Sunshine Coast high school AFL competition highlights best players and surprise results
The Coast round of AFL Queensland’s school footy competition produced some surprise performances and great clashes. Here are the standout players and moments.
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There were plenty of talking points to come out of Wednesday's high school footy fiesta as more than 26 teams faced off in junior and senior divisions.
The senior boys competition was won by Mountain Creek State High School and Siena were able to take out the junior boys in the Sunshine Coast round of the AFL Queensland Secondary Schools Cup.
Here is what stood out.
Sunshine's versatility pulls through
Sunshine Beach State High School's senior boys team arrived at the fields with a number of players from backgrounds of rugby union, rugby league and football.
There was only a handful of experienced AFL players among them.
The boys showed no shortage of game management and skill on the field when they started their day with a win over Immanuel Lutheran College kicking 4.1.25 to 2.0.12.
Sunshine's Zak Crozier found his feet with a great performance and looked like a player to follow for the rest of the day's matches.
They were competing well in their next match against competition heavyweights and eventual winners Mountain Creek State High when they went into the halftime break down by two points.
It wasn't enough for Sunshine as they suffered their first loss of 23 to 13 but evaluated that match as a guiding point and were confident moving forward.
Strong performances from Bayley Crawford and Angus Castle were enough to lift them to a victory over Coolum State High in their third match, winning 4.3.27 to 1.1.7.
The team finished 2nd in their pool and came up against St Andrew's in the semi final.
A clinical start from St Andrew's was enough to beat the tired legs of Sunshine Beach bow as they were eliminated from the competition 6.5.41 to 2.0.12.
Top performances from Sunshine's Dane Larson, Zak Crozier, Tom McNally, Bayley Crawford and Angus Castle helped get their team through the day.
Tyler Whiteling helps Siena's midfield domination
The Siena junior boys team showed skill, composure and creativity which helped them win the competition.
Huge performances from Tyler Whiteling meant he was able to lift his team to an undefeated tournament.
They beat Matthew Flinders Anglican College, Caloundra State High, Good Shepherd and St John's.
Kicking one goal minimum in each match he showed why he was one to follow for future tournaments.
Supportive sharp shooting from Riley O'Keefe and Isaac Barbuto was enough to propel their side into the grand final after a 5.3.33 to 1.2.8 win over Good Shepherd.
Strong all around performances from Nate Smith, Campbell Zutt and Isaac Waller helped Siena take out the junior boys competition in a 41-7 win over St John's.
Siena will now progress onto the next round of the AFLQ statewide competition.
Good spread of skills helps St Andrew's progress
The St Andrew's senior boys team opened their day against Siena in wet conditions.
Siena's fast-paced style of play put St Andrew's on the back foot as they went into halftime 24-o.
But St Andrew's started the second half with a point to prove and almost pulled off a massive turnaround.
But it wasn't enough in the end with the match ending 30-22.
Solid performance from Josh Bertholini and Will Day in their next game helped St Andrew's secure a 29 point victory over Good Shepherd and helped their team gain some much needed confidence.
The team's third game against Maroochydore State High was enough to get the crowd talking.
With free flowing footy and major scores from forwards Will Bertholini, Kye Porter and Harris Wood, St Andrew's were able to walk away with a 22-7 victory and establish their place in the semi finals.
A solid defensive performance from Hunter James and ongoing work in the midfield from Jack Mills, Will Bertholini and captain Jesh Morgan made St Andrew's too hard for their Sunshine Beach State High opponents to stop.
They won the match 6.5.41 to 2.0.12.
But they knew they had a major hurdle to overcome in the grand final against Mountain Creek State High.
The senior boys side didn't have an answer to another dominant Mountain Creek performance and went down 5.1.31 to 1.2.8.
Due to Mountain Creek being an established AFL schools of excellence program, both teams will progress onto the next round of the AFLQ statewide competition.
Noah Rodoreda helps underdogs St John's to a memorable outing
St John's went into the carnival hoping to enjoy a sport very few of their team had previously played.
They opened their campaign in wet conditions with Ollie Dolan and the team's tournament MVP, Noah Rodoreda, kicking the teams first points of the carnival.
They were able to come away victorious against Immanuel Lutheran College with a score line of 34-15.
With the weather clearing ahead of their second match, the junior boys were able to secure a dominant halftime lead of 27-0 over Maroochydore State High.
With major scores from Keden Fisher, Josh Lombardo, Connor Mitchell, Noah Rodoreda and Josh Powell throughout the match, St Johns held onto their convincing lead winning 54 points to 0.
Confidence levels were high but St John's were quickly brought back to reality against Sunshine Beach State High, finding themselves down 18-1 at half time.
Early second half goals from Josh Powell, Noah Rodoreda and Cooper Hulsman helped bring their team back into contention.
A massive second half defensive performance from Kaden Fisher helped St John's to the best comeback victory of the tournament and a 23-18 win.
St John's played Sunshine Beach State High in the junior boys semi final and were able to get out to a healthy 12-point lead heading into the halftime break.
Goals from Lewis Harry and Noah Rodoreda were enough to see St John's progress to the grand final, winning 27-12.
After some inspirational performances from St John's in the group and semi final stages, they came up against competition favourites Siena in what was a tough match.
It wasn't a fairytale ending for St John's as they didn't seem to have an answer to Siena's on field dominance and went down 41-7.
Mountain Creek dominate all before them
The dominance and elite skill level from the Mountain Creek State High senior boys team had the crowd and opposition in awe throughout the tournament.
It looked likely the Coast heavyweights would reach their goal of taking out the tournament after they opened their campaign with a 36-7 win over Coolum State High.
But they only held a two-point lead against their Sunshine Beach opponents in the next match when they went into halftime as the northern team did a good job of controlling the footy.
Early second half goals from Tahi McCulloch and Jed Ferguson helped Mountain Creek kick away to win 3.5.23 to 2.3.15.
Their third match was another comprehensive win against opponents Immanuel Lutheran College, 32 to 14.
A slow start to their semi final match against Siena was reflected on the scoreboard with the favourites down 12-2.
But another strong performance from midfielder Tahi McCulloch and teammates Lachie Barr, Bailey Hahn, Steel Maskell and Bailey Jacobs, was enough for their team to come away victorious winning 34-12.
They took on dark horses St Andrew's in the grand final who were able to score in the first play of the match.
In a fiery and skilful matchup, Mountain Creek were able to respond with a goal of their own through Tahi McCulloch who looked dangerous every time he touched the footy.
Mountain Creek were able to continue on the front foot kicking a further two goals before halftime to make the score 3.0.18 to 1.1.7.
Mountain Creek's dominance of school AFL on the Coast was again the talking point in the second half as they further distanced themselves from St Andrew's and took out the match 5.1.31 to 1.2.8.
Both teams will now progress onto the next round of the competition.
Originally published as Sunshine Coast high school AFL competition highlights best players and surprise results
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