AIC First XV rugby Team of the Year revealed
The AIC First XV rugby Team of the Year includes some of the Queensland Reds most promising juniors. Full squad, plus wildcard talents and blue collar workers revealed.
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The AIC First XV premiership race has been run and won again by St Laurence’s College after a 21-0 grand final victory over Padua College on Saturday.
To celebrate another incredible schoolboy season of rugby union, we name our AIC First XV Team of the Year.
The squad, which includes reserves, has players from every school represented.
AIC RUGBY PICTURE GALLERY CELEBRATING THE SEASON
Apart from our Team of the Year, we also list our black book talents of the Year alongside the blue collar workers of 2023.
THE TEAM
15. Jude Knapp (Ashgrove)
Knapp has been the discovery player of the season. He comes from a family of forwards – his late dad Marcus was a First XV prop, his uncle (Christiaan) a Queensland hooker and great uncle Paddy was a Wallaby reserve forward – but this boy has pace. He is athletic and has come from left field to make our side.
14. Tom Howard (Ashgrove)
Howard is the son of a gun – his dad Pat was a decorated Wallaby, Queensland Reds and Brumbies inside back mastermind – but this lad is making his own way in the sport. He is a light stepper, has heaps of pace and doesn’t shirk physical contact either carrying the ball or making a tackle. He is just a natural footballer.
13. Brody McLaren (St Laurence’s)
A squeaky clean player who never stepped a foot wrong for his side. If he wasn’t running in support, making breaks or putting wingers Sam Bevan and Hamish McDonald into space, he was kicking the ball over the black dot.
12. Mitch Rogers (Padua)
A class act with terrific ball skills, acceleration and bravery in defence. He has vision and can draw and pass like few in the competition. But when he presses the go button, away he launches. When cornered, Rogers has terrific leg drive.
11. Noah James (St Patrick’s)
A slim winger who covers ground very quickly, James was always a safe option for the St Patrick’s team.
He kicked goals, held down his edge, ducked-and-weaved his way through traffic and clearly knows the game very well.
10. Tobias Graham (Ashgrove)
A toss up between St Laurence’s flyhalf Finn Mackay – who was the first chosen on our bench – and Graham, we opted for the Ashgrove playmaker by the width of tissue paper.
Graham is a man for all seasons. He can play tough, straighten the attack if his supports are covering, but he also plays eyes up with the ball. Graham is also an astute tactical kicker and has been someone who got better and better the more the season progressed.
He was a great improver.
9. Tafito Falaniko Ah-Ki (St Edmund’s)
Ah-Ki had to be the best player in the competition. He was out of this world last season and boy did he repeat the dose, producing one man of the match performance after another with brilliance out of scrumhalf.
8. Brock Powell (Padua)
Powell was a captain courageous who only just edged out Ben Davis of St Laurence’s. He played flanker and could the Padua faithful have had a better player to lead them through this joyful season? Absolutely not.
7. Ben Addley (Villanova)
This squad features three fabulous flankers – Addley, Kelly and Brock Powell – and to be honest, nothing separated them. Addley must have white line fever and was an inspiring figure who at times did his own work, and that of the bloke next to him. He just couldn’t help himself.
6. Adam Kelly (Iona)
Adam Kelly is a prototype for an open side flanker of any era. Built low to the ground, he puts his head where most would not dream of going. He can win the ball on the ground, and is as strong as an ox with his own carries. He is also fierce on the kick-chase.
5. Jack Corby (Padua)
The versatile Corby is a mobile big man. He started the season as a back rower, but his move to lock allowed Padua to play three fierce loose men – all the while having a lock with great hands, mobility and a willingness to tackle close to the ruck or on the edge. He is another discovery player or sorts.
4. Vice Latu (St Peters)
Latu led from the front after a superb 2022 season where he was the best forward in his team.
A towering forward leader, Latu can play positions four through eight.
