Players to Watch ahead of bumper round starting AIC First XV rugby
AIC First XV rugby: Who will be the Players to Watch this season? The list includes a Padua maestro, a son of a gun from Marist, a special talent from St Pat’s and a St Edmund’s top gun. FULL LIST
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Sound the bell and let ‘em loose. After months of build-up, the AIC’s best senior school rugby union players will be let loose across round one of the First XV competition on Saturday.
In an awesome foursome of matches, St Laurence’s will host Villanova at Runcorn, premiers Padua welcome St Edmund’s at Banyo, Marist Ashgrove will be home to arch rivals Iona while Indooroopilly will reverberate to the sounds of St Peters supporters when they host St Patrick’s.
What an exciting competition it promises to be.
After an unbeaten competition run stretching from round 6, 2019, to June 1, 2024, St Laurence’s players will be looking to restore order and win back the premiership.
But will Padua give in without a fight? Not on your life, with Andrew Clynes’ men certain to display plenty of skill and resolve in 2025.
Marist coach Richard Graham is sure to have his squad prepared and lying in wait for the challenges ahead, while St Edmund’s College were tipped to be a competitive group this season.
Iona College will bring plenty of skill to go with their players’ renowned toughness, while Villanova players always have plenty of fight when they pull on their First XV jersey.
And wildcard talents never fail to emerge from either St Peters or St Patrick’s - both of whom clash in round one.
Read on for the players to watch this season.
AIC FIRST XV RUGBY PLAYERS TO WATCH
St Edmund’s College
Harrison Vidler
Vidler has had the dream start to 2025. He captained the Ipswich Jets in the elite Connell Cup under-17s representative rugby league competition and has earned selection in the Met West opens rugby team.
The tough teen returns for year No. 2 of Firsts footy where his strength and general presence in the midfield will instil confidence in his teammates.
Donning jersey No. 12, the tackling terror will be hard to miss.
Jack Breuer
Now in his third and final year of First XV rugby, Breuer brings experience, leadership and just toughness you can’t teach.
The owner of six Doubles Daley medals last season, an award given to each team’s best on ground, Breur can cover all three back row positions and is vice-captain.
Strong over the ball and does not take a backwards step in attack.
Will Tatt
Another like Breuer who is entering year No. 3 in the Firsts, Tatt has been tasked as captain of St Edmund’s 2025 outfit.
A hard-nosed forward, Tatt means one thing and that is business.
A heavy lifter on both sides of the ball, Tatt hits hard defensively and also keeps his legs moving in the tackle. All the while, making the effort plays that, at times, go unnoticed.
Iona College
Matt Doherty
Doherty delivered the goods from outside centre rounds one through seven last season for Iona and he is back bigger and better for his final season of school football.
A jinking gem who just gets it, Doherty has a good rugby brain and has the skill and physical attributes to make a mighty difference for the bayside boys who start the season with testing games against Ashgrove and Padua.
Max Bolton
Replacing the class fullback of last year’s competition, Campbell Rolfe, is no easy task.
But Iona seems to have things covered with first-year fullback Max Bolton boasting an effective kicking game, long passes across both sides of his body and a calm head.
The Iona Year 12 student will have his hands full at the back but there were few better suited to the role than round one debutant Bolton.
Diesel Hauff
Hauff was key in Iona’s 2024 outfit and he returns for another go-around as a tried and tested forward leader.
A flanker or No. 8, the versatile Hauff is a reliable lineout technician whose toughness and skill will bring plenty to an Iona pack which will also be spearheaded by hooker Fononga Tuitahi.
If the last name Hauff sounds familiar that’s because it should. Diesel’s father Paul was a 51-game fullback for the Brisbane Broncos in the 1990s.
Blaze Mohi
2023 was a breakout season for long-striding Iona winger Topaz Mohi. Can 2025 be a big year for flyhalf Blaze Mohi, Topaz’ younger brother?
An impressive 2024 season as a Year 11 student indicates the pop-passing Blaze is on the right track to steer Iona along nicely.
The learnings of last year should serve the tough, calm-headed senior well.
Villanova College
Sam Binney
Villanova College will be led on in the set-piece by returning tighthead prop Sam Binney — one of the school’s top forwards in 2024.
Powerful and dependable, the scrum-time terror possesses strength and technique to ensure Villanova can match motors with the best scrummaging teams.
But he is just as valuable in attack where regularly last season he drove Villanova over the gain line and created momentum.
Ryder Childs
A dynamic backrower, Childs has an unrelenting style of play and will look to get his hands over the ball as much as possible.
A cerebral player, Childs has the speed, skill, defensive ability and motor to make a big difference for Villanova.
Max Rakitovszky
Still in Year 11, he looms as a young leader and one of Villanova’s prime movers.
A real handful for the Easts Tigers in the Connell Cup representative league competition, Rakitovszky is supreme at timing his runs.
A rugby league edge forward, ‘Rakhas’ played a bit of fullback last season but will find himself in the midfield this year where his energy, composure, defensive doggedness and attacking prowess will create plenty and quell plenty for the Villanova boys.
Padua College
Damon Humphrys
A class act.
