GPS First XI football 2025: Players to Watch named
The GPS First XI football players to watch include a boom rookie duo from Churchie, an awesome foursome from Nudgee College, an exciting Toowoomba Grammar teen and a prodigy from BBC. FULL LIST
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The time-honoured GPS First XI football competition returns on Saturday with four blockbuster bouts in store for supporters.
Will it be the year of traditional powerhouses Nudgee College, reigning premiers Churchie or another team?
This year’s competition looms as one of the tightest in recent history and the www.couriermail.com.au will be reporting on it each and every step of the way.
Churchie, spearheaded by Brisbane Roar rookies Lucas Herrington and Quinn MacNicol, were seeking back-to-back premierships after Nudgee College had previously won the 2023 and 2022 seasons. Gregory Terrace claimed the 2021 premiership.
There will be an early season blockbuster played between heavyweights The Southport School and Churchie on the Village Green on Saturday.
So who were the players to watch this season?
GPS FIRST XI FOOTBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2025
BRISBANE GRAMMAR
Patrick Maher
Brisbane Grammar will be well serviced between goalposts with senior Patrick Maher returning for his second season of Firsts football.
A Cairns kid now in the boarding dorms of the northside school, Maher has previously made the Queensland Under-16s squad and is sure to assert himself, in the air and with his communication skills.
Harry Woodruff
A local lad from the Western Suburbs, Taringa Rovers junior Woodruff won’t die trying this season for Brisbane Grammar.
An attacking midfielder, Woodruff plays direct and has a keen eye for goal.
GREGORY TERRACE
Sano Ali
If Gregory Terrace’s pre-season outings were anything to go by then Year 10 stud Sano Ali is ready to rumble in Queensland’s top schoolboy football competition.
The baby of the squad, Ali looked right at home in the pre-season where the box-to-box midfielder showed plenty of promise.
Savva Lucas
Gregory Terrace will usher in a young squad this season with a new batch of boys being groomed for multiple seasons in the First XI. Another Year 10 student, Savva Lucas, is another young gun capable of making a big impression.
An Attacking ace who is technically sound, Lucas looks primed to give defenders a hard time.
His endurance could also see him spring to life when the going gets tough.
Charbel Kairouz
Just watch midfielder Kairouz, a Warwick kid now playing with Brisbane City, control proceedings nicely for Gregory Terrace.
A senior and leader within the group, Kairouz can and will look to speed up and slow down the tempo and provide on-field leadership for a young side capable of ruffling plenty of feathers this season.
NUDGEE COLLEGE
Jackson O’Reilly
One of the keys to Nudgee College’s premiership pursuit this season will be Jackson O’Reilly, the captain and centre back.
It goes without saying. Every captain is important in a sprint-like season where one game can dictate who goes on to win it all.
O’Reilly’s leadership on and off the field and passing ability from the back will have a big say in how Nudgee College fare.
Declan Warnes
Nudgee College teammates and supporters will be confident the side can produce plenty of points in 2025 with returning weapon Declan Warnes uncanny when it comes to unlocking defensive structures.
A threat running and passing, Warnes will patrol the midfield where he is known for clicking into gear as a timely goalscorer.
Lewis McGrorey
Has been, for quite some time, a key cog in Nudgee College’s ever-threatening First XI outfit.
A big improver, McGrorey sets a high standard for his peers by working hard.
The young workhorse, revered for his V8 engine, has Nudgee College students and coaching staff feverish to see what his final year in the blue and white has to offer.
Lachie Cook
Cook, Nudgee College’s vice-captain, has the respect of his teammates who can rest assured he will deliver the goods.
Noted for his ability to hold up play and bring his buddies into the game, Cook’s clear willingness to push himself, and the team, will be crucial across nine weekends of competition.
BRISBANE BOYS’ COLLEGE
D’Arcy Satharasinghe
A striker or left wing, Satharasinghe has been a staple in First XI team lists over the past 18 months — be it cricket or football.