3. Byron Murphy (St Laurence’s)
Murphy went from strength to strength this season, the try scoring prop bagging a double in game one and game seven of the season. In between those games he was a scoring threat who wore defences out with his pick-and-goes.
2. Manaaki Bateman (St Patrick’s)
Before storming home strong, St Patrick’s were a one man army with hooker Manaaki Bateman bullying opponents with his powerhouse ball carrying and scrummaging.
This competition was stacked with top gun hookers but it was hard to go past this promising Year 11 leader.
1. Rylan Lock (St Laurence’s)
The premiers were lucky to have Lock leading the way, the old fashioned loose head a pick-and-drive enthusiast who seemed to crash over every game.
If he didn’t score he was laying the foundations for Murphy and Smith to deal the blow.
RESERVES
Finn Mackay (St Laurence’s)
Mackay returned to AIC footy with a bang after living in Melbourne for two years.
Bringing his Under 16s National Championships experience with him, the tall fly half engineered every backline play and had a kicking game not many could keep up with.
Ben Davis (St Laurence’s)
Similar to Mackay, we would have loved to have had him in the team.
Davis was stellar for Laurie’s Aussie rules team in term one and it was the same story in term two when the powerful Year 11 complimented an already strong forward pack.
Coach Welmar du Plessis is very happy to have him back next year.
4. Jackson Moloney (Villanova)
The athletic Moloney played No. 8 but to get our top players into this squad, we moved him to lock – he would handle this role with aplomb anyway. Fabulous, raw boned forward leader who left bruises whether he was carrying the ball, or working defensively.
Hopo Leota (Iona)
Leota has been a near unstoppable force. Iona have used him expertly and he has been a regular on the score sheet. Leota is a whirlwind in the maul or sweeping, but also has soft hands when unloading to teammates.
Ned Dore (Iona)
Dore has been mighty for Iona as a No.8. He can slam the ball forward when in possession, or stop rivals in their tracks – and the best news for Iona is he is back again next season. He has good hands and will march into the representative season feeling 10 foot and bullet proof.
Jack Chandler (St Edmund’s)
Chandler is the baby of the side, a wonderful shooting star who has blazed across the AIC scene. He plays open side flanker and will be a leader at Eddie’s again next year.
Larry Clark (Villanova)
Is there a player in the competition with a better pass than Clark, the Villanova five-eight? What a terrific ball he threw – while also challenging with his running and kicking well in general play.
Trust him to find the target.
Alex Manteit (Iona)
Manteit was a revelation for Iona. He played hooker, but he’d bob up chasing kicks or making tackles. You’d swear he was a flanker – except he’d emerge from the fallen heap of players with No. 2 on his back.
He is a great competitor and richly deserves recognition here despite the quality of hookers in the competition, including Daniel Taylor (Villanova), George Noona (Padua) and Manaaki Bateman (St Patrick’s) just to name a few.
Damon Humphrys (Padua)
Humphrys at five-eight has shown maturity beyond his years. He is a classical five-eight who reminds us of former Queensland Reds No. 10 Paul Kahl, a Wallaby tourist, with his killer kicking game and goal kicking under pressure. He could also release ball to his gun centres Mitch Rogers and Calef Johnson.
He rose to the occasion in the biggest game of his young career last Saturday.
Cameron Bukoswki (Villanova)
Bukowski was Villa’s midfield battleship who would have run through a brick wall for his side. His hands at inside centre gift wrapped ball for the outside backs, while his explosive running game was decisive. It said everything about his desire for the side that for round 5 he got off the plane from the Queensland schoolboys rugby league carnival – and hours later was playing for his school. He would have made 200 tackles and had 60 collisions in the days leading up to this match – but you would not have known.
Bailey Caplick (Ashgrove)
After missing the second game, Caplick was Mr consistent each week for Ashgrove.
In jersey No. 3, he had been the cornerstone of a strong scrum.
