QLD GPS 2025

[Muddled123]

With powerhouse NC and GT squads in both the 16A's and 15A's, The 13th of September is shaping up to be less of a game and more of a blockbuster.

Excited Regards, N.K.

Shame Terrace will spoil this round for U15 and U14 by having most of their year 9s away on immersion. Happens round 9 every year, looks worse this year as it is Nudgee

 

[Milkman09]

Big crowd expected at Sunshine Coast Grammer.

Nudgee stepping up in age.

Sun Coast 16A vs Nudgee 15A
Sun Coast 1st
vs Nudgee 16A

 

[Oneagleswingsrugbyflies]

Shame Terrace will spoil this round for U15 and U14 by having most of their year 9s away on immersion. Happens round 9 every year, looks worse this year as it is Nudgee

Pretty sure most u15s and u14s will do brisbane immersions so that they can play. Especially the A's players.

 

[keenas]

Pretty sure most u15s and u14s will do brisbane immersions so that they can play. Especially the A's players.

What are immersions

 

[Jimmys chocks]

Its trials mate just settle the heck down

no such things as trials mate.

 

[Terrance brunkhaust]

Morning Gents,

I'm curious about the three-way trial between NC, BBC, and BGS. I see lots of predictions for NC and BBC but how do we think BGS will go?

keen to hear your opinions.

TB

 

[Terrance brunkhaust]

What are immersions

The Grade 9 Immersion Experience at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, known formally within the context of the school’s educational framework as The Waterford Journey, represents far more than a curricular extension or an academic embellishment. Rather, it emerges as a deeply intentional, philosophically grounded, and affectively resonant developmental arc, designed not only to educate students in the conventional sense of intellectual progression, but to challenge and stretch them across multiple domains of personal formation. As such, these immersions operate simultaneously as experiential learning opportunities, reflective spiritual exercises, and socially situated encounters that demand a genuine openness to transformation. Whether students are participating in international excursions such as those offered in partnership with The Island Classroom in Fiji or engaging with marginalised communities in closer proximity, the program’s underlying aim is a synthesis of moral awakening, communal consciousness, and sustained empathetic engagement. The experience is carefully choreographed to provoke reflection, incite curiosity, and instil a sense of purpose rooted in global citizenship and compassionate action.


In practical terms, the immersion may take the form of environmental projects like coral reef restoration, which, though framed within the language of ecological stewardship and marine conservation, serve as symbolic acts of care for creation and tactile encounters with the fragility of the natural world. Likewise, culinary engagements, such as the preparation of a traditional Lovo meal, invite students into the rituals, textures, and communal ethos of another culture, transforming what might otherwise be a novelty into a medium of cultural literacy and deep, embodied learning. Visits to local Fijian schools and community service placements, such as assisting at remote health stations, do not merely represent boxes to tick on a list of altruistic deeds, but are rather sites of encounter, in which the distinction between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ dissolves, giving way to a more reciprocal and dialogical model of relational learning. In these moments, students find themselves no longer observing life from the periphery, but entering into it, however briefly, as co participants in its richness, its struggle, and its joy. It is through these human interactions, often unplanned and unrepeatable, that the most enduring impressions are formed, ones that will inform their ethical compasses far beyond the academic year.


Importantly, the immersion program is not to be seen in isolation from the broader pedagogical and spiritual mission of the College. Rather, it is intricately interwoven with a curriculum and culture that seeks to integrate knowledge acquisition with moral development, and classroom instruction with real world engagement. Initiatives such as the Terrace Timor Network (TTN), which maintains long term solidarity and mutual support with communities in Timor Leste, serve to extend the immersion experience into a longer continuum of justice work and cross cultural relationship building. These activities are not framed as mere charity, but as mutual learning encounters that reaffirm the fundamental dignity of all people. In totality, the Grade 9 Immersions at Gregory Terrace invite students to move beyond the limitations of self centred adolescence into the beginnings of responsible, others oriented adulthood. They are, in every sense, an invitation to look outward, to stretch inward, and to begin the lifelong process of becoming someone for others.

 

[Ankle_tap_Albo]

Morning Gents,

I'm curious about the three-way trial between NC, BBC, and BGS. I see lots of predictions for NC and BBC but how do we think BGS will go?

keen to hear your opinions.

