HAVE YOUR SAY: The best AFL clubs in regional Queensland
Aussie rules clubs from the Sunshine Coast all the way up to Cairns and everywhere in between feature in our list of the best going around. HAVE YOUR SAY.
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While the footy season for 2024 is now one for the history books, that doesn’t mean you can’t have your say on which club in regional Queensland is the best in the business.
We’ve made the case for each of the nominations below, with a club’s performances across men’s, women’s and junior football all factored in.
Eastern Swans
AFL Mackay
The Swans were a dominant force in AFL Mackay’s senior football, winning the minor premiership with a 14-1 record and securing a 34-point grand final victory to break North Mackay Saints’ streak.
The Swans were a class above in both top-level talent and depth, showcased by their minor premiership win in the reserves despite ultimately falling short in the preliminary final.
With an under-12s premiership also added to the cabinet, along with runner-up honours in the under-14s and a host of individual award winners, the Swans are a hard club to look past.
Moranbah Bulldogs
AFL Mackay
While the Dogs only featured in one of Mackay’s senior competitions, their performances in the under-14s and under-17s merit them an appearance on this list.
While the under-14s division was a very competitive race, Moranbah hit their straps at exactly the right time, powering to a convincing 53 to 3 win in the grand final over the Swans.
On the other hand, the club showcased its clutch factor with an extraordinary last second win in the under-17s grand final, with Riley King kicking a goal from the boundary line on the siren to win them the grand final.
With some of the finest young footballers in the region representing the Bulldogs, they’re sure to be competitive in the polling.
Bakers Creek Tigers
AFL Mackay
Bakers Creek’s success in the senior women’s competition in Mackay came as no surprise given their history of success, but the way they did it, coupled with victory in the reserve men's competition, is deserving of recognition.
Despite their history of success in women’s football, the Tigers came into the grand final significant underdogs against a undefeated North Mackay outfit.
A last-second goal from star player Indiana Brough saw the Tigers get their noses in front and claim victory 3.2 (20) to 2.4 (16).
Meanwhile, their reserves grade victory was the culmination of many years of hard work building the club up after many challenging years languishing near the bottom.
Coolaroo
AFL Darling Downs
The Coolaroo men’s team continues to prove itself as the benchmark of Aussie rules on the Darling Downs as it stormed its way to a third straight premiership in 2024.
The Roos dominated the regular season, winning 13 of their 14 games and boasting a stunning percentage of 230.13.
The Miels Grice coached team then went to another level in finals, wining the qualifying final by 73 points and the grand final by 87.
If the men’s AFL Darling Downs Allied Cup wasn’t enough, Coolaroo also claimed the under-12.5 premiership to cap off another stellar season.
Toowoomba Tigers
AFL Darling Downs
To win one premiership as a group you have to have something incredibly special.
To win two or three premierships in a short window, an exceptional squad from top to bottom is needed.
The Toowoomba Tigers women’s side on the other hand far surpasses any of those achievements and is on a run for the history books as it claimed its ninth premiership in the last 10 years - with a seven-point loss in the 2022 grand final the only blip over the last decade.
The Tigers were a class above this year, winning all 14 home and away games with a percentage of 1205.88 before going on to win the premiership after conceding a mere five points combined in the qualifying final and grand final.
The 2024 triumph was coach Nev Jericho’s fairytale ending to his 10-year tenure, who announced he would be retiring after this year’s grand final.
University Cougars
AFL Darling Downs
The University Cougars were the most consistent club across all levels in the Darling Downs this year, with four of their six competitive teams making grand finals.
However, despite their sustained success across junior and senior level, where the under-17 girls, under-12.5s, under-14.5s and the open women’s team all making deciders, the Cougars were unable to pick up any wins in their four grand finals.
The under-17 girls were the closest to claiming a premiership out of all six University teams.
After winning all six regular season games, the Cougars cruised to the grand final but could not claim a win in the decider as it went down by two points in a nailbiting wet weather clash against Downlands.
Maroochydore Roos
QAFL Reserves and South East Queensland Juniors
The Roos were once again the frontrunning club from the Sunshine Coast as they continued to punch well above their weight in the SEQ competitions.
After finishing the QAFL reserves regular season in second place, with 14 wins and four losses, Maroochydore beat out minor premiers Morningside by 12 points in the qualifying final and nine points in the grand final.
The Roos added to their stellar 2024 season with division one junior grand final victories from their under-17 boys and under-15 girls.
The girls clawed their way from third place to claim silverware beating out Noosa, Wilston Grange and minor premiers Coorparoo in the process.
For the boys, it was clear from the start that the Roos would be battling it out on grand final day after finishing the regular season with 12 wins and two losses.
A 60-point quarter final victory kept their rivals on their toes as Maroochydore then picked up a 17 point win in the semis and a six point victory against minor premiers Burleigh in the big dance.
Caloundra Panthers
QFA Div 3 and QFAW Div 2
It was another gritty and proud season for Caloundra who battled hard as they always do.
Following a second place finish, their women’s team fell agonisingly short in the QFAW Division 2 North grand final going down by just two points to undefeated premiers Jindalee.
Experienced women’s aussie rules star Rachel Crack was a standout once again with 16 best player votes in 17 matches.