Humphrys was first glimpsed by the wider public in 2023 when, as a Year 10 student, the young flyhalf was key in Padua College’s push to an unofficial grand final against eventual premiers St Laurence’s College.
Now in Year 12, the tactical kicking ace has more strings to his bow and the big-match experience to steer his side to another premiership.
The goalkicking sniper set up the decisive try in a frantic win over Ashgrove last year which ensured Padua’s first premiership since 2016.
Will Ross
Highly thought of at the Queensland Reds, big man Ross will add plenty of starch to the Padua tight five this season.
A Reds’ under-16s and under-18s select, Ross is industrious in everything he does. Although winning lineouts was his bread butter.
His physicality, awareness, presence and no-nonsense attitude is sure to leave a palpable mark on Padua’s premiership pursuit.
Nate Clark
A high-class outside centre, Clark has been warming his engines for the rugby season by playing a key interchange role off the bench for Norths Devils’ Meninga Cup under-19s.
A tall, tenacious talent in Year 12, Clark was key in Padua’s all-conquering 2024 outfit and looms large this season as a key component on both sides of the ball.
St Laurence’s College
Luka Smith
It’s hard to believe Smith is still in school because he was as polished a prop as any in 2024.
Now in his third season of Firsts, Smith is set to spearhead the front-row with his confronting power-game.
A cornerstone in the St Laurence’s program, Smith can play hooker and prop where his ball carrying, physical defence and leadership will be at the centre of his team’s challenge.
Liam O’Callaghan
A valued flanker from 2024, the plucky O’Callaghan returns as an on-ball bully whose ability to slow down the opposition ball and generate turnovers is just wonderful.
If St Laurence’s could clone a player there’s a good chance it would be O’Callaghan because it would make life so hard for the opposition.
Billy Rowan
It will be like deja vu watching a Rowan rip in for St Laurence’s.
His older brother Darcy, a Colts 1 playmaker at Souths, was excellent in 2021 and 2022 for the back-to-back premiers.
Billy has a similar style of play. His rugby IQ, team-first approach and willingness to run provides a great platform for his teammates to thrive off.
Marist College Ashgrove
Josh Heinrich
Heinrich is the type of hooker success is built around. He has an exhaustive work rate off the ball, has an improving running game, a pin point line out throw and, as a goal kicker, converted 37 out of 46 attempts last season.
He’s the full package, which is no surprise given his family history - his uncle Ted played 11 Tests for the Wallabies.
With more experience under his belt, watch for Heinrich to be a leader of the pack this season.
Sebastian Gardiner
Gardiner has that glint in his eyes which says plenty about his pride in the jersey and his intent.
An ultra-competitive flanker who knows no fear, Gardiner’s abrasive, hard on the ball play is exactly the type of style which can lift teammates and swing the momentum of matches.
He is also the type of footballer who will back his attacking skills when his side is under pressure.
Xavier Howard
Ashgrove will be well serviced out wide in No. 13 Xavier Howard, Marist’s school captain who is returning for his second season of First XV footy.
A hardworking type who carries the ball with purpose, Howard has rugby in his blood — his brother Tom is in the Reds Academy and his dad Pat was a decorated Wallaby.
Oliver Millard
Wearing jersey No. 15 for Ashgrove will be Oliver Millard, the younger brother of last year’s best inside centre — Tom Millard (now GPS Colts).
A skilful inside back turned fullback, Millard has safe hands — he works at Zambreros assembling Burritos — and a big kicking game too.
The chatty chap with a background in league for Wests at Bardon has plenty of vision having played as a playmaker coming through the ranks.
St Patrick’s College
Ryan Smallhorne
Fast. Skilful. Tough.
This St Patrick’s College senior will be at the epicentre for his school team, playing as either a fullback or outside centre.
The Redcliffe Dolphins representative league utility made his First XV debut last year and he has the tools to be terrific for the boys from Shorncliffe.
Denzel Savelino
A gridiron gun who plays tighthead prop in rugby, Savelino played the full season in 2024 and is a year older and wiser.
He has the size, skill and will to make a telling impact for St Patrick’s.
Riley and Harrison Blake
Two brothers with the goods.
Riley, a Year 12 student, featured in a few games last season and will play inside centre.
His younger brother Harrison, a 10As terror in 2024, will make the jump to First XV rugby where he could play centre or flanker.
The pair have set a high standard with their work ethic in the Paddy’s pre-season.
St Peters Lutheran College
Paul Deeb
Arguably the Saints’ best forward in 2024, Deeb returns for more in 2025 where his set-piece work will be a godsend.
He is a consistent type, someone his coach Eric Smyth and teammates can rely on to work hard until the final whistle.
Will play seven games worth of 70 minutes this season.
Tristan Barclay
The St Peters scrumhalf has trained the house down in the off-season and enters round one in fine touch.
A Year 11 student, Barclay was blooded as a Year 10 student in 2024 and has been committed to getting better and learning more leading into the season.
Will Lovegrove
Halfback Barclay will look to offer crisp service to flyhalf Will Lovegrove, another big improver over the summer who knows what to expect after the experience of 2024.
He will have plenty of responsibility running the backline but has brained it in the pre-season to instil faith in his peers.
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Originally published as Players to Watch ahead of bumper round starting AIC First XV rugby
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