Few schools in Queensland have had the same involvement with AFL as Ipswich, with their earliest recorded games being against Toowoomba Grammar and Brisbane Grammar in 1885.
Unfortunately their long history with the game hasn’t led to success in the Open Boys competition with a runner up finish last year being their best result in the Jason Dunstall Cup.
The interest from the students has grown to an all time high this year, however, with 158 players now competing across all age groups in the AFL Queensland Independent Schools Competition. This is a considerable increase from the 80 that were playing only three years ago.
In order to cater for the additional numbers, the school has developed an AFL oval at their off-campus playing fields. Not only will this allow Ipswich to host games and trainings, it is sure to be a solid investment to the future of the football program.
The under 15 team christened the new oval with a crushing 10 goal win over Boys Grammar on Tuesday, much to the delight of Football Coordinator Bruce Hardy.
“There is always going to be a lot of interest in the more traditional sports like rugby and soccer, but we are excited by the development of AFL at Ipswich,” Mr Hardy said.
“The numbers have increased drastically over the past few years and a lot of our kids are really taking to the game.
“The Independent Schools competition gives our kids an opportunity to play something different at a considerably high standard.”
As the race for the Open Division One title reaches its climax, Ipswich looks as though they may have to wait another year to get their hands on the silverware, but the foundation has been put in place for football at this historic Queensland school to build off for years to come.
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