The most uplifting moments in Queensland local sport for 2023
As the end of the year edges closer, we take a look back at the most uplifting stories in local sport in Queensland across 2023. Discover them here
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As the end of the year edges closer, we take a look back at the most uplifting stories in local sport in Queensland across 2023.
They are the milestone wins, come-from-behind victories and against the odds success stories.
Some won as a team and others climbed individual mountains solo.
Discover the most heartwarming stories of 2023 here.
South East Qld | Townsville | Sunshine Coast | Toowoomba | Mackay | Cairns | Central Qld
SOUTH EAST QLD
St Peters Lutheran College, ORANGE ROUND
The St Peters Lutheran College, Indooroopilly volleyball program are a stride above the pack. Their boy’s and girl’s AIC and QGSSSA squads took out their respective 2023 First XI premierships, but it’s what happened on Orange Round that pulled at heartstrings. In honour of their late friend, teammate and peer Noah Smith, the St Peters Orange Round raises funds for the Leukemia Foundation. It is not only a day to fundraise: it is to pay respects with family and friends and his passion, volleyball. In term 1, the St Peters boy’s faced Iona College for a top-of-ladder clash. After conceding the first set, St Peters pulled out a miraculous 4-1 win. Term 3 featured the girl’s side take on St Hilda’s School, who they defeated with ease before later claiming their flag honours.
Anglican Church Grammar School, GPS VOLLEYBALL
Churchie held the GPS First XI Volleyball premiership for five of five consecutive years (2016-18 and 2020), before hitting a wall. The side missed out on premiership honours in 2021 and 2022, but 2023 was a different story. The boys in blue and grey put on an impressive performance every week, reaching top-of-ladder spot early. Churchie secured the flag in round seven, still with two rounds to play, by defeating the reigning premier Nudgee College team in swift 3-0 game.
Ormiston College, TAS VOLLEYBALL
Keeping in line with the school boys and girls theme, Ormiston College pulled a cat out of the bag in their TAS First VI Volleyball final. The Redlands side travelled to Canterbury College for the match, which drew eyes from every school as it was live streamed on facebook. Despite losing the first two sets in tight battles, Ormiston kept their heads high and went into the third unphased. Their level-headedness paid off, as set-by-set, the side fought back. In a nail-biting fifth set, Ormiston gave it their all to walk away 3-2 winners.
King’s Christian College, VICKI WILSON
The King’s Christian College Reedy Creek campus is a true hub for talented Gold Coast netballers, both in junior and senior levels. 2022 featured the school make it to the very end of the Vicki Wilson Championships of both age groups, but fell short to Canterbury College in each. This year, they vowed not to repeat history. While the senior team narrowly missed medal contention, the King’s junior side shone to the last siren. They trailed for most of the gold medal match against Canterbury, but ignited in the fourth quarter for a comeback. The side were victorious by four goals - making it their first VW Shield win in competition history. They were the first team to beat Canterbury’s junior side in any round game or final since 2018.
South Coast School Sport Netball, CLEAN SWEEP
Boys and girls netball in the South Coast region is booming in all age groups. This year, South Coast claimed gold in the 16-19 years girls, 13-15 years girls, 10-12 years girls and 10-12 years boys divisions at the Queensland School Sport Championships. There were 18 athletes selected into the relevant Queensland squads.
TOWNSVILLE GRAMMAR SCHOOL STRIKES GOLD WITH TRIO OF AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES
It’s special enough for a school to have one student represent their country on the world stage, but this year could be Townsville Grammar School’s most talented cohort in recent memory with three students representing Australia in 2023.
Year 12 students Sasha-May Flegler (netball) and Alexandra Holt (aquathlon) are both on the verge of graduating while Julia Fulton (softball) is in year 11.
COLUMBA CATHOLIC COLLEGE CLAIM RARE RUGBY LEAGUE TRIPLE CROWN WITH GENERATIONAL TEAM
The boys from Columba Catholic College capped off a massive year on the footy field, stamping themselves as an emerging powerhouse of the north.
