Lauries AFL Program Breaks New Ground with Historic State Titles

Since its inception into the AIC program, the AFL program at St Laurence’s College has maintained an extremely high benchmark – winning the AIC Aggregate Trophy every year and winning the First XVIII Premiership six out of the seven times.

In 2025, the AFL program has gone even further – winning the State Championship Title in both the Senior and Youth Divisions as well as finishing runners-up in the Junior Division at the recent AFL Schools Cup tournament. Lauries was also the only school in Queensland to qualify all three male teams (Senior, Youth and Junior) into the State Finals.

This amazing success becomes more remarkable when you consider that St Laurence’s College is the first non-School of Excellence to win a male division State Title (let alone two). Our teams triumphed over established AFLQ Schools of Excellence where AFL is embedded into the curriculum.

Director of AFL, Mr Josh Ferguson, spoke about the success of AFL at the College.

“Our AFL program is built on a philosophy introduced by former Director of AFL, Mr Sam Wiltshire - we value the success of the whole program over one team,” Mr Ferguson said. 

“After their participation in AIC AFL in Term 1, we encourage our boys to explore other sports before regrouping for a focused training block ahead of Schools Cup. We believe in developing multi-sport athletes—it builds better footballers and better young men.”

Our success is shaped by strong ties with local community clubs across Brisbane, including Coorparoo, Morningside, Sherwood, Mt Gravatt, Yeronga, Wilston Grange and more. These relationships play a vital role in nurturing our players’ development year-round.

Our coaching and support staff also reflects our commitment to excellence. 

• Josh Dunkley – Head Coach (current Brisbane Lions player)
• Luke Hodge – Assistant Coach (ex-Hawthorn and Brisbane Lions player)
• Jaydon Macauley – Assistant Coach (ex-Lions Academy & QAFL)

We were lucky enough to have Travis Hubble (now a Lions VFL Assistant Coach) lay strong foundations for the squads in previous years.

The influence of the Brisbane Lions Academy has also been pivotal with several students being active in the Lions Academy. Old Boy (Class of 2024), Tyan Prindable, is one who has experienced the Lauries AFL journey in conjunction with the Lions Academy. Tyan has now nominated for the AFL Draft and recently attended the Telstra AFL Draft Combine—potentially our first AFL draftee.

“Our ultimate goal is not just to win titles, but to help our boys chase their dreams and grow into well-rounded gentlemen. Ty’s journey is inspiring and we’re all behind him,” Mr Ferguson said. 

At St Laurence’s College, we don’t just play footy—we build futures.