Gold Coast School Sports

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GC2015

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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May 27, 2013
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One area our city really excels in is high school sports and I thought it would be interesting to have a thread dedicated to our city's dominance in this area so we can keep an eye on future sporting superstars from our own backyard. I don't know if anyone else has noticed but the Gold Coast Bulletin are covering local high school sports a lot more lately than they ever have in the past. We regularly see Gold Coast schools being crowned state champions and it's no different in Aussie rules where Palm Beach Currumbin High and Helensvale High having claimed about 10 state titles in a row. Let's start with last year's AFLQ Schools Cup Grand Final between the two aforementioned Gold Coast schools. It was decided by a kick after the siren from one of our very own Academy members - Aiden Fyfe. A few of our other Academy boys were also in the 'Vale team like Max Pescud, Riley Johnson, Tom Hofert, Finn Brown and Sam Hilton-Joyce. Obviously quite a few of our Academy boys were also playing for PBC that day as well.

2019 AFLQ Schools Cup Grand Final - Helensvale High 3.6 (24) def. 3.2 (20) Palm Beach Currumbin High @ Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex (Sunshine Coast)

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So what about this year? AFL Queensland seem to only be pushing ahead with the primary divisions this year but it's still worth noting which of schools won through to the state finals.



Hillcrest are the defending state champs and have gone back to back in the primary female division so their appointment of former Suns assistant coach Matthew Lappin has paid dividends and I wouldn't be surprised to see some future AFLW players come out of Hillcrest. Currumbin won the primary male division and obviously a lot of those boys will likely go on to play for PBC when they reach the high school level so it's good to know they are already up to the state standard this early on.


So what about other sports? I'll detail a few in my posts below.
 
Earlier today we saw the Allan Langer Cup (rugby league state championship) semifinals take place and both Gold Coast schools won through to the final.

2020 Langer Cup Semifinal 1 - Keebra Park High def. Wavell High 32-8
Best on: Levi Jones

2020 Langer Cup Semifinal 2 - Palm Beach Currumbin High def. Ipswich High 34-6
Best on: Tom Weaver/Ryan Rivett

This sets up an all-Gold Coast state final between traditional local rivals PBC and Keebra on September 9. Ryan Rivett has already signed a contract with Cronulla if anyone is wondering where these players may end up.

Mr Bods can probably provide more information on this one.
 
The Southport School pulled off an unbelievable achievement last year when they went undefeated through the 1st XV Rugby Union GPS Premiership, which is the highest standard of school rugby union in Queensland. Here's a video with some highlights from last year:




I don't believe Grand Finals are played in the GPS system but obviously going an entire season undefeated is very impressive at the highest level. TSS are currently sitting equal third on the ladder this season and are just one win behind first place so they are definitely a chance to go back-to-back with four rounds to go in the 2020 GPS season.
 

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The 2020 Queensland Basketball School Championships, also known as Champion Basketball Schools Queensland, will kick off in two weeks. Hillcrest are the defending female state champions after beating St Margaret Mary's College 84-68 in the gold medal game last year. As seen in the picture below, FIBA Hall of Fame inductee and former Gold Coast Blaze player Pero Cameron coaches the Hillcrest senior teams and they are obviously benefiting from his expertise.

f4ed764769b875a3320af463dd68d839

Picture from Gold Coast Bulletin

The bronze medal game was contested between two other Gold Coast schools in Southport High and PBC, with PBC winning the bronze medal game 66-58. Our male teams weren't as successful last year with The Southport School finishing 6th overall and Hillcrest finishing 10th.

This year we have Hillcrest, TSS and Varsity College competing in the male championship division while in the female side we have defending state champions Hillcrest, Kings, Southport High and PBC. Hopefully one of our city's schools can walk away with another state championship in a few weeks from now!
 
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The Southport School also claimed the 2019 1st XI GPS Cricket Premiership which is generally accepted to be the highest level of school cricket in Queensland. Here is a video of the TSS 1st XI team taking the Premiership winning wicket last year:



2020 wasn't quite as fruitful for TSS as they finished 4th on the GPS ladder but they are considered one of the heavyweights in the GPS cricket scene so I expect them to be right up there again next year.
 