The Charters Towers school punched well above its weight in 2023 with the help of a couple of outstanding players in Dolphins-signed halfback Mathias Santo-Hero and Cowboys-contracted fullback Assariah Lenoy.
They were already champions of their local North Queensland competition and division two of the Confraternity Shield before toppling Xavier Catholic College from Hervey Bay in the Queensland NRL Trophy final.
KIRWAN HIGH SCHOOLGIRL CROWNED QLD’S BEST FEMALE FIRST GRADER
Queensland’s best female first grade rugby league player has been crowned following an extensive search across the state.
Centrals Tigers and Kirwan Grizzlies fullback Ana Malupo has only been in Townsville since the start of 2023 but she has already made massive waves in the rugby league community.
The teenage speed machine has been crowned Queensland’s best first grade female rugby league player.
Malupo possesses blistering pace that puts her among the game’s fastest ladies and gives her an attacking edge that caught the eye of the Cowboys.
HISTORIC HONOUR FOR DUAL-CODE SCHOOLBOYS STAR
Ignatius Park College playmaker Sean Weir has become the first player in school history to be selected for the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team.
Weir is also a key part of Ignatius Park’s Aaron Payne Cup campaign, capable of lining up anywhere from lock to fullback.
Five players from Ignatius Park have represented the Australian Schoolboys in rugby league - including Cowboys Michael Morgan and Tom Duffy – but Weir is the first to do so in the rival code.
NORTH QUEENSLAND SCHOOLBOY SENSATION POACHED BY ELITE SYDNEY NRL CLUB
Kirwan Bears young gun Elijah Tapau-Taylor would be excused for having his bright future front of mind after agreeing to terms with the Parramatta Eels, but the towering backrower was still able to turn in a titanic performance in the Aaron Payne Cup semi-finals..
Tapau-Taylor scored a second-half double in a man of the match worthy appearance as the Bears mauled cross-town rivals Ignatius Park College 18-4 to book a ticket to the Aaron Payne Cup grand final.
RIVAL SCHOOLS, OPPOSITION AND TEAMMATES JOIN ARMS TO HONOUR FORMER LEAGUE STAR
Sunshine Coast Falcons player and Caloundra State High School student Ben ‘BJ” Hunter was tragically killed in a road tragedy while walking home from a late-night gym session on Sunday, June 25.
Hunter’s death sent shockwaves through the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and NRL communities with numerous local club’s holding candle light vigil’s to pay their respect for the 16-year-old and his family.
When students returned to school it was tough going for his Caloundra class and rugby league teammates but their spirits were lifted each week when opposing Langer Trophy sides would honour Hunter with a minute’s silence.
One notable inclusion was from Mabel Park SHS who exchanged jerseys with Caloundra pre-match before both side’s performed a haka in honour of Hunter and in front of his mum after the full time siren.
The Melbourne Storm (who serve as an affiliate side with the Falcons) also paid their respects by wearing black armbands for their match against the Penrith Panthers in round 18.
PBC ETCH THEIR NAME INTO QUEENSLAND AUSSIE RULES HISTORY
2023 was job done for Palm Beach Currumbin.
The Gold Coast sporting behemoth won all four secondary titles at the AFLQ Schools Cup finals at Maroochydore, an achievement that had never been accomplished in the competitions history.
The red and whites took down St Laurence’s in the boys and Varsity College in the girls to go one better than their efforts in 2022.
It started with the junior girls edging out Varsity before the junior boys made it back-to-back premierships with a come-from-behind victory over St Laurence’s.
The powerful senior boys side made it three from three with an impressive win before the senior girls turned in perhaps the best performance of all to score a convincing success.
PBC head of sports excellence Neil Mackay was delighted with the performances.
“The first step is to make the grand finals, so we had to get those wins on Friday, and we were all super excited to get through,” he said
“Then the first two games were really close, real heart stoppers, which were followed by a tough hit out from the senior boys and then the senior girls were sensational and arguably the team of the day.
