2025 AFLQ Schools Cup live stream: Watch every match on Day 3 of the state finals
St Laurence’s College finally has its defining moment at the AFLQ Schools Cup state finals, while a wildcard has done the almost impossible. Check out all playoff REPLAYS in full.
St Laurence’s College has snatched back the lead with less than a minute remaining to deny Palm Beach Currumbin State High at the AFLQ Schools Cup state finals on Sunday.
Competing in the senior male final, it was mission accomplished for St Laurence’s College after losing the decider to their fierce rivals the previous three years in the junior grades.
It all came down to Ethan Duke, who took a powerful contested mark at half-forward before going back and kicking accurately to give his side what would be a matchwinning one-point lead.
REPLAYS
OVAL 1
Palm Beach Currumbin v St Laurence’s College (Senior Male State Final)
Watch the full replay in the window above.
A tight, tense and cagey opening two quarters unfolded between PBC and St Laurence’s as the Reds looked determined to defend their title in Maroochydore.
The pressure and battle in the midfield was the best we’ve seen all carnival as a 1.3 (9) to 1.2 (8) score line narrowly favoured PBC at halftime.
Rising AFL draft prospect Dylan Patterson was at his electric best out of the middle for PBC but was met by St Laurence’s captain Ben Morrison and his support crew on many occasions.
Frustration from both sides began to bubble over in the humid and windy conditions as St Laurence’s regained the lead with less than a minute in the third quarter after an end-to-end counter attack.
St Laurence’s held a four-point lead as the teams resumed for the final quarter and it was a long-range major from PBC’s Sam Longobardi that got his side back in front with less than 10 minutes to play.
But some lovely set-up play from St Laurence’s allowed Duke to put the ball between the sticks and give his side back the lead.
As the clock ticked down, St Laurence’s kept the ball in their territory as they were crowned 2025 champions with a 3.5 (23) to 2.10 (22) result.
St Laurence’s captain Ben Morrison was awarded best on ground.
“My raw reaction is relief I think,” Morrison said.
“It’s been four years in the making with this squad we’ve had, so it’s unreal to finish year 12 on a high.
“I remember coming to the school in grade seven when the Aussie rules program was good, but it’s grown so much since then, so to be a part of that rise is really special.
“We head home with two cups, which is something everyone is very proud of.”
Palm Beach Currumbin v St Peter’s Lutheran College (Senior Female State Final)
St Peters did it the hard way but their journey to the AFLQ Schools Cup state final was worth all the trouble after knocking off defending champions Palm Beach Currumbin.
The Brisbane-based school had only played modified school Aussie rules prior to this year, meaning they were unseeded at the beginning of the Schools Cup season and had to enter the competition as a wildcard.
While the heavyweight schools like Palm Beach Currumbin skip ahead and begin their Schools Cup campaign in round six, St Peters started their journey in round one back in July.
While Palm Beach Currumbin cruised to a 66-point victory in their Friday preliminary final, St Peters continued their undefeated run claiming another upset win over Helensvale 8.3 (51) to 2.5 (17).
Even PBC players were preparing for a match-up against Helensvale in the grand final, which added more fuel to the fire for St Peters, who stormed out to a 3.1 (19) to 0.2 (2) halftime lead.
St Peters’ pressure on the defensive end was full of energy and annoyance as PBC played a frantic style of footy through the opening three quarters.
A PBC behind was the only score change in the third quarter as St Peters kicked a further two majors in the final term and started to celebrate.
The Reds kicked their first six-pointer of the game with less than eight minutes to play as the match eventually finished 5.1 (31) to 1.4 (10).
St Peters standout Stella Scott was awarded best on ground.
“It’s been unbelievable,” head coach Chris Cant said.
“I tried to make a push at the beginning of the year to try and get us a better spot in this competition but the best we could get was a wildcard, so we’ve had to grind our way to get here.
“It’s been really hectic, I thought we could go on a run but to cap it off against the best teams in Queensland has been unreal.”
Cant said his side didn’t have any expectations.
“One of the best things about our group was that they’re not familiar with the other schools so they just roll up their sleeves and get the job done,” Cant said.
“They aren’t intimated by anyone, which showed in our win against Helensvale and then again today against Palm Beach Currumbin.”
Varsity College v St Laurence’s College (Youth Male State Final)
We wish to apologise for audio issues associated with this replay. The issue was later rectified.
It was a tight and tense opening two quarters with the scores 2.4 (16) to 2.1 (13) in favour of St Laurence’s at the main break.
Both sides knew it was a proper scrap, with St Laurence’s entering the break with confidence while Varsity leaned towards hitting the reset button.