TB

TB,

Can't see them winning either game against full strength sides, however they could beat the seconds squads of BBC and NC. Bit tricky to predict at the trial stage of the season, especially in a 3 way game.

ATA

 

[Terrance brunkhaust]

TB,

Can't see them winning either game against full strength sides, however they could beat the seconds squads of BBC and NC. Bit tricky to predict at the trial stage of the season, especially in a 3 way game.

ATA

Thanks for the reply ATA. Hopefully your not that real Albanese guy, theres no way hes a footy fan... that guy needs to be deported

 

[Oneagleswingsrugbyflies]

TB,

Can't see them winning either game against full strength sides, however they could beat the seconds squads of BBC and NC. Bit tricky to predict at the trial stage of the season, especially in a 3 way game.

ATA

I agree, although I do think we will see and improved BGS side this year with the like of 3 year fly half Elijah Breen and big ball carrier Dyer akauola.

Eagle

 

[NutKnowsGPSFooty]

The Grade 9 Immersion Experience at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, known formally within the context of the school’s educational framework as The Waterford Journey, represents far more than a curricular extension or an academic embellishment. Rather, it emerges as a deeply intentional, philosophically grounded, and affectively resonant developmental arc, designed not only to educate students in the conventional sense of intellectual progression, but to challenge and stretch them across multiple domains of personal formation. As such, these immersions operate simultaneously as experiential learning opportunities, reflective spiritual exercises, and socially situated encounters that demand a genuine openness to transformation. Whether students are participating in international excursions such as those offered in partnership with The Island Classroom in Fiji or engaging with marginalised communities in closer proximity, the program’s underlying aim is a synthesis of moral awakening, communal consciousness, and sustained empathetic engagement. The experience is carefully choreographed to provoke reflection, incite curiosity, and instil a sense of purpose rooted in global citizenship and compassionate action.


In practical terms, the immersion may take the form of environmental projects like coral reef restoration, which, though framed within the language of ecological stewardship and marine conservation, serve as symbolic acts of care for creation and tactile encounters with the fragility of the natural world. Likewise, culinary engagements, such as the preparation of a traditional Lovo meal, invite students into the rituals, textures, and communal ethos of another culture, transforming what might otherwise be a novelty into a medium of cultural literacy and deep, embodied learning. Visits to local Fijian schools and community service placements, such as assisting at remote health stations, do not merely represent boxes to tick on a list of altruistic deeds, but are rather sites of encounter, in which the distinction between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ dissolves, giving way to a more reciprocal and dialogical model of relational learning. In these moments, students find themselves no longer observing life from the periphery, but entering into it, however briefly, as co participants in its richness, its struggle, and its joy. It is through these human interactions, often unplanned and unrepeatable, that the most enduring impressions are formed, ones that will inform their ethical compasses far beyond the academic year.


Importantly, the immersion program is not to be seen in isolation from the broader pedagogical and spiritual mission of the College. Rather, it is intricately interwoven with a curriculum and culture that seeks to integrate knowledge acquisition with moral development, and classroom instruction with real world engagement. Initiatives such as the Terrace Timor Network (TTN), which maintains long term solidarity and mutual support with communities in Timor Leste, serve to extend the immersion experience into a longer continuum of justice work and cross cultural relationship building. These activities are not framed as mere charity, but as mutual learning encounters that reaffirm the fundamental dignity of all people. In totality, the Grade 9 Immersions at Gregory Terrace invite students to move beyond the limitations of self centred adolescence into the beginnings of responsible, others oriented adulthood. They are, in every sense, an invitation to look outward, to stretch inward, and to begin the lifelong process of becoming someone for others.

Thanks for the deep dive Terrence, seriously poetic stuff. While reading about 'The Waterford Journey,' I couldn’t help but think of our own Nudgee version of a spiritual awakening which is the legendary 'hāngi behind Flat 9.' It might not come with coral reef restoration or remote health stations, but chucking a few root veggies in the ground and bonding over smoky meat seems to have had a similarly life altering effect.

