AFL Queensland has paid a special tribute to two stalwarts of the Queensland Independent Schools competition, John Stackpoole and Margery McIntyre, by naming premiership cups in their honour, just as they did Jason Dunstall and Michael Voss, among others. Here, we detail the story behind John Stackpoole.
Monday, 29 August, 2011
John Stackpoole is a great of the game in Queensland in every sense of the word.
He received the magnificent accolade of being named in the Queensland Team of the Century as a player, but his role in developing the game has been just as marvellous.
After teaching at De La Salle College in Scarborough for 23 years, John moved to Nudgee College, a rugby stronghold, in 1998.
Such was his great diplomacy that he was able to convince the school sports master to allow him to organise two Open teams and an Under 15 side in the Independent Schools Cup competition in his first year at the college.
It was a huge breakthrough for the code and Stackpoole has turned Nudgee into a formidable force ever since.
John guided the First XVIII to victories in the now prestigious Jason Dunstall Cup in 2006, 2007 and 20008, defeating Ipswich Grammar by 20 goals in the last of the ‘three-peat’.
Six teams have regularly represented Nudgee since the early 2000s, with John spending countless hours organising them all and coaching some of them.
While AFL remains a non-GPS sport, the code is respected enough at the school now for selection in the First XVIII to be recognised on the player’s blazer.
A number of the players over the years have gone on to play junior football at Sandgate, where John has also coached.
His greatest protégé was Brisbane Lions premiership ruckman Jamie Charman, who helped recruit students to play at Nudgee when the AFL program began.
John himself was a champion player.
He was named on a half forward flank in the Queensland Team of the Century in 2003, having made his debut with Sandgate in the QAFL in 1968.
Predominantly a centreman with a beautiful left-foot kick, he played in four premiership sides, was the QAFL leading goalkicker in 1973, and captained Queensland seven times during his 24-game career for the State.