Southport High claimed the inaugural 2019 male netball schools championship (Vicki Wilson Championship). The highest placed female team in 2019 was Helensvale High and they finished third in the top level female division. The 2020 netball schools championship appears to have been postponed to next year.
 
GC2015 said:
Earlier today we saw the Allan Langer Cup (rugby league state championship) semifinals take place and both Gold Coast schools won through to the final.

2020 Langer Cup Semifinal 1 - Keebra Park High def. Wavell High 32-8
Best on: Levi Jones

2020 Langer Cup Semifinal 2 - Palm Beach Currumbin High def. Ipswich High 34-6
Best on: Tom Weaver/Ryan Rivett

This sets up an all-Gold Coast state final between traditional local rivals PBC and Keebra on September 9. Ryan Rivett has already signed a contract with Cronulla if anyone is wondering where these players may end up.

Mr Bods can probably provide more information on this one.
Click to expand...

All I’ll say is Tom Weaver will be a great halfback for the Titans in a few years.
 
Mr Bods said:
All I’ll say is Tom Weaver will be a great halfback for the Titans in a few years.
Click to expand...
Has he signed for the Titans yet or is it just assumed he will? Seems a bit weird to me that so many PBC and Keebra rugby league juniors end up signing for clubs other than the Titans. The Titans would be so much stronger if local players were tied to the club like they are in Aussie rules but maybe that's why it doesn't exist in league? I suppose it's a compliment in some ways but also sad in other ways that our local professional team suffers.

robo_1 said:
Live stream: AFL Queensland’s South East Queensland invitational gala day featuring Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, Helensvale State High School and Miami State High School

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This is a prime example of what I mentioned about the local coverage of high school sports increasing in the OP of this thread. This Invitational Gala Day will essentially be this year's version of the state championship. I expect PBC and Helensvale will progress through pretty easily and qualify for the finals. Plenty of our academy members will be lining up for both schools so the live stream on Tuesday could be of a lot of interest for us.

On the female side, Miami State High are the defending premiers after beating PBC in the state final last year. The Levi sisters can be thanked for that one but I think one of them may have graduated last year so they may not be as strong this year. Otherwise you'd expect either PBC or Helensvale to win it.

Here is a picture of the Miami girls with the trophy from last year. You can see Maddison Levi holding the trophy. She will be a Sun in a few months.

nEExaYH.jpg
 
GC2015 said:
Has he signed for the Titans yet or is it just assumed he will? Seems a bit weird to me that so many PBC and Keebra rugby league juniors end up signing for clubs other than the Titans. The Titans would be so much stronger if local players were tied to the club like they are in Aussie rules but maybe that's why it doesn't exist in league? I suppose it's a compliment in some ways but also sad in other ways that our local professional team suffers.


This is a prime example of what I mentioned about the local coverage of high school sports increasing in the OP of this thread. This Invitational Gala Day will essentially be this year's version of the state championship. I expect PBC and Helensvale will progress through pretty easily and qualify for the finals. Plenty of our academy members will be lining up for both schools so the live stream on Tuesday could be of a lot of interest for us.

On the female side, Miami State High are the defending premiers after beating PBC in the state final last year. The Levi sisters can be thanked for that one but I think one of them may have graduated last year so they may not be as strong this year. Otherwise you'd expect either PBC or Helensvale to win it.

Here is a picture of the Miami girls with the trophy from last year. You can see Maddison Levi holding the trophy. She will be a Sun in a few months.

nEExaYH.jpg
Click to expand...

I go off my brains about it but I can report that in the last 3 years it’s improved heaps. Weaver by the way is signed to the Titans.
 
Earlier today TSS managed to snatch victory over St Joseph's Gregory Terrace to keep their premiership defence alive with a penalty goal after the final siren. Here is a video of the final kick that snatched the 23-22 win for TSS:

 
Exciting news that the Gold Coast Bulletin have extended their streaming schedule of the AFL Queensland Schools Invitational Gala to include the junior male and junior female divisions.