From what I've heard, that feed turned the 1st XV squad from teammates into blood brothers. Boys of all shapes and sizes, united by dirt, fire, and carbs. Since then, they've been closer than two nuts in triangle jocks.

And now they're spiritually and physically prepared to show Scholarship FC (BBC) that their time on top is over. No more private school prophecy, just primal hāngi powered dominance.

 

[The Blin6side]

Thanks for the deep dive Terrence, seriously poetic stuff. While reading about 'The Waterford Journey,' I couldn’t help but think of our own Nudgee version of a spiritual awakening which is the legendary 'hāngi behind Flat 9.' It might not come with coral reef restoration or remote health stations, but chucking a few root veggies in the ground and bonding over smoky meat seems to have had a similarly life altering effect.

From what I've heard, that feed turned the 1st XV squad from teammates into blood brothers. Boys of all shapes and sizes, united by dirt, fire, and carbs. Since then, they've been closer than two nuts in triangle jocks.

And now they're spiritually and physically prepared to show Scholarship FC (BBC) that their time on top is over. No more private school prophecy, just primal hāngi powered dominance.

We did something similar during my times at the TGS boarding house. A coming of age ’ceremony‘ for us year 7 boarders. Made me the stockman I am today.

 

[malcoms mauls]

We did something similar during my times at the TGS boarding house. A coming of age ’ceremony‘ for us year 7 boarders. Made me the stockman I am today.

Think it's great so manly schools are providing great opportunities for the young men in the GPS competition, turning these boys into men.

 

[The Blin6side]

Proper True Yarn Wednesdays from 6.

It was Year Ten, so the year of 92’. I was in the infamous Toowoomba Grammar 15A’s, I was your stock-standard five-eight, this team consisted of roughly 12 boarders and 3 other city boys. The Thursday night before Nudgee round. The crew of boarders, myself included, had hatched a plan, to go for an ‘initiation process’ for the younger Year Nine boys in the team.

We snuck out of the dorms, every step echoing in the dead of night, past the old gym where echoes of past glories seemed to sigh in the rafters. The darkness swallowed us whole as we tiptoed through the school, breathless with anticipation.

The ritual was set in the middle Mills Oval.

We were in the middle of this ’ceremony’ (Which I can’t speak of due to the potential removal of this post) when Hugh Rose, the headmaster at the time, loomed out of the shadows. Former Wallaby, a man of myth and muscle—he didn’t yell. He simply pointed to Old Boys’ Memorial Oval and told us to run. He grabbed a chair, placed it down and watched.

We ran until the sky bled orange. Every breath tasted of dew and regret. When the sun rose at 5:30 am we were told to go to bed, supringsly that year we did not beat Nudgee College.

 

[NutKnowsGPSFooty]

Proper True Yarn Wednesdays from 6.

It was Year Ten, so the year of 92’. I was in the infamous Toowoomba Grammar 15A’s, I was your stock-standard five-eight, this team consisted of roughly 12 boarders and 3 other city boys. The Thursday night before Nudgee round. The crew of boarders, myself included, had hatched a plan, to go for an ‘initiation process’ for the younger Year Nine boys in the team.

We snuck out of the dorms, every step echoing in the dead of night, past the old gym where echoes of past glories seemed to sigh in the rafters. The darkness swallowed us whole as we tiptoed through the school, breathless with anticipation.

The ritual was set in the middle Mills Oval.

We were in the middle of this ’ceremony’ (Which I can’t speak of due to the potential removal of this post) when Hugh Rose, the headmaster at the time, loomed out of the shadows. Former Wallaby, a man of myth and muscle—he didn’t yell. He simply pointed to Old Boys’ Memorial Oval and told us to run. He grabbed a chair, placed it down and watched.

We ran until the sky bled orange. Every breath tasted of dew and regret. When the sun rose at 5:30 am, supringsly that year we did not beat Nudgee College.

This is unreal Blin6side… but it reminds me of one of the all time great Nudgee 15A's initiation nights, 'The Ross Oval Reckoning of 2005'

It was the Thursday night of terrace week and the entire 15A's team had been "summoned" by some mysterious note slipped under our dorm doors that said "Midnight. Ross Oval. Bring your tie."

