The skills and sportsmanship on show during the Weipa Crusader Cup on 23 June was one of the highlights of the school term. Photo: Facebook (AFL Cape York).
Making a 500-kilometre round trip to lace up your footy boots isn’t something city players would even consider, but it was a must-do for Lockhart State School students when they contested the 2025 Weipa Crusader Cup on 23 June.
The Lockhart River students combined with a group from Western Cape College’s Mapoon campus to form a team as they locked horns with Aurukun State School, Western Cape College’s Weipa campus and St Joseph’s Parish School in the AFL Cape York showdown.
The St Joseph’s Bulldogs claimed the Crusader Cup once the on-field excitement had ended, but AFL Cape York game development co-ordinator Matt Mellahn said the real winner of the event had been the skill development and sportsmanship shown by students.
“For us, it’s exciting to see these young people go to the next level and get a chance to play against surrounding areas,” he said.
“Just that sportsmanship, the way they get along and laugh and play was really pleasing.”
Mr Mellahn said he believed the AFL skills on show was proof the hard work players were putting in outside scheduled school sessions was paying off.
“They’ve been doing a lot of work outside of school as well, so, we’ve got all our in-school sessions that everyone gets, but after school, we’ve actually had probably 200 young people per week come out and work on their games and skill development outside of that school environment,” he said.
“The skill level was quite high at the Crusader Cup, and I think that’s a result of the work these young players are committing to improving their AFL.
“We appreciate the support that we get from Rio Tinto during the year and the great outcomes that we achieve, like the Crusader Cup, would be more difficult without this partnership.”
Results
2025 Weipa Crusader Cup winner: St Joseph’s Parish School
Most Valuable Players: Thomas (Western Cape College); Lala-Sue (St Joseph’s Parish School)
Best Team Individual: Millie (St Joseph’s Parish School); Rowan (St Joseph’s Parish School), Shaquile (Lockhart State School); Mahina (WCC Mapoon); Aleira (Aurukun State School); Ian (WCC)
Winners are grinners following the 2025 AFL Cape York Crusader Cup in Weipa. Photo: Facebook (AFL Cape York).