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Junior Female: Monday September 7 @ Sandgate AFC
9:30am: Helensvale State High School v Park Ridge State High School
10:15am: Narangba Valley State High v Pacific Pines State High School
11am: Park Ridge State High School v Woodcrest SC
11:45am: Pacific Pines State High School v Mountain Creek SHS
12:30pm: Woodcrest SC v Helensvale State High School
1:15pm: Narangba Valley State High v Mountain Creek SHS
*Top two sides in each pool to progress to finals

Senior Male: Tuesday September 8 @ Yeronga AFC
9:30am: Mountain Creek SHS v Palm Beach Currumbin SHS
10:30am: Palm Beach Currumbin SHS v Helensvale State High School
11:30am: Park Ridge State High School v Palm Beach Currumbin SHS
12:30pm: Mountain Creek SHS v Park Ridge State High School
1:30pm: Narangba Valley State High v Mountain Creek SHS
*Top four sides will progress to finals

Senior Female: Wednesday September 9 @ Coorparoo AFC
9:30am: Mountain Creek SHS v Narangba Valley State High
10am: Miami State High School v Helensvale State High School
10:30am: Palm Beach Currumbin SHS v Mountain Creek SHS
11am: Park Ridge State High School v Miami State High School
11:30am: Narangba Valley State High School v Palm Beach Currumbin SHS
12:00pm: Helensvale State High School v Park Ridge State High School
1:00pm: Final Pool A Winner Pool B Winner
1:30pm: QF Pool A Runner Up Pool B 3rd Place
2:00pm: QF Pool B Runner Up Pool A 3rd Place
*Pool winners and qualifying final winners will progress

Junior Male: Thursday September 10 @ Coorparoo AFC
9:30am: Palm Beach Currumbin SHS v Narangba Valley State High School
10am: Pacific Pines State High School v Park Ridge State High School
10:30am: Mountain Creek SHS vs Woodcrest SC
11am: Narangba Valley State High School v Miami State High School
11:30am: Park Ridge State High School v Helensvale State High School
12pm: Woodcrest SC v Varsity State College
12:30pm: Palm Beach Currumbin SHS v Miami State High School
1pm: Pacific Pines State High School v Helensvale State High School
1:30pm: Varsity State College v Mountain Creek SHS
2:30pm: Highest runner up % vs second highest runner up %
*Pool winners and qualifying final winners will progress


Good to see more Gold Coast schools are involved at the junior high school level (U16s) including Miami High, Pacific Pines High and Varsity College in the junior male divisions as well as Pacific Pines High in the junior female division. For those who don't know, Pacific Pines High runs their own AFL excellence program so don't be surprised to see them in the senior division soon and seriously competing with the likes of PBC and Helensvale.
 

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Queensland State Basketball Schools Championships (AKA Champions Schools) start tomorrow. Top division Gold Coast schools in the male division Hillcrest, Southport State, TSS and Varsity as well as top division GC schools in the girls division Hillcrest, King's, Southport State and PBC all play tomorrow. The Newscorp sites like the Courier Mail and GC Bulletin are streaming the games:

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The time has come. AFLQ Schools Cup preliminary/finals this weekend.

Primary division schools from the Gold Coast include defending state champions Hillcrest in the female competition and Currumbin Primary in the male division.

Then we've got the junior prelims:

Junior male prelim 1 - Palm Beach Currumbin v Varsity College
Junior male prelim 2 - Helensvale High v Mountain Creek High
Junior female prelim 1 - Palm Beach Currumbin v Woodcrest College
Junior female prelim 2 - Varsity College v Pacific Pines High

Then we have the main event with lots of our academy players:

Senior male prelim 1 - Helensvale High v Narangba High
Senior male prelim 2 - Palm Beach Currumbin v Mountain Creek High
Senior female prelim 1 - Park Ridge High v Mountain Creek High
Senior female prelim 2 - Palm Beach Currumbin v Narangba High


Bit of a shame Miami High won't be defending their state title in the senior female division but they had their golden generation come through with the Levi sisters and Lucy Single so now we get the enjoy their footballing talents as Suns players instead. Still plenty of Gold Coast schools in the running to claim the state titles this year and it wouldn't surprise me if Gold Coast schools complete another clean sweep in 2020.