“We’re really stoked that our program has had some success for all of that hard work, because at the end of the day, it’s hard to win one, let alone four.”
LANGER TROPHY NEWCOMERS SNATCH FIRST EVER WIN
After a tough introductory season, Caloundra SHS were able to secure their first ever Langer Trophy victory over Redcliffe.
It was a battle of the winless schools in the final regular season round but Caloundra’s 26-16 victory meant they also snagged a place in the finals.
The competition newcomers had struggled to make an impression in their opening six games, but in front of their home crowd in a do-or-die game, they produced the goods when it mattered most.
RISING STAR FORGOES CRICKET DOMINATION FOR MATILDA’S DREAM
Matthew Flinders Anglican College student Rosie McMahon took another step closer to her elite level dream after impressing selectors at a series of junior Matildas training camps, despite also representing her state for cricket.
At the start of 2023 McMahon said she made the tough decision to focus on football and unfortunately had to pull out of some high-level cricket commitments.
The 14-year-old, who currently plays football with the QAS U15 Girls team in the NPL Women’s U23 competition, was selected for a series of junior Matildas training camps before also playing in the U17s side.
In March the grade 10 student said the last few months had been ‘hectic’.
“The training camp in Sydney was a great experience to train with some very talented girls and learn new football strategies from the Australian coaches,” she said.
“I am still surprised that I am in the Junior Matildas extended squad as it is such a wonderful honour to be selected to represent my country in the sport I love.”
FORMER TRIATHLETE CHEATS DEATH AND IS BACKING SMASHING GOALS
On July 17, 2021, Ms Leary, better known as Lex, was out training in Pomona when she clipped the wheel of another rider causing her to lose control of her bike and was placed in an induced coma.
The now 20-year-old suffered major injuries including a fractured scapula, shoulder blade, wrist, ribs, a collapsed lung, serious nerve damage, significant memory loss and reduced mobility to the right side of her body.
After 74 days at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Ms Leary was transferred to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit on September 29 and later returned home on November 4.
Two years on from that nightmare event, Ms Leary is back in the pool and a part of the Swimming Australia Para National Development Squad.
In late 2022 she relocated to the Gold Coast to be closer to her swim coach and was also named emerging athlete of the year at the 2023 AIS Sport Performances Awards.
TOOWOOMBA
CLYDESDALES BACK INTO HOSTPLUS CUP
After more than 15 years out of Queensland’s top rugby league competition, the Western Clydesdales made their long-awaited return to the Hostplus Cup in 2023.
After falling just short of a drought-breaking win in round 2, the Clydesdales dusted themselves off and made history two games later when they defeated the Ipswich Jets 44-28.
Clydesdales head coach Jason Alchin described the victory as “a great result for everyone involved with the club” giving special praise to the supporters, community, club officials and players.
AMPUTEE CLAIMS PICKLEBALL GOLD MEDAL
In 2017, Toowoomba’s Matt Hansson made the life-altering decision to have his leg amputated below the kneee, three years after a serious motorcycle accident.
Despite the setback, he refused to let his love for cricket and sport fade away as he volunteered with Southern Districts Cricket Club, but it was the decision to take up one of the fastest growing sports in the country which has allowed him to get back in the action.
Last year, Hansson took up pickleball and made a meteoric rise through the sport which culminated in him taking home the gold medal in the Australia Para-Doubles.
He is also the chair of the Pickleball Australia Inclusion group and is now dedicating his time to growing the sport in the Garden City.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES STUDENT TAKES HOME SILVER MEDAL
Our Lady of Lourdes’ Odin Phillips represented Queensland at the National Cross Country Championships earlier this year and claimed second place in the team’s competition.
Phillips is a multi-class athlete with Cerebral Palsy and dedicated countless hours of his weekends to training for the event.
Despite being just 10 years of age, Phillips wakes up at 5am every Saturday morning to train with his dad Ben.
The young runner has continued his training since the nationals and has his sights set on one day representing Australia at the Olympics.