A bit of a schoolboy prodigy, Satharasinghe scored goals for fun during the pre-season where in one game he bagged a hattrick against last year’s AIC football premiers, Marist Ashgrove.
The BBC captain is brimming with confidence and dangerously fit.
Tanner Wheeler
Wheeler has warmed his engines for three years. Now it is go time.
A fourth-year First XI select, Wheeler will enter round 1 with form behind him after a high-class pre-season showing where he had his head down and effectiveness up.
Now a senior, -Wheeler’s utility value and presence on the pitch with give BBC a leg up against strong opposition.
CHURCHIE
Josh Tanner
Holding down the fort for a deep Churchie outfit is returning goalkeeper Josh Tanner, the bedrock of last year’s premiership team.
Excellent in goal, Tanner anticipates then detonates to ensure only the best can squeeze one past his grasp.
Primed for a big farewell tour.
Lucas Herrington and Oli Reid
How lucky Churchie were to have boom rookie Lucas Herrington and captain Oli Reid spearheading the side.
A formidable centreback combination, Herrington and Reid ran rampant in Churchie’s 2022 Bill Turner Cup success.
Earlier this season the afro-haired Herrington was a key defender in Brisbane Roar’s 4-3 breakthrough win against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.
Quinn MacNicol and Arden Hogan
Striker Levi Collins can cause opposition teams all sorts of problems this season.
Why? He has Quinn MacNicol and Arden Hogan on his team.
The duo of MacNicol and Hogan used their trickery and technical ability to help the side snare a premiership in 2024 and they are back, just as hungry in 2025, to create more goal scoring opportunities.
TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR
Jackson Peter
Toowoomba Grammar’s Jackson Peter has speed, natural talent and a mean left boot.
All he needs is to believe.
When he does, and gets the opportunity to strike, he will be a prime mover for a TGS side which will be better off with him at his best.
Tdonson Hammond
Hammond will be kept on ice for Toowoomba Grammar’s first outing against Brisbane Boys’ College nursing an injury but when he returns the boys from on the range will welcome his services.
A fierce forward who has something about him, Gympie product Hammond commutes from Toowoomba to Richlands where he plays for the Lions in the NPL competition.
That says plenty about his willingness to test himself against the best and sheer dedication to the cause.
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL
Cole Fenton
Gold Coast Knight product Cole Fenton will lead The Southport School into the fray this season as captain.
Voted in by coaching staff and teammates, the fantastic Fenton is a born leader on the field who has plenty of strings to his bow.
Can pass, predict and defend at a very high level.
Cruz Kleeman
The sleeping giant of TSS football, Kleeman has been coming through the ranks as a high-quality box-to-box midfielder and 2025 is his time to shine against the best of the best.
Set to make his First XI debut at the weekend, Kleeman has the patients, tackling tenacity and knack for scoring that could see the Broadbeach United rookie roar to life.
Harper James
Another like Kleeman who has been a staple in A teams coming through high school at TSS, James featured last year but will take on a bigger role in 2025.
Dominant when at his best, James can show the way forward with his workrate and determination.
We predict the left-field flyer won’t be a stranger to the scoresheet.
BRISBANE STATE HIGH
Jordi Horrell
A newcomer at Brisbane State High, Horrell has quickly made a stunning impression as a workhorse.
A right back or midfielder out of the fertile Rochedale Rovers club, Horrell will have his first taste of GPS football when Brisbane State High travel to Ross Oval to face Nudgee College.
The strength over the ball and passing accuracy of Horrell is sure to help the side in such a testing confrontation to christen the new season.
Viraj Karayil
Like Horrell, Rochedale speedster Karayil is in Year 11 at Brisbane State High and his best footy lies ahead.
But don’t get it twisted. Karayil is an elite age-group player who will revert back to the wing after last season playing as a makeshift striker.
Blink and you might miss him.
IPSWICH GRAMMAR
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Originally published as GPS First XI football 2025: Players to Watch named
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