We snuck out of Murphy dorm like Navy SEALs in slides. Crept past Ryan Hall, past the boarded up windows of Treacy and made it to Ross. Full moon, fog and an eerie silence. The scoreboard was stuck on "69-0."

At the Western posts stood the ghosts of the '04 15A's… the legends who beat BBC with 14 men and a kid named Clancy who broke his collarbone and still played on. They were in full kit, mouthguards in and steam coming off them like they had been training. They told us it was time. and the "ceremony" began. Ties were hung from the crossbar like offerings. One by one, we had to walk up, hang our ties, and receive "the lash of the sock" whcih was a rolled-up First XV sock soaked in Dencorub, fear and what I hope was lemon lime Powerade.

Then from the shadows... emerged Brother Peter in full robes and birkenstocks. He looked like he floated in straight from the rose garden. He didn't say a word. Just picked up a sock. Gave it a little practice flick like a horse jockey and joined in. Clinical form. Rumour has it he once coached 1st XV during the war. Not sure which war. Doesn't matter.

After every boy had been "blessed" Brother Peter raised a hand. We thought he was going to give us some deep biblical wisdom. He just said
"Two laps. In silence. Backwards." We obeyed and ran backwards around Ross Oval humming the school hymn while questioning our life choices.

The next morning we were cooked and could barely walk to the dining hall. My hash browns were untouched and even Gav the groundskeeper just gave us a knowing nod like, "You boys did it didn't you?" And as for Brother Peter, he never mentioned it again. Must've disappeared back into his lair under the chapel or wherever he hibernates. Some say he's still watching Ross Oval… waiting for the next 15A's to prove themselves.

Anyway we beat Terrace 72–5.

 

[keenas]

The Grade 9 Immersion Experience at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, known formally within the context of the school’s educational framework as The Waterford Journey, represents far more than a curricular extension or an academic embellishment. Rather, it emerges as a deeply intentional, philosophically grounded, and affectively resonant developmental arc, designed not only to educate students in the conventional sense of intellectual progression, but to challenge and stretch them across multiple domains of personal formation. As such, these immersions operate simultaneously as experiential learning opportunities, reflective spiritual exercises, and socially situated encounters that demand a genuine openness to transformation. Whether students are participating in international excursions such as those offered in partnership with The Island Classroom in Fiji or engaging with marginalised communities in closer proximity, the program’s underlying aim is a synthesis of moral awakening, communal consciousness, and sustained empathetic engagement. The experience is carefully choreographed to provoke reflection, incite curiosity, and instil a sense of purpose rooted in global citizenship and compassionate action.


In practical terms, the immersion may take the form of environmental projects like coral reef restoration, which, though framed within the language of ecological stewardship and marine conservation, serve as symbolic acts of care for creation and tactile encounters with the fragility of the natural world. Likewise, culinary engagements, such as the preparation of a traditional Lovo meal, invite students into the rituals, textures, and communal ethos of another culture, transforming what might otherwise be a novelty into a medium of cultural literacy and deep, embodied learning. Visits to local Fijian schools and community service placements, such as assisting at remote health stations, do not merely represent boxes to tick on a list of altruistic deeds, but are rather sites of encounter, in which the distinction between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ dissolves, giving way to a more reciprocal and dialogical model of relational learning. In these moments, students find themselves no longer observing life from the periphery, but entering into it, however briefly, as co participants in its richness, its struggle, and its joy. It is through these human interactions, often unplanned and unrepeatable, that the most enduring impressions are formed, ones that will inform their ethical compasses far beyond the academic year.


Importantly, the immersion program is not to be seen in isolation from the broader pedagogical and spiritual mission of the College. Rather, it is intricately interwoven with a curriculum and culture that seeks to integrate knowledge acquisition with moral development, and classroom instruction with real world engagement. Initiatives such as the Terrace Timor Network (TTN), which maintains long term solidarity and mutual support with communities in Timor Leste, serve to extend the immersion experience into a longer continuum of justice work and cross cultural relationship building. These activities are not framed as mere charity, but as mutual learning encounters that reaffirm the fundamental dignity of all people. In totality, the Grade 9 Immersions at Gregory Terrace invite students to move beyond the limitations of self centred adolescence into the beginnings of responsible, others oriented adulthood. They are, in every sense, an invitation to look outward, to stretch inward, and to begin the lifelong process of becoming someone for others.