Worth noting that Luke Hodge's son will be competing for St Laurence's in the primary division of this competition.
 
We were almost on for a clean sweep at the AFLQ Schools Cup going into grand final day tomorrow but unfortunately Currumbin Primary lost a few games and missed out on a preliminary final spot in the primary boys division. Defending primary female champions Hillcrest held up their end of the bargain and have qualified for another preliminary tomorrow. Worth noting that Luke Hodge's son will play in the primary male division preliminary final tomorrow for St Laurence's.

PBC and Helensvale will play off in the junior male GF while PBC and Varsity will play off in the junior female division after both recording strong wins in the prelims today.

The senior PBC girls have qualified for another AFLQSC grand final where they'll play Mountain Creek. And of course we have the next edition of the PBC-Helensvale rivalry in the senior boys grand final tomorrow after PBC defeated Mountain Creek by 79-19 and Helensvale beat Narangba 72-12 in today's prelims. PBC will be looking for revenge after losing the GF last year via a Helensvale goal after the siren courtesy of our very own academy member Aiden Fyfe.


PBC have qualified for every Grand Final possible. That deserves a lot of credit.
 
We quite didn't get the Gold Coast clean sweep across all divisions this time but PBC did get a clean sweep of all high school divisions:

Junior girls GF - PBC def. Helensvale (score not known yet)
Junior boys GF - PBC 5.4 (34) def. Varsity College 3.5 (23)

Senior girls GF - PBC def. Mountain Creek (score not known yet)
Senior boys GF - PBC 6.4 (40) def. Helensvale 5.5 (35)

Another close one in the senior boys GF between fierce rivals PBC and Helensvale. Plenty of our academy boys took part in this game and excitingly Will Bella was judged best on ground. Reports indicate he played the entire game in the ruck and completed dominated from start to finish. We only have to wait 12 more months until Will ends up in our list!

SErKz0o.jpg
 
GC2015 said:
We quite didn't get the Gold Coast clean sweep across all divisions this time but PBC did get a clean sweep of all high school divisions:

Junior girls GF - PBC def. Helensvale (score not known yet)
Junior boys GF - PBC 5.4 (34) def. Varsity College 3.5 (23)

Senior girls GF - PBC def. Mountain Creek (score not known yet)
Senior boys GF - PBC 6.4 (40) def. Helensvale 5.5 (35)

Another close one in the senior boys GF between fierce rivals PBC and Helensvale. Plenty of our academy boys took part in this game and excitingly Will Bella was judged best on ground. Reports indicate he played the entire game in the ruck and completed dominated from start to finish. We only have to wait 12 more months until Will ends up in our list!

SErKz0o.jpg
Click to expand...
IS the type we need on the list. Good news.
 
WBxQLGk.jpg

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This is a pretty significant signing for the Titans. Jojo Fifita had never played rugby league (at all) growing up and was very much a rugby union junior going through the developmental academy systems at TSS and the Reds but chose stay in his home city by signing for the Titans. He also happens to be an U15 national sprint champion in the 100 metres so we'll likely see Jojo scoring plenty of tries over the next 10 years. It's definitely not a stretch to suggest in almost any other year, Jojo would have turned down the Titans and either continued down the union pathway towards a Wallabies jersey or an NRL club like the Broncos or Cowboys would have found a way to raid the GPS of one of its best prospects, which they've have made a habit of doing in the past with guys like Karmichael Hunt and Kalyn Ponga. The only other significant example of this happening with a TSS kid that I can think of was when schoolboy Mat Rogers decided to sign for the Cronulla Sharks instead of continuing down the union pathway with his schoolmates (even though he eventually ended up in union anyway). However, Rogers had strong family links with the Sharks and was probably always going to head to Cronulla regardless of which sport he played in high school.

