Queensland Junior Rugby

[Garry Owens]

13

 

[Rugby Spirit]

Well take the U13's for example . If Easts had have been designated Eastern Region then you would have seen a lot of re-directs to Orange and maybe a few more to Green ( two from "The East" were re-directed anyway )

Again , the stated aim of the BJRU seems to have been disconnected , or changed at the end , to what it was meant to be about , and that is , equal dispersal of talent

What's the point of picking 12 Riverside players and adding Souths best 6 players ( Blue ) to play Easts ( Pink ) the best of the rest of Souths and the token kids from Logan and Sunnybank that could afford to pay the fee ?

You see a "star" from a "Super Team" play for his school that has much more modest talent and it's a very different story.

Shouldn't the idea be to see what kind of talent can stand up with weaker parts on their own team ? And make a difference ? Or to see what they are like when they are on the back foot , not winning , and how they react and conduct themselves ?

Who we are at this age is essentially the blue print of who we are full stop.

Agreed... it kind of belittles the rep program when all the boys are doing is swapping club jersey for rep jersey but the team is basically the same... Its not a true rep experience for the boys when they are basically just playing with their club team mates... $650.00 per boy is big ask in some areas... Its no wonder most of the talent at these ages comes from the other code... and they get more bang for the buck in terms of individual development,feedback and coaching in more than just 3 training sessions, from coaches that are just club dads really (Volunteers)

 

[Sunny]

I agree with a lot if your points.
Which teams do you think the balance is uneven ?

Hay Chris, I'm leaning towards Pink, green and maybe Orange being they have pretty settled combinations from last years teams, all 3 seem to have a group of kids returning.
Green looks good with the combination of GPS and West, both have been having Playing well in Div 1, I think they have a decent team there, as well as Pink
Pink look to have lost a couple of decent players to other teams but the combinations from last year are there too, not to forget they are reigning champs.
Those 2 teams look like the ones to watch from BJRU 14's.

 

[Sunny]

Can

Agreed. it kind of belittles the rep program when all the boys are doing is swapping club jersey for rep jersey but the team is basically the same. Its not a true rep experience for the boys when they are basically just playing with their club team mates. $650.00 per boy is big ask in some areas. Its no wonder most of the talent at these ages comes from the other code. and they get more bang for the buck in terms of individual development,feedback and coaching in more than just 3 training sessions, from coaches that are just club dads really (Volunteers)

Really seems like it's built around a few Div1 clubs when you look at the team lists.

 

[Hound]

Lets just hope that for $650.00 the kids actually get clothing to fit this year.
Does anyone know why the boys are going to camp at Tallebudgera this year?

 

[Chris Green]

Hay Chris, I'm leaning towards Pink, green and maybe Orange being they have pretty settled combinations from last years teams, all 3 seem to have a group of kids returning.
Green looks good with the combination of GPS and West, both have been having Playing well in Div 1, I think they have a decent team there, as well as Pink
Pink look to have lost a couple of decent players to other teams but the combinations from last year are there too, not to forget they are reigning champs.
Those 2 teams look like the ones to watch from BJRU 14's.

Hi Sunny
You are pretty spot on with your comments. Souths make up the bulk of the Pink team and are play Div 2 but winning by a country mile every week, would have like to see them stepped up to Div 1. Couple of good players lost to the other teams from last years Blue team which will help those teams. Not much between the teams on the points table this year in club so will come down to how settled the selections gel and coaching in the 3 training sessions.
Looking forward to a great weekend and hope the weather is as good as last year.

 

[Sunny]

Apart from Gold Coast who have skipped away in the 14's
The rest of the group look close, just looked at the points table and there has been plenty of drawn games already.
Looks like on their day any of the teams are quite capable of winning.
Should make for an interesting run home to the final, see who can snag a top 4 finish and play finals, as it looks the Coast have locked in that top spot.

 

[Sunny]

Went on BJRU site to look at the rep teams and there is only U16 listed.
Can only guess there are changes happening in the 13/14's...

 

[Chris Green]

Went on BJRU site to look at the rep teams and there is only U16 listed.
Can only guess there are changes happening in the 13/14's.

