Palm Beach Currumbin (PBC) State High School have flexed their footy muscles, taking out three of the four secondary school state titles at the StreetSmarts AFLQ Schools Cup at the Maroochydore Multi Sport Complex on the Sunshine Coast.
The Gold Coast school living up to their name as the powerhouse AFL school in the state, claiming the junior male and female and senior female Championships.
They met fellow Gold Coasters Varsity College in the female finals, with PBC putting in two solid four-quarter performances to clinch the titles.
The only non-Gold Coast based side in the secondary finals, Ambrose Treacy College couldn’t match the might of PBC in the junior male contest, falling short 19.4-118 to 3.3-21.
The senior men’s competition saw PBC up against archrivals Helensvale State High School, both AFL School of Excellence’s. The game was littered with QAFL Colts, Gold Coast SUNS Academy and Queensland state players making for a tight tussle from the first bounce. With just three points in it at the third break, Helensvale edged out the win 1.7-13 to 4.4-28.
In the primary school ranks, local Sunshine Coast school Mooloolaba State School defended their 2020 crown, to go back-to-back Primary Female State Champions with a 37-point win over Holland Park State School. Mooloolaba superstar Millie Murray winning the Best on Ground Medal for the second year in a row.
Villanova College took the win in the male competition over Burleigh’s Marymount College. Only one point split the teams as they went into the final quarter, but the Brisbane boys school kicked three majors and kept Marymount scoreless to claim victory; 6.13-49 to 4.3.27.
More than 12, 000 participants took part in the 2021 StreetSmarts AFLQ Schools Cup, from a record breaking 608 teams, making it the competition’s biggest year yet.
27 teams qualified for the weekend’s three-day state finals including Townsville’s Hermit Park State School, Toowoomba East Primary, St Augustine’s College Cairns and Rockhampton’s The Cathedral Catholic College.
Results:
Primary Male
Villanova College 6.13.49 def Marymount Primary 4.3.27
Best on Ground: Mitch Vedalago, Villanova College
Primary Female
Mooloolaba State School 6.3-39 def. Holland Park State School 0.2-2
Best on Ground: Millie Murray, Mooloolaba State School
Junior Male
Palm Beach Currumbin State High School 19.4-118 def Ambrose Treacey College 3.3-21
Best on Ground: Jack Javonovic, Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
Junior Female
Palm Beach Currumbin State High School 7.11-53 def. Varsity College 4.4-28
Best on Ground: Alannah Welsh, Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
Senior Male
Palm Beach Currumbin State High School 1.7-13 def Helensvale State High School 4.4-28
Best on Ground: Finn Brown, Helensvale State High School
Senior Female
Palm Beach Currumbin State High School 9.5-59 def Varsity College 4.3-27
Best on Ground: Caitlin Thorne, Palm Beach Currumbin State High School
Introduced in 2016, the Cup is AFL Queensland’s premier schools’ competition. The state-wide, interschool competition for boys and girls runs across three divisions; Primary, Junior (Years 7 – 9) and Senior (Years 10 – 12).
AFL Queensland thanks its partners StreetSmarts Queensland and the Sunshine Coast Council for their help and support of the 2021 AFLQ Schools Cup.