UNIVERSITY CRICKET ICON REACHES MASSIVE MILESTONE
Few players embrace the spirit of cricket quite like TCI and University cricket icon Rob Phillips.
Having been with the club since the 1984, Phillips became just the fifth player to claim 500 wickets for the club earlier this season.
The self-described “slow-wobbly” bowler has been taking wickets for four decades at University and has proven that age is just a number when it comes to claiming scalps.
“Once upon a time I was a little medium pacer growing up, but these days it is a few short steps and just see what happens,” Phillips said.
“I used to always say I was a batsman who could bowl a bit but the last few years the numbers probably suggest I have had that wrong for 40 years.
“I am probably a bowler who can maybe bat a bit.”
YOUNG NETBALLER BOUNCES BACK FROM ACL INJURY
After having an ACL reconstruction last year, Toowoomba’s Amy Williams’ countless hours of rehabbing finally paid off when she was named in the extended Queensland under-19 squad after an impressive performance at the state titles.
The young netball was proud that her efforts over the 15 months in the lead-up to the competition were rewarded.
“There was a fair bit of work in that rehab process so that did feel pretty good knowing that all that hard work had paid off,” she said.
TOOWOOMBA REF BLOWS WHISTLE ON 400TH GAME
Toowoomba rugby league referee Michael Inman took to the field for the 400th time as a referee this year, after first picking up the whistle at the age of 13.
Inman refused to let several injuries and serious medical conditions de-rail him as he has battled appendicitis and diverticulitis – an extremely painful inflammation of the intestines.
Back in 2003, he was on the brink of making his Queensland Cup debut, before he shattered tibia in a freak accident.
Then two years later, fought leptospirosis with doctors believing he caught the disease after a rat urinated near his water bottle.
Despite these set backs, he has refused to let it stand in the way of his love for the sport and officiating.
MACKAY/WHITSUNDAYS
ST PAT’S DREAM RUN TO STATE FINAL
St Patrick’s College grade 11/12 league side had a season to remember, shocking Kirwan and their abundance of NRL-contracted players to claim the Payne Cup crown. They didn’t stop there either, breezing past Emmaus College to reach the Phil Hall Cup state final for the first time since 2000.
ST PAT’S PERFECT COWBOYS CHALLENGE SEASON
The grade 9/10 team had just as successful a season for St Pat’s, winning the Cowboys Challenge with an undefeated season. But they would take it one step further, trouncing Dolphins Challenge winners Emmaus College 44-0 to put the exclamation point on their success.
MACKAY SUNS REALISE FINALS DREAM
It was a special moment after the siren sounded at Great Barrier Reef, with Suns AFLW side huddling up and letting out a belting rendition of the club’s song on the ground. They had just made history by becoming second-ever Suns side to secure a finals berth and the first in an 18-team women’s competition. It was a particularly special moment for Mackay-born player Lauren Bella and Wallis Randell who both took to the field that day. And it would be remiss to forget Jen Revell, who spent the best part of a decade coaching in Mackay before graduating to the role of Suns assistant.
ANDERSON MAKES HISTORY WITH DOLPHINS
Wanderers and St Pat’s rugby league product Sam Anderson made history when he put pen to paper with the NRL’s Dolphins Academy. Not only did he become the expansion club’s second Mackay talent after Brenton Baira, but he became the first to commit to their academy, and was also one of the first player’s they’d looked outside their region to recruit.
BOBONGIE’S STATE CROWN
The Meteorettes’ Monique Bobongie, an underage Australian representative, capped off her incredible string of achievements over the past few years by being crowned Basketball Queensland’s Female Player of the Year at just 16 years of age.
WHITSUNDAY’S DREAM DOUBLE
For what was the first time in the club’s history, Whitsunday United took out both the men’s and women’s in FQPL Whitsunday Coast football. The club can struggle given the town’s transient nature, and the double was a feat many thought may never have been achieved.
