If Harris Andrews and Charlie Cameron race to check their phones straight after tonight’s intraclub scratch match, they will have a good reason.
While the pair are locking horns in preparation for the AFL season, their former schools will also be battling it out for a trophy named after the Lions stars.
Padua College and Marist College Ashgrove will play each other for the Andrews-Cameron Cup this afternoon in the AIC First XVIII competition at Sandgate.
The two schools have only met once since the introduction of the new format of the AIC AFL, with a narrow victory to MCA.
However, Padua beat their arch-rivals comprehensively in a trial game this season.
Andrews is a Padua Old Boy of 2014. He played in the Independent Schools Cup and was also a member of their AIC Premiership winning 1st V Basketball team.
He said the introduction of the Andrews-Cameron Cup added to a long-established rivalry between the two schools and one that had found its way into the Lions’ locker room.
“From an AFL perspective it is exciting the two schools are able to play in a competition like this and I’m really encouraged by the evolution of our game we are seeing in high schools,’’ he said.
“As far as Padua v Marist goes, I would always say Marist always were successful, they had really nice facilities and were the most dominant school and we probably hated them for it.
“Whenever we could beat them at anything, we were pretty happy with it and I hope they get the points today, it’s always nice to get one up on Chuck too that’s for sure.’’
Cameron was a boarder at MCA, graduating in 2011 and also played in the old independent schools AFL competition.
He said he’d be getting an update on the result of the first Andrews-Cameron Cup the minute he got off the park tonight.
“It’s an honour to have the cup named after Harris and myself,’’ he said.
“I’m a proud Marist boy and hopefully we get the win, but I wish all the best to both teams.’’
Since the inception of the AIC in 1999 Padua College and Marist College Ashgrove have had a very healthy rivalry in all sports.
AFL was officially introduced in 2019 and has grown significantly in that time. Discussions are already underway regarding an expansion next year to include more teams.
Head of Sport at Padua College, Scott Maguire, said AFL had grown significantly in popularity at the school with many students playing Club footy at Wilston Grange AFC, Kedron AFC and Aspley AFC.
He said the Andrews-Cameron Cup would be highly prized by the side coached by another former Lion Brent Moloney.
“Harris’ high profile at the Lions and the AFL has certainly allowed us to grow the game at Padua,’’ he said.
“His story is an inspiration to many of our young players.
“A recent highlight was the College taking hundreds of students AFL 2019 Round 22 to support Harris when the Brisbane Lions defeated Geelong Cats in epic one point win to take top spot on the ladder.
“The Andrews-Cameron Cup will definitely become a highlight of our sporting calendar at Padua and there will be a large band of supporters cheering them on.’’
Brett Gillette is the AFL coordinator at MCA.
He also reports an explosion in popularity for the code in schools and says many of his students play club footy alongside their school rivals from Padua.
“AFL continues to grow in the AIC with most schools now capable of entering teams in all age groups,’’ he said.
“Most teams at MCA and Padua had over 60 young men trial for 26 places in the squads this year.
“We hope to offer more age groups in 2022 to cater for the growth of AFL in the AIC.’’