As each side looked to take the game on, it was St Laurence’s which got the better of Varsity when Finn Gautier-Dixon kicked his second and extended the lead to nine.
Varsity turned up the tempo in the final quarter and kept the ball in their hands as much as possible.
A bobbling ball was pounced on by Varsity’s Levi Baker, who toed the ball through the sticks before St Laurence’s responded with two goals of their own to make it a 15-point lead with three minutes to play.
Kaiden Osborne finished the match in style with two fourth-quarter goals as St Laurence’s recorded a 6.6 (42) to 3.3 (21) victory.
Gautier-Dixon was named best on ground.
Palm Beach Currumbin v Varsity College (Youth Female State Final)
After their 121-point preliminary final victory on Friday, Palm Beach Currumbin continued their ferocious onslaught against Varsity College.
Bolting out of the blocks, PBC hurried to a 8.8 (56) to 0.1 (1) halftime scoreline.
Six PBC goalscorers found their names on the scoresheet early, with Rosie Ross and Tigerlily Nixon each kicking two majors.
The windy conditions continued to be a factor on Neil Upton Oval, but Varsity had little response as PBC’s midfield put up multiple roadblocks on their opponents’ attacking avenues.
The Reds had one hand on the trophy as they entered the final quarter before eventually being crowned champions 11.10 (76) to 2.3 (15).
Rising Palm Beach Currumbin star Stephanie Williams was awarded best on ground.
St Laurence’s College v Palm Beach Currumbin (Junior Male State final)
The match began with good intensity and energy as St Laurence’s controlled the flow but, after three straight behinds, it was Palm Beach Currumbin which kicked the first three majors.
The third quarter began with PBC leading 4.2 (26) to 0.6 (6), as the Reds’ set-up and structure behind the ball was proving too tough to penetrate for their opposition.
Limited scoring chances meant the scoreline remained out of reach for St Laurence’s as Palm Beach Currumbin entered the final quarter with a 33-point lead.
From there, Palm Beach Currumbin cruised home for a 9.5 (59) to 1.7 (13) result, with Harper Gallagher being awarded best on ground.
OVAL 2
Helensvale SHS v Palm Beach Currumbin SHS (Junior Female State Final)
Brisbane South SSC v St Margaret Mary’s College (Junior Female Play-off Third)
Helensvale SHS v Kirwan SHS (Junior Male Play-off Third)
OVAL 3
Brisbane South SSC v Ignatius Park College (Youth Male Play-off Third)
Mountain Creek SHS v St Monica’s College (Youth Female Play-off Third)
OVAL 4
Iona College v St Augustine’s College (Senior Male Play-off Third)
Helensvale SHS v Trinity Bay SHS (Senior Female Play-off Third)
PREVIEW
St Laurence’s College have made their message clear – they want a change.
The Brisbane-based school have secured a spot in the AFLQ Schools Cup senior male grand final on Sunday, where they will once again meet defending champions Palm Beach Currumbin State High.
All the grand final action in Maroochydore will be exclusively live streamed on KommunityTV from 9.30am Sunday.
After St Laurence’s endured a slow start against Iona College in the preliminary final on Friday afternoon, they found themselves scoreless in the opening quarter while their opponents shot out to a 19-point lead.
After kicking into gear in the second quarter, where St Laurence’s booted seven majors, they continued their momentum to claim a 13.3 (81) to 6.2 (38) victory.
“It was a bit scary at the start, we thought we were prepared to come out of the gates well but they got the jump on us which was unexpected,“ St Laurence’s captain Ben Morrison said.
“Iona bought the physicality so once we matched them there and lifted our intensity we were able to get the game back on our terms.”
St Laurence’s and Palm Beach Currumbin have created a great rivalry for this year’s senior group, meeting each other in the grand final in the junior grades in years gone by.
“We’ve met Palm Beach Currumbin in the grand final for our last three years and have lost to them on all three occasions but we’re the most prepared we’ve been so far,” Morrison said.
“We know we have to get a jump on them and play even better than we did on Friday so hopefully it’s enough to grab the win.”
The senior female contest will be played between Palm Beach Currumbin and St Peters Lutheran College.
PBC claimed a 66-point victory over Trinity Bay in their preliminary final while St Peters overcame Helensvale 8.3.51-2.5.17.
“It will be another tough game, there will be good individual match-ups all over the field but hopefully we’re ready and up for it,” PBC co-captains Jamie Collins, Matisse Francis and Izzy McPherson said.
KommunityTV will exclusively live stream every match from the AFLQ Schools Cup state finals at the Maroochydore Multisports Complex on the Sunshine Coast from October 17-19 through the Courier Mail and Gold Coast Bulletin mastheads.