Anyway, it's important to acknowledge significant moments like this because it's probably an indication that people within the industry believe the Titans are heading somewhere special in the next few years. Similar to the way Lachie Neale became convinced of Brisbane's future a few years back and joined the Lions, despite Brisbane having a poor season that year. The Titans could be on the way up and that puts more pressure on us to succeed. I know it's not quite the same but we should be looking into athletes/basketball players we can potentially poach from TSS as well (Patrick Murtagh could be the start of something big). We almost convinced TSS union player Angus Blyth to join us a few years back so the club definitely has an eye on kids going through their sports programmes.
 
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GC2015 said:
WBxQLGk.jpg

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This is a pretty significant signing for the Titans. Jojo Fifita had never played rugby league (at all) growing up and was very much a rugby union junior going through the developmental academy systems at TSS and the Reds but chose stay in his home city by signing for the Titans. He also happens to be an U15 national sprint champion in the 100 metres so we'll likely see Jojo scoring plenty of tries over the next 10 years. It's definitely not a stretch to suggest in almost any other year, Jojo would have turned down the Titans and either continued down the union pathway towards a Wallabies jersey or an NRL club like the Broncos or Cowboys would have found a way to raid the GPS of one of its best prospects, which they've have made a habit of doing in the past with guys like Karmichael Hunt and Kalyn Ponga. The only other significant example of this happening with a TSS kid that I can think of was when schoolboy Mat Rogers decided to sign for the Cronulla Sharks instead of continuing down the union pathway with his schoolmates (even though he eventually ended up in union anyway). However, Rogers had strong family links with the Sharks and was probably always going to head to Cronulla regardless of which sport he played in high school.

Anyway, it's important to acknowledge significant moments like this because it's probably an indication that people within the industry believe the Titans are heading somewhere special in the next few years. Similar to the way Lachie Neale became convinced of Brisbane's future a few years back and joined the Lions, despite Brisbane having a poor season that year. The Titans could be on the way up and that puts more pressure on us to succeed. I know it's not quite the same but we should be looking into athletes/basketball players we can potentially poach from TSS as well (Patrick Murtagh could be the start of something big). We almost convinced TSS union player Angus Blyth to join us a few years back so the club definitely has an eye on kids going through their sports programmes.
Click to expand...
Nathan Stapleton was at TSS grade 10-12 in the late 2000's before going to the Cronulla Sharks for 5-6 years.
Josh Graham also played a few years of union before switching to league and playing a few years with the Titans in the mid 2000's
 
Solbypan4 said:
I am thrilled that my son got involved in sports at school. When his peers were sitting idle, he went to competitions and made great friends on the school team. He dreams of going to college football, click here, along with his best friends. But on the way to his cherished dream, he had to go through a lot, training and many competitions, doubts, and defeats. Still, he wants to go to college camp to prove himself and prove to his coach that he can be a good football player and maybe even a coach in the future.
Click to expand...
I'm scared to click this link
 

Palm Beach Currumbin will host 50th year celebrations of its anniversary of March 4, with 18 people from various sports to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"Fourteen players in our Australian rules team played in the AFL and there are guys who played in the state league and VFL as well," Neil Mackay said.

"We are not exactly in AFL heartland, being on the southern end of the Gold Coast and next to the NSW border but I think it is a great side."
Click to expand...

PBC has revealed its team of the last half century:

FB: Scott Lawton (Coolangatta), Caleb Graham (Gold Coast), Stephen Little ()
HB: Jesse Joyce (Gold Coast), Sam Gilbert (St Kilda), Clint Watts (Southport)
C: Brad Scheer (Gold Coast), Dayne Beams (Collingwood/Brisbane), Joel Wilkinson (Gold Coast)
HF: Marc Lock (Gold Coast), Tate Day (Brisbane), Claye Beams (Brisbane)
FF: Jacob Heron (Gold Coast), Max Spencer (Gold Coast), Jaison Lamb ()
Fol: Brayden Crossley (Gold Coast), Jacob Dawson (Gold Coast), Brendan Breen ()
INT: Josh Fahey (GWS), Grant McKenzie (Coolangatta), Tim Deacon (Southport), Craig Richardson (Morningside)


I'd like to see Helensvale High release their team of the last half century as well but they've only been around since 1990. Rory Thompson, Andrew Boston, Connor Budarick, Michael Osborne just to name a few.
 
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