Queensland Reds Under 16s (2022) selection was no fluke.
Calef Johnson (Padua College)
A centre giant, Johnson was always a threat with his rampaging running and imposing defensive pressure.
Harry Condon (Ashgrove)
What a wonderful career Condon had at Ashgrove – the third year First XV scrumhalf crisply delivering teammates the ball on a platter.
He allowed Ashgrove to play at a high tempo and it was a shame a knee injury prevented him from running round one last time at home in round seven.
Cody O’May (Ashgrove)
O’May is the perfect utility to have off the bench. Put any number on his back and the output will still be the same.
Whether it’s line running, side stepping, finishing on the wing or setting up teammates, O’May proved over the last two years that he’s the man for the job.
BLACK BOOK TALENTS FOR THE FUTURE
Levi Hawea (Iona)
Hawea is a raw talent, a real thrill-a-minute outside back. Playing fullback for Iona, he was great on his feet and could really motor.
Kai Seeto (Iona)
This bloke is a pocket rocket, an explosive outside back who would be an enhancement to many teams.
As the season went on, he seemed to get better and better.
Jackson Connor (Villanova)
You know when someone has a touch of class and style, Connor has that. He is a terrific young gun.
Wallace Charlie (St Peters)
Keep an eye on this young playmaker when next season comes around. A fly half with instincts, a deft right foot and a deadly step – Charlie impressed after playing First XV last year as a Year 10 student.
Jasper Barry (Ashgrove)
Barry was a brute who gave Ashgrove a huge boost in his first season.
He also plays for the Norths devils and proved last year’s Queensland Reds Under 16s campaign was no flash in the pan.
Will be Ashgrove’s best when rugby league rolls around.
Kuwanon Dickman (St Peters)
Dickman capped off another season of First XV footy with Queensland Schoolboys Under 18s selection.
A strongly built inside centre, Dickman was a defensive pillar in a St Peters team that came awfully close to beating grand finalists Padua and Laurie’s.
Dom Morton (St Peters)
In his third year of First XV action, sizzling winger Dom Morton was elusive, quick and dangerous when returning the ball from his half.
Keiahn Nukunuku (St Patrick’s)
Nukunuku and fellow props Bateman and Whitbourne produced tight forward masterclasses the entire season. Good news for Paddies’ supporters, the tight-head is back again next year.
Sam and Matt Condon (St Patrick’s)
Sam, fly half, and Matt, outside centre, were brilliant all year and they were rewarded with two wins to finish the season.
Sam kicked his team to safety while Matt’s scramble defence repelled the even best attacking players away from the Paddies’ try line.
BLUE COLLAR WORKERS
Tom Jago (St Laurence’s)
Jago is not only a lock weapon but also an academic, the Laurie’s Academic Prefect a whiz in the classroom and on the footy field.
Callum and Aiden Rooney (Padua)
The front row brothers have been excellent all season, their big engines and technically sound games a big reason why Padua have done so well.
Atticus Armstrong (Ashgrove)
Armstrong is the definition of hard work. You can catch him on Ashgrove’s McMann oval on any given afternoon rehearsing his goal kicking routine.
Indeed you know what you’re going to get from the Ash boarder.
Tarnah Ford-West (St Peters)
Ford-West could not have transitioned from a winger to a flanker any better, the aggressive Year 12 student one of coach Cameron Wright’s most improved players of the year.
Jack Tuite (St Laurence’s)
Powerful and destructive with the ball, second year player Tuite gave Laurie’s go-forward with his ball running from inside centre.
In the last half decade, Laurie’s have churned out some class centres. The big Jack Wilkins, Queensland Under 18s (junior Maroons) representative Mikael Ibrahim and now Tuite, who with McClaren, made life tough for opposing centre pairings.
Bailey Cotelli (St Laurence’s)
What a forward pack Laurie’s had this year – Cotelli a never say die blindside flanker who delivered lineout target Ben Davis throws as straight as an arrow.
