By Alice Barker
The AFL Queensland QSchools Cup Finals showcased a day of quality footy and boasted some strong rivalries from team’s across Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Rivers regions.
This year’s competition has been the most successful on record, with 602 teams, 255 schools and 11,844 student participants.
Possibly the most notable game was between Gold Coast heavyweight rivals, Helensvale State High School and Palm Beach Currumbin State High.
With the past three Senior Male Grand Final wins under their belt, Palm Beach Currumbin were looking to let history repeat itself this year.
Helensvale had other ideas.
In the end it was a goal from Helensvale’s highly touted teenager, Aiden Fyfe, in the dying minutes of the game which led the team to a four-point victory.
Helensvale now hold the top spot in the Senior Male Division and are in good stead for next year, defeating their counterparts in a 3.6 (24) to 3.2 (20) victory.
Helensvale’s senior coach Matthew Dwyer told the Gold Coast Bulletin how important this win was for his student team.
“They went off,” Dwyer said.
“They all ran out and got around each other, they cried and hugged each other.
“They really cared about it because they have lost a couple on the trot and have worked really hard since Year 10 and kept getting better and better and won this year.”
On the day it was the Gold Coast teams who dominated as they took out five of the eight Grand Finals, leaving the other regions with some training suggestions come next year.
Miami State High defeated Palm Beach Currumbin 2.5 (17) to 1.1 (6) in the Senior Female Division, while in the Senior Inclusion game it was the Brisbane Lions who took down the Gold Coast SUNS All Stars team 3.6 (24) to 3.2 (20).
The Palm Beach Currumbin Junior Division picked up the slack from the seniors, coming out on top in both the male and female games.
The boys handed down a brutal win against St Augustine’s College, finishing 82 points ahead while the girls finished 30 points above their competition.
In the Primary Male Division, it was the Brisbane students from Padua College Kedron who defeated Stella Maris Primary School 12.10 (82) to 3.6 (24) while the Hillcrest Christian College girls team who took the title, taking down Kirwan State School by 30 points.
The Junior Inclusion Division showcased a spectacular battle between Ryan Catholic College and South East Queensland, with the College defeating their competition 5.3 (33) to 3.6 (25).
