Cup named after the former Churchie student turned Hawthorn champion.
They are going for back-to-back titles, having triumphed in 2009 after earlier success in 1991-93-94-2001-03-04-05, while Churchie are looking for Dunstall Cup win No.3.
In the Year 10 first division grand final for the Stephen Lawrence Shield at 5.45pm, Brisbane Grammar School will be chasing their first title at this level against host Nudgee, who won it in 2005.
At 4.30pm on Coorparo0 No.1 Oval, BBC will be after an eighth win in the Clint Bizzell Cup for Year 9 division one students. They will play Nudgee, who have not broken through at Year 9 level.
And at the same time on Coorparoo No.2 Oval, BBC will play either BGS or The Southport School for the Year 8 division one Robin Hull Cup.
BGS and TSS will play in a semi-final today (Thursday) to determine who will tackle the mighty College, who have won the Hull Cup, named after the former Grogan Medalist turned AFLQ stalwart, no less than 11 times in 20 years.
BGS broke through for their first independent schools title at Year 8 level last year, while TSS won it in 2004.
The Independent Schools Competition, introduced in 1991, has been a breeding ground for a large group of AFL players, also including Queensland Team of the Century members Michael Voss (Trinity College) and Mal Michael (St.Peters) and their Brisbane Lions AFL premiership teammate Jamie Charman (Nudgee).
BBC have won a total of 35 premierships – many more than any other school.
In the first year of competition in 1991 BBC won the Dunstall Cup Open competition, and the Lawrence Shield U15 competition.
Other AFL players to have played in the Independent Schools competition have been Brett Voss (Trinity College), Marc Woolnough and Kurt Tippett (All Saints), Brad Miller (Cannon Hill Anglican College), David Hale and Andrew Raines (Marymount College), Josh Drummond (Matthew Flinders College), Cheynee Stiller and Brendan Whitecross (St.Patrick’s College), Ben Warren (Genesis Christian College), Jesse White and Shaun Hampson (John Paul College), Scott Harding (Anglican Church Grammar School), Marty Pask (Brisbane State High), Brad Howard (St.Joseph’s Toowoomba) and Steve Kenna (St.Mary’s Toowoomba).
Also, Dunstall, Lawrence, Chris Scott and Clark Keating are among a group of ex-AFL players who are past students of independent schools in south-east Queensland who have not participated in the competition.
Others include Jason Akermanis (Nudgee), Clark Keating, Aaron Keating and Brad Moran (TSS), Nick Riewoldt and Steven Lawrence (All Saints), Tom Williams and Marcus Allan (St.Joseph’s Gregory Terrace), and Scott Clouston and John Williams (BGS).
The Grand Final schedule on Friday is:-
Year 8 – Division 1: BBC v BGS / TSS – Coorparoo No.2 – 4.30pm
Year 9 – Division 1: Nudgee v BBC – Coorparoo No.1 – 4.30pm
Year 10 – Division 1: BGS v Nudgee – Coorparoo No.1 – 5.45pm
Open – Division 1: BBC v Churchie – Coorparoo No.1 – 7pm