SAINTS BECOME AFL MACKAY’S GREATEST
Five-peats hold a place in rare air in local sport. So rare in AFL Mackay in fact, it was something that had never been done before. But the Saints dynasty staked their claim as AFL Mackay’s greatest ever when they rattled to a fight consecutive premiership. After a decade of trying, the dominant Saints women’s team also tasted premiership success.
HOUSTON’S FITTING FAREWELL
After building a dynasty with the Proserpine-Whitsunday Raiders side that reached six consecutive Mackay Rugby Union grand finals, Andre Houston’s final game at the helm of the Raiders saw them clinch a memorable third premiership under his reign over the Moranbah Bulls, who were coached by ex-Raider and close mate of Houston Te Awa King.
TOMERINI’S AUSTRALIAN DREAM
Having already been afforded the opportunity to bowl to Australia A’s players in the nets while they toured Mackay prized 16-year-old Brothers off-spinner Cam Tomerini took the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity one step further, taking to the field in Australian colours as a sub-fielder late in the tour game against New Zealand A. He also claimed the scalp of Cameron Bancroft in the nets if you don’t mind!
CLUB LEGEND NOTCHES 400
400 games of Aussie Rules is often an achievement reserved for the top echelon of the game’s professional players. But the much-loved Eastern Swans player Terry Bailey notched that achievement in AFL Mackay this season.
BOXING WORLD BEATER
Hailing from the remote Dysart, Ciara Storch had an incredible year in the ring. She claimed gold at the Oceania Championships and State Titles, before travelling to Adelaide to not only win gold, but be crowned women’s youth boxer of the tournament at Nationals.
Cairns:
JENNIFER ROBINSON’S REMARKABLE RETURN
Missing out on the 2022 Cairns AFL season was the fuel for Jennifer Robinson’s fire to blaze into the 2023 AFL Cairns campaign with a relentless mindset.
A serious leg injury forced Robinson to the sideline last year as Manunda failed to reach the grand final, as Saints marched to their third straight premiership.
But nothing could stop her this year, with Robinson at her consistent best as the Hawks stopped the Saints’ streak and lifted their first premiership since 2018.
She has been in career-best form since her return this year, and capped off the regular season finishing second in the Jo Butland Medal for player of the season.
She took that grit and vigour into finals courageously leading her side to the 2023 premiership.
KYE CHAPPLE BOOTS HIS 1000TH CAREER GOAL
Crocs sharpshooter and club legend, Kye Chapple, reached a major milestone earlier this year.
The three-time Matthew Walsh medallist kicked the 1000th senior goal of his Aussie rules career.
The five-time premiership-winner’s moment came in the first quarter when he snatched possession in heavy traffic, stepped off his right and snapped it between the posts with his lethal left boot.
Crocs players mobbed Chapple from everywhere, while a few of the club’s faithful supporters flooded the field to congratulate the Port Douglas forward.
FROM LOCAL AFL TO AFLW PREMIERSHIP
From CTB Bulldogs to Cairns Saints and now an AFLW premiership with the Brisbane Lions in her debut season, Poppy Boltz’s rise to the top has been nothing short of remarkable.
Boltz was drafted to Brisbane with pick 16 in the 2023 Season Eight Supplementary Draft as an intimidating, contested midfielder with an everlasting engine.
She forced her way into the Lions side early in the season and moved into the backline, using her tenacity and competitive spirit to become a pillar of Brisbane’s defence.
Now, after the biggest game of her life against North Melbourne, she can call herself a premiership champion.
DOLPHINS DOMINATE ON THE BIG STAGE
Cairns has built a reputation as a proud sporting city which punches above its weight, and that was put on show no better than the Dolphins’ recent surge to a national championship semi final run.
The Dolphins finished fourth at the Basketball Australia U14 Club Championships in Melbourne after a tremendous six-game undefeated run to begin the tournament.
They become the second youth basketball team in Cairns history to make it to the semi-finals after the Dolphins of 2007 also made the top four.
Cairns Dolphins dragged opponents around the country into a fast transitional game that most teams couldn’t match.
