Maroochydore is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the urban area of Maroochydore had a population of 63,673 people.
In Queensland, Australian rules football dates back to the colonial era in 1866, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1900s. Today, it is most popular in South East Queensland and the Cairns Region. There are 11 regional club competitions, the highest profile of which are the semi-professional Queensland Australian Football League and AFL Cairns. It is governed by AFL Queensland. According to Ausplay there are 51,941 adult players with a per capita rate of 1.2%, just under half of which are female, and 30,563 children. It is the seventh most participated team sport and fourth code of football after soccer, touch and rugby league.
The Queensland Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland.
Josh Drummond is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League who is currently serving as the defensive coach of the Gold Coast Football Club. He was a rebounding defender and occasional wingman, with a long and accurate left-foot kick.
There are several Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland.
Mayne Australian Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in the Brisbane suburb of Enoggera. The club colours are black and gold and they are nicknamed the Tigers.
The Aspley Football Club, nicknamed the Hornets, is an Australian rules football club based in the northern-Brisbane suburb of Aspley. The club competes in multiple Queensland-based competitions, including in the Queensland Australian Football League, Division 1 of the Queensland Football Association, the Queensland AFL Women's League, and several underage competitions for boys and girls. The senior men's team has in the past competed in second-tier state league competitions, notably the North East Australian Football League from 2011 to 2020 and the Victorian Football League in 2021.
Maroochy North Shore Australian Football Club was an Australian rules football club based on the Sunshine Coast which competed in the Pineapple Hotel Cup division of the Queensland Australian Football League from 2005 to 2011.
The AFL Wide Bay is a regional body that coordinates Australian rules football competitions in the Wide Bay–Burnett and northern Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland, Australia. The competition currently features teams from the cities of Bundaberg, Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Gympie and the town of Pomona. AFL Wide Bay operates men's senior, reserves and women's competitions as well as underage competitions including mixed and junior boys teams.
Caloundra Australian Football Club is an Australian rules football club that is based in Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It competes in the QFA Division 1.
Eric Hipwood is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). Primarily a key forward, Hipwood is a premiership player and leading goalkicker for the club.
Aasta O'Connor is a retired Australian rules footballer who played as a ruck for Western Bulldogs and for Geelong in the AFL Women's competition. She is also a member of the Darebin Falcons' VFL Women's team.
Tahlia Randall is an Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Randall previously played for the Brisbane Lions in 2017 and 2018, where she received a nomination for the 2018 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 6 of the 2018 season. She won the AFLW Mark of the Year in 2022 season 6, and is also North Melbourne's equal games record holder with 48 games for the club.
Springfield Central Stadium is an Australian rules football venue located in Springfield, a suburb of Ipswich, approximately 30 km south-west of Brisbane.
The Queensland Football Association (QFA) is the largest Australian rules football league in Queensland and second largest in the world by number of senior clubs. Dating back to 1969 and going by various names it is now run by AFL Queensland as a second tier competition under its semi-professional Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). There are 52 clubs spanning as far north as Gympie in Queensland to as far south as Ballina in New South Wales (NSW). Most clubs field men's and women's senior and reserve sides in the top divisions, with senior only teams in the lower divisions. The men's competition is known as the QFA and the women's is known as the QFAW.
Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex is a multi-purpose community sports facility located in Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Noah Cumberland is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Carter Michael is a former professional Australian rules footballer who last played for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Mikayla Pauga is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Greater Western Sydney in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for Brisbane, with whom she won a premiership in 2023.