Thank you for the explanation Terrance brunkhaust

 

[Scrumpiggyscrum]

The Grade 9 Immersion Experience at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, known formally within the context of the school’s educational framework as The Waterford Journey, represents far more than a curricular extension or an academic embellishment. Rather, it emerges as a deeply intentional, philosophically grounded, and affectively resonant developmental arc, designed not only to educate students in the conventional sense of intellectual progression, but to challenge and stretch them across multiple domains of personal formation. As such, these immersions operate simultaneously as experiential learning opportunities, reflective spiritual exercises, and socially situated encounters that demand a genuine openness to transformation. Whether students are participating in international excursions such as those offered in partnership with The Island Classroom in Fiji or engaging with marginalised communities in closer proximity, the program’s underlying aim is a synthesis of moral awakening, communal consciousness, and sustained empathetic engagement. The experience is carefully choreographed to provoke reflection, incite curiosity, and instil a sense of purpose rooted in global citizenship and compassionate action.


In practical terms, the immersion may take the form of environmental projects like coral reef restoration, which, though framed within the language of ecological stewardship and marine conservation, serve as symbolic acts of care for creation and tactile encounters with the fragility of the natural world. Likewise, culinary engagements, such as the preparation of a traditional Lovo meal, invite students into the rituals, textures, and communal ethos of another culture, transforming what might otherwise be a novelty into a medium of cultural literacy and deep, embodied learning. Visits to local Fijian schools and community service placements, such as assisting at remote health stations, do not merely represent boxes to tick on a list of altruistic deeds, but are rather sites of encounter, in which the distinction between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ dissolves, giving way to a more reciprocal and dialogical model of relational learning. In these moments, students find themselves no longer observing life from the periphery, but entering into it, however briefly, as co participants in its richness, its struggle, and its joy. It is through these human interactions, often unplanned and unrepeatable, that the most enduring impressions are formed, ones that will inform their ethical compasses far beyond the academic year.


Importantly, the immersion program is not to be seen in isolation from the broader pedagogical and spiritual mission of the College. Rather, it is intricately interwoven with a curriculum and culture that seeks to integrate knowledge acquisition with moral development, and classroom instruction with real world engagement. Initiatives such as the Terrace Timor Network (TTN), which maintains long term solidarity and mutual support with communities in Timor Leste, serve to extend the immersion experience into a longer continuum of justice work and cross cultural relationship building. These activities are not framed as mere charity, but as mutual learning encounters that reaffirm the fundamental dignity of all people. In totality, the Grade 9 Immersions at Gregory Terrace invite students to move beyond the limitations of self centred adolescence into the beginnings of responsible, others oriented adulthood. They are, in every sense, an invitation to look outward, to stretch inward, and to begin the lifelong process of becoming someone for others.

Its a shame that Gregory terrace has very little respect for their rugby program that they would put the emersion program, on the exact same time period of the biggest round of the year (Nudgee). This not only dispatches all year 9 across u14/15 ages groups but could cost a undefeated premiership to the 15a for terrace. So, I am completely against the idea.

 

[Ankle_tap_Albo]

Its a shame that Gregory terrace has very little respect for their rugby program that they would put the emersion program, on the exact same time period of the biggest round of the year (Nudgee). This not only dispatches all year 9 across u14/15 ages groups but could cost a undefeated premiership to the 15a for terrace. So, I am completely against the idea.

I agree, I would rather play nudgee then go away on immersion. Although immersion is a once in a lifetime opportunity, winning an undefeated premiership against nudgee at nudgee would outweigh the benefits of immersion.

ATA

 

[NutKnowsGPSFooty]

Its a shame that Gregory terrace has very little respect for their rugby program that they would put the emersion program, on the exact same time period of the biggest round of the year (Nudgee). This not only dispatches all year 9 across u14/15 ages groups but could cost a undefeated premiership to the 15a for terrace. So, I am completely against the idea.

Agreed mate. It's hard to admit but times really do feel like they're changing and not for the better. Schools like NC used to stand firm on pillars like tradition, pride and that shared love of rugby that brought generations together.