Despite being undersized for the majority of the games, they focused on hustle and aggression with a never-say-die attitude that garnered results.
Central Queensland
INSPIRING COMEBACK AFTER CANCER BATTLE
Dual code sports star Hayley Richmond was delivered a devastating cancer blow this year.
After playing the season openers with the Wanderers A1 hockey and Rockhampton Panthers Aussie rules teams she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in April.
Her can-do approach and positive attitude drove and inspired her during treatment, as did the thought of returning to her beloved sports.
Remarkably, Richmond did just that.
She played the Aussie rules final on September 2, being named best on ground, and the following week the A-grade women’s hockey decider.
Both her teams were beaten but Richmond felt far from defeated.
“Sport is such a huge part of my life and so are the people involved in it,” she said.
“It was a huge accomplishment just to be playing.”
EXCITEMENT MACHINE MUTUA BROWN LIGHTS UP LEAGUE
Mutua Brown has the rugby league world at his lightning fast feet.
The Cathedral College graduate has now made the move to Townsville to join the North Queensland Cowboys’ Young Guns program.
The star fullback was an integral member of the CQ Capras under-18 and under-21 squads, and also played with the Maroons under-19 State of Origin team.
He starred for Queensland at the Australian Secondary School Rugby League championships, becoming TCC’s first Australian schoolboys representative.
He was equally as impressive when he donned the green and gold for the Test match against the Junior Kumuls in Papua New Guinea in September.
FOOTY DOUBLE FOR ST BRENDAN’S FIRST XIII
St Brendan’s claimed its 14th Confraternity Shield with a stirring victory in an all-Central Queensland grand final.
Down four-nil at the break, the champion outfit ran in four second-half tries to beat Rockhampton’s Emmaus College 18-10.
St Brendan’s are the most successful team in the history of the prestigious carnival but this year’s win was their first since 2015.
The Scott Minto-coached team then went on to win the Rockhampton District Secondary Schools Rugby league Open A title. Again it was Emmaus they played and again they came from behind, this time scoring three tries in six minutes to prevail in an epic golden-point thriller.
BIG BREAK FOR CENTRAL QLD CRICKET SENSATION
Emerald schoolgirl Bonnie Berry stepped up her cricketing education, moving from exam blocks to the Weber Women’s Big Bash League arena.
The 17-year-old right-arm pace bowler was in October called into the Brisbane Heat squad as a local replacement player.
Although she did not play, it was a massive step forward for Berry, who first started cricket at age eight alongside the boys in the Central Highlands Cricket under-11 competition.
She is now gearing up to represent the Queensland under-19 women’s team at next week’s national championships in Brisbane and continuing her push for a start with the Brisbane Fire, who resume their WNCL campaign on December 12.
PERFECT SENDOFF FOR AUSSIE RULES SKIPPER
Lauren Moss could not have scripted her last Aussie rules game any better.
The Yeppoon Swanettes’ inspirational skipper bowed out after winning consecutive AFL Capricornia premierships.
The Swanettes beat a determined Rockhampton Panthers by just three points in the 2023 decider, sealing the win with a major in the final quarter.
An emotional Moss said it was a “bloody good send-off”.
The Yeppoon men extended their incredible winning run, edging BITS by six points to win a ninth straight flag.
GRAMMAR ROWERS STRIKE GOLD AT QLD CHAMPS
The Rockhampton Grammar Year 11 girls quad struck gold at the Queensland Schools Rowing Championships in September.
The crew of Caroline Sparks, Greta McCosker, Mave Burnett and Asha Stewart alongside Year 8 coxswain Evan Peff powered to the victory in the final, finishing ahead of boats from St Hilda’s (Gold Coast) and Brisbane Girls Grammar School.
While the crew didn’t make the final of this event in 2022, they produced solid form leading into their gold-medal winning race after strong showings in South Queensland, Central Queensland and North Queensland regattas.
Peff had a demanding schedule at the championships, coxing a number of Grammar boats across 10 races and also competing in the Year 8 single scull.
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