Caloundra’s QFA Division 3 men’s team were able to cap off a stunning year finishing on top of the table at the end of the regular season.
The Panthers faced local rivals Maroochydore in the grand final where they snagged a 9.7.61-7.6.46 win.
Captain-coach Quinten Ross stormed out of the goalkicking box and continued his top form all season finishing with 46 majors from his 11 appearances.
South Cairns Cutters
AFL Cairns
The South Cairns Cutters, led by former Sydney Swans player Darryn Creswell broke a 23-year premiership drought in 2024 by knocking off the North Cairns Tigers in this years decider.
The Cutters were by far the best team all season, losing just the one game, and boasting four inside the top 10 players of the season.
Creswell brought the ‘Bloods’ aggression and intent in 2024, with a new game style that saw the Cutters go from a struggling bottom three side to premiers in just the one season.
The Cutters also managed to get three sides into three senior grand finals, with the reserves (developments) also claiming this years premiership while the third grade went down by 34 points.
North Cairns Tigers
AFL Cairns
Hard to go past the North Cairns Tigers, both senior mens and womens teams made the grand final, losing just six games this season between them.
Coach Sam Hughes and his men had turned a page since Hughes arrived from country Victoria at the beginning of 2023, with the side going from just one win over three years to making finals, to playing in the grand final in 2024.
While Luana Healey, the playing-coach of the women’s side, led her team back into the grand final after missing the finals for a number of years.
Healey and Hughes brought a new sense of enjoyment to the club which was evident on and off the field throughout the club, not just by the players.
Cairns City Lions
AFL Cairns
For the first time in the clubs history, the Lions won their first Cairns AFLW premiership, defeating the Tigers by 43 points in the decider.
Arguably the best team all season, the Lions lost just the one game all season, which game against last years premiers in round 12, the Manunda Hawks.
Lions coach Jason Wray, who is in the running for the coach of the year along side Healey, Hughes and Creswell, brought a new game style, creating the run and carry the Lions had struggled with over the last couple of years.
Yeppoon Swans
AFL Capricornia
They’ve etched their names in the national record books - and the Yeppoon Swans’ senior men are continuing on their winning way.
They claimed an unprecedented 10th straight flag in the AFL Capricornia competition in 2024, blitzing their rivals by 86 points.
They have dominated for more than a decade, and set a national record by winning 128 straight games in an amazing run that was finally halted last season.
But the premiership spoils were not reserved for the men, with Swans teams featuring in four grand finals this season.
They also won reserve grade and the under-17 boys, and their two-time premiership-winning women finished runners-up, beaten in a tight contest in their third consecutive grand final appearance.
BITS Saints
AFL Capricornia
The depth of talent at BITS Saints was on show on AFL Capricornia’s senior and junior grand final days.
Its teams featured in five of the seven season deciders - reserve grade, the under-17 and under-15 boys, under-16 girls and the under-13 mixed.
The under-13s won the flag, a deserved reward after their unbeaten regular season.
Despite being denied victory in the big dance, the other BITS teams were consistent all season, with each of them finishing in the top three and the under-16 girls minor premiers.
Glenmore Bulls
AFL Capricornia
The Glenmore Bulls played their way into two grand finals, claiming the flag in the under-16 girls division.
It was an exciting result for the teenage brigade, which produced stellar finals footy after finishing third on the ladder.
Their senior men, though unable to topple the seemingly unstoppable Yeppoon Swans in the big dance, had a strong season.
They won 10 of their 15 regular fixtures, giving them a solid platform to build on for next season.
Thuringowa Bulldogs
AFL Townsville
The Bulldogs have been AFL Townsville’s dominant force of the past few years, claiming the senior men’s premiership three-peat in 2024 with an epic second half comeback over Curra Swans.
The club’s flagship team has won 36 of its past 37 games and that success has been mirrored down the grades.
Thuringowa claimed the reserve grade title and won premierships in both the under-17.5 boys and girls divisions in 2024, sure signs that the talent pipeline is bursting with future seniors ready to carry the club’s dominance into 2025.
Curra Swans
AFL Townsville
The Swans enjoyed one of the finest senior seasons in memory with all three grades – senior men, reserves and women - reaching the AFL Townsville grand final.
Losing all three deciders was a gut punch that those inside the club believe will fuel razor sharp pre-season sessions and make amends in 2025.
The most exciting thing about the Swans is the proliferation already of youth in the club’s senior men’s team.
Under coach Ray Burgess, Curra leaned more on players aged 19 or younger than any other club in Townsville.
Hermit Park Tigers
AFL Townsville
Traditionally Townsville’s most powerful club, Hermit Park is undergoing a rebuild in its senior men’s program but still brought home a flag in the women’s competition.
Midfielder Hayley Cornish was crowned the district’s finest player in the annual Townsville Bulletin rankings while coach Stafford Jones, a 300-game legend of the club, has shown signs that he may be an even finer coach than he was a multiple premiership-winning player.
Hermit Park president Robbie Bethune declared the club’s next golden generation was about to begin and the signs from 2024 suggest that is far from blind optimism.
Originally published as HAVE YOUR SAY: The best AFL clubs in regional Queensland
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