Nowadays, it feels like the spirit that once pulsed through Ross Oval every weekend is being pushed to the sidelines. With the new college leadership team, rugby's gone from being the heartbeat of the College to something they barely acknowledge. A few traditions that made Nudgee, Nudgee are gone. Quietly shelved like an old jersey in a dusty locker.

And I imagine it's not just us. Terrace, Churchie, even TGS are probably facing the same thing. You chip away at these rituals and before long, the schools become just buildings. No soul, no smell of deep heat on game day and no war cries echoing from the grandstand. Very sad, borderline disappointing. Because GPS footy was never just about winning, it was about identity, brotherhood and pride for your school. It taught boys how to stand up, take a hit and keep moving forward - on and off the field.

And sure times change but if you lose too much of who you are... what's left? A school that ticks boxes but forgets what made people love it in the first place. Call me nostalgic, but I reckon a little mud on the boots and a chant from the heart is still worth more than any strategic review.

School's need to do BETTER.

 

[Oneagleswingsrugbyflies]

The Grade 9 Immersion Experience at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, known formally within the context of the school’s educational framework as The Waterford Journey, represents far more than a curricular extension or an academic embellishment. Rather, it emerges as a deeply intentional, philosophically grounded, and affectively resonant developmental arc, designed not only to educate students in the conventional sense of intellectual progression, but to challenge and stretch them across multiple domains of personal formation. As such, these immersions operate simultaneously as experiential learning opportunities, reflective spiritual exercises, and socially situated encounters that demand a genuine openness to transformation. Whether students are participating in international excursions such as those offered in partnership with The Island Classroom in Fiji or engaging with marginalised communities in closer proximity, the program’s underlying aim is a synthesis of moral awakening, communal consciousness, and sustained empathetic engagement. The experience is carefully choreographed to provoke reflection, incite curiosity, and instil a sense of purpose rooted in global citizenship and compassionate action.


In practical terms, the immersion may take the form of environmental projects like coral reef restoration, which, though framed within the language of ecological stewardship and marine conservation, serve as symbolic acts of care for creation and tactile encounters with the fragility of the natural world. Likewise, culinary engagements, such as the preparation of a traditional Lovo meal, invite students into the rituals, textures, and communal ethos of another culture, transforming what might otherwise be a novelty into a medium of cultural literacy and deep, embodied learning. Visits to local Fijian schools and community service placements, such as assisting at remote health stations, do not merely represent boxes to tick on a list of altruistic deeds, but are rather sites of encounter, in which the distinction between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ dissolves, giving way to a more reciprocal and dialogical model of relational learning. In these moments, students find themselves no longer observing life from the periphery, but entering into it, however briefly, as co participants in its richness, its struggle, and its joy. It is through these human interactions, often unplanned and unrepeatable, that the most enduring impressions are formed, ones that will inform their ethical compasses far beyond the academic year.


Importantly, the immersion program is not to be seen in isolation from the broader pedagogical and spiritual mission of the College. Rather, it is intricately interwoven with a curriculum and culture that seeks to integrate knowledge acquisition with moral development, and classroom instruction with real world engagement. Initiatives such as the Terrace Timor Network (TTN), which maintains long term solidarity and mutual support with communities in Timor Leste, serve to extend the immersion experience into a longer continuum of justice work and cross cultural relationship building. These activities are not framed as mere charity, but as mutual learning encounters that reaffirm the fundamental dignity of all people. In totality, the Grade 9 Immersions at Gregory Terrace invite students to move beyond the limitations of self centred adolescence into the beginnings of responsible, others oriented adulthood. They are, in every sense, an invitation to look outward, to stretch inward, and to begin the lifelong process of becoming someone for others.

I really wish I could say the same, but State High in the 90's was a bit of a different story... and when I say different, I mean DIFFERENT. At some of the 30-year anniversaries, the boys have PTSD reminiscing on those days in toilet block C. The best experience I had was the infamous 'Nudey Run' after we won the premiership in 93'. My good mate Joshy (the Bulldozing Butcher) as he was known back then really let loose in this one, doing a lap through South Bank. Condolences to any children who may have been waddling around in South Bank pool who witnessed the horror.

Eagle