Yea I seen that as well, seems a bit strange. Maybe it is to do with the cost change that has now occurred and the fact players now are forced to pay their Club the fee as the BJRU will not accept payment for their own teams.
Makes you wonder who is selecting QRU, BJRU or Clubs

 

[Sunny]

Chatting to the U14 parents, everyone is happy with their teams and how well the boys are coming together already.
Going on this, looks like it's going to be a great comp.

 

[Prince Henry]

I'll have a crack at the u13's

Brisbane 4 teams from what I see; Blue, Green, Orange and Pink.
I can only also comment from what I hear about Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast and the two GC teams.

Brisbane Blue look like the strongest team with the squad evenly divided between the competition leaders Riverside and 4th place Souths who have just recently defeated Riverside on the weekend. They definitely have to be favourites going into this.

Pink looks like they also have a strong team mainly consisting of Easts players with a light sprinkle of other clubs. Pink have the combination advantage but maybe not a great deal more than Blue.

Green & Orange appear to have a combination of players from the lower divisions and lower Div 1 teams. This is not to say there aren't very good players within these groups, I'd bet my hat there are. but I don't believe they'll have the strength across the squads to compete with Blue and Pink.

It will be interesting to see how Green and Orange match up against the Country teams. Gold Coast once again have opted for the 'two even teams' policy. Picking a 60 player squad and then equally dividing the players up into two teams. Hence splitting not only the best players up but also club combinations. Unlike Brisbane who maintain club players largely in their rep teams, not so GC. This has created much disharmony on the coast.

The GC teams and DD traveled to the Sunshine Coast for some trial games on Sunday. I wasn't there so I can't comment from personal experience, but I'm hearing that the four teams involved (GC x 2, SC & DD) were pretty even. I've heard that the standard wasn't great but that's to be expected when bringing players together and also due to the very heavy weather conditions.

But do any of the Qld Country teams stand a chance against Blue or Pink - not by a long shot. Therefore my predictions are: Blue, Pink at the top and then an interesting battle between the remaining Brisbane teams and Country teams.

I personally would have preferred an 'A' GC team to challenge Brisbane's best but alas I have no say in that.

A pretty good summary of the teams. Riverside has led the way in the BJRU u13 comp until their hiccup against Souths. Souths then got pipped by Ashgrove GPS today emphasising the evenness of the comp. The teams with boys at GPS schools in their sides will be backing up from Saturday school games in Term 3 so it will be interesting to see how they all fare in the final rounds of the comp. In relation to the state champs, I don't think you can have your cake and eat it too! The Nerang side playing in the u13 comp is virtually a Gold Coast rep side so when it comes time to play in the state champs, it's a bit rich to say "let us keep all our good players together".If they are that good, they will shine in a development carnival and get picked for Country. Riverside seem to be over reliant on 3 players and if you shut them down, game on. But you are probably right in your assessment of the teams. Green may surprise with some very good Ipswich and GPS players competing for spots. Their forward pack will be better than most at this carnival. But Blue and Pink clear favourites because of their talented and speedy backs. Good luck to all boys!

 

[Prince Henry]

I can see the Country concept getting bastardised over the next few years with what it already happening .

In the last 5 years in Club land .overly ambitious and competitive Mums and Dads have formed the Super Teams , or , players and their Mums and Dads perceive a Club is stronger , want to give their kid better developmental opportunity and change Clubs

And it is happening in the last 2 years with Clubs changing conferences

When it extends to more Junior Tournaments and Clubs changing conferences where " Country" kids are across the eyes of recruiters of more - the best of this talent are attracting private school scholarships between 12 to 14 years of age .

This means the best of this talent will be at school in Brisbane and ultimately playing their Club Rugby in Brisbane - making City stronger and Country weaker

This means that City v Country match ups will grow and continue to be lopsided events , and even below this , the City Trials will grow and continue to be lopsided events as "Super Teams" continue to form.

The stated aim of the BJRU was to collate 4 x even teams with the talent evenly spread , and yet , we've reverted to this "select from region" thing which has led to 4 x imbalanced teams

They clearly have failed in their stated aim.

Maybe a geography