By Pat Koopman - 4th November - The Daily Mercury - pg 38
ST PATRICK's College and Pioneer State High School are the champion teams of this year's Open Secondary Schools Brisbane Lions Cup competition.
The highly popular four-week Australian rules competition culminated with grand finals at Zeolla Park on Wednesday.
St Patrick's College ran out 17-point winners against Proserpine State High School in the Open boys' contest, 5.10 (40) to 3.5 (23).
In the Open girls' grand final, Pioneer State High School reigned supreme with a four-point victory against St Patrick's College, 5.7 (37) to 5.3 (33).
AFL Queensland Mackay development officer Dion Obst said the event proved to be another positive step for the code in the region.
"This year we were lucky enough to have 10 schools in the region enter a team in the Open boys and eight in the girls," he said.
"So it was a massive positive for our region."
Obst said the standard improved as the competition unfolded.
"We obviously have our club players that do play, but we also have a lot of kids from rugby league and soccer backgrounds that really excel in the sport," he said.
"They have no AFL experience, but they are quite good and interested in the possibility of playing club football next year."
Obst said the inclusion of the girls' competition was also important as it provided another pathway.
"Obviously we have our pathway through the Gold Coast Suns Regional Academy for the boys, which is something for them to strive for," he said.
"The girls have also got the opportunity now to make the state program."
Obst said an under-16 representative team would compete in Cairns this weekend, which provided the girls with something to aim for.
Obst said the next tier of competition for the grand finalists would be an invitation to compete at the 2012 Open Secondary School North Queensland Championships in Cairns.
"This will be held as a precursor to the Gold Coast Suns versus Richmond match next year," he said.
Best-on-Ground medals were presented for each match.
The Open girls' went to Jorja Lowry, from Pioneer, who produced a dominant display in the midfield with impressive foot skills and an outstanding overhead-marking ability.
The Open boys' medal went to Alex Jokovich, from St Patrick's College, who is a current member of the Gold Coast Suns Regional Academy.
In another exciting development for the sport, AFL 9s is set to be introduced to Mackay.
The innovative competition will involve new rules and concepts.
"It's open to everyone in the community," Obst said.
"It's not just limited to the ones that play.
"We've had plenty of interest in the 9s, which has been positive."
Obst said AFL 9s was a great way for males and females of all ages and abilities to keep fit, have fun and make friends during the off-season.
A come-and-try event last night set the scene for the official competition to start next week.
Last Modified on 12/01/2012 17:27