Brisbane Lions stars Harris Andrews and Charlie Cameron cheered on their old school teams as Ashgrove claimed a hard-fought win over Padua in the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) Andrews/Cameron Cup on Wednesday.
The Cup has been fiercely contested by Marist and Padua for a number of years, with Cameron’s old Ashgrove team claiming rights this year.
The former boarder hoped being there with his Lions teammate would lift the players and revelled at the quality of schoolboys footy.
“I only played two games back when I was in school so for them to play eight games through the AIC comp and to see how far AFL has come in the AIC it’s pretty special,” Cameron said.
“The success of both the Gold Coast and the Lions and the pathways for kids coming through wanting to play AFL, there’s always opportunities for them to try and make it.”
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Harris expressed his delight at the football on show hoped the success of the Lions filtered down into community footy.
“If we can inspire one or two players to give it their best chance in AFL and get down and sign up at their local footy club that’s only going to create a better environment for footy in Queensland. To see a school like Padua, and the AIC comp in general, take up AFL as a sport is a great opportunity,” he said.
“The fact AIC now has a full-time Australian Rules comp, the same as volleyball and rugby union, it’s a great way to represent the development of AFL in Queensland and Brisbane.”
The AIC Australian Rules competition has almost doubled in numbers since 2021, going from 1,032 participants to 1,884 this season across 86 teams.
AIC is one of the largest schoolboy competitions in Queensland with AFL becoming an official fixture in 2019.