Will Tozer (Padua)
After making our
AIC cricket Team of the Yearaveraging over 50 with the bat, Tozer made a terrific impact at the back of the Padua scrum.
averaging over 50 with the bat, Tozer made a terrific impact at the back of the Padua scrum.
A fine sportsman, Tozer’s charge, energy and effort swung momentum in his team’s favour all season.
Nicholas Gullo (Ashgrove)
Gullo played from start to finish with grit, determination and impressive front row accomplices Oliver Clements and Bailey Caplick joined by the hip.
The countless hours bulking up at Goodlife gym delivered in spades for Gullo.
Harry Thomson and Riley Canavan (Ashgrove)
The Ashgrove flankers were kings of work rate and accuracy on both sides of the ball.
Unfortunately for Canavan his season was hindered by an early season injury but he came back and did not miss a beat.
As for Thomson, what a player he turned out to be after originally being picked in the Second XV.
Thomson was also a part of Ashgrove’s premiership winning Aussie rules team earlier in the year.
The Padua back three – Isaac Boal, Tom Chapman, Kyan Mitchell
Safe as houses this terrific trio was. Boal returned the ball with vigour while the jinking wing duo of Chapman and Mitchell made life a ton easier for their teammates.
Luka Smith (St Laurence’s)
First year player Smith makes up a very impressive crop of hookers in this competition.
He carries the ball fiercely, is strong over the ball and complemented Murphy and Lock very well in the Laurie’s front row.
Max Whitbourne (St Patrick’s)
High praise to the St Patrick’s loose head prop Whitbourne who continued to learn and improve around front row buddies Keiahn Nukunuku and Manaaki Bateman.
Whitbourne excels in the other code and will be better for it next year after a season where St Patrick’s had one of the strongest scrums in the competition.
Sasha Adam (St Patrick’s)
A stoic No. 8, Adam was a lineout technician whose turn of speed and safe hands saw him thrust Paddies’ forward.
Liam Inggs (S Patrick’s)
What a season this guy had after coming into the side two days before round two – and then retaining his spot all year.
After a stellar round two performance against Villa, coach Jim Potts could not leave him out.
A breakdown masterclass against St Edmund’s in round six followed.
Eli Avci (St Patrick’s)
Avci’s leaping ability shone in lineouts this term and it will shine again next term when the talented youngster accrues rebounds for the Paddies’ First V.
Daniel Taylor (Villanova)
A tall front rower, Taylor was never far away from the action.
With great speed, hand-eye coordination and incredible goal kicking ability, the gilbert headgeared Taylor challenged the role of a traditional hooker.
James Sullivan (Villlanova)
Sullivan was a hardworking breakaway whose defensive pressure and ball running will be an added bonus for Villa’s rugby league team next term.
Tommy Nicholson (Iona)
Nicholson only just turned 16 so the future looks bright for Iona’s lineout.
At the lock position, Nicholson brought a freakish work ethic and lineout dominance to his forward unit.
Campbell Rolfe (Iona)
Iona’s inside centre was a strong runner and a tough tackler all season long.
Will Lane (Iona)
A fabulous player who we would have loved to have found a spot for on the bench in our Team of the Season.
Nick Hinchey (Padua)
This kid is tough. He was strongly considered for our Team of the Season.
Tireless at blindside flanker all year.
Connor Chalmers (St Peters)
The motor of this saints hooker never disappointed, Chalmers one of coach Cameron Wright’s hardest workers in training and on game day with 70 minutes of effort.
Johnny Nona (St Peters)
Consistently throughout the season breakaway Nona drew looks of admiration for his repeat efforts.
Tom Nadenic (St Laurence’s)
The younger brother of two-time premiership winner Joe was also creating his own legacy at the college with a solid off-season preparing him for a gruelling season of AIC rugby.
One of if not the most improved Laurie’s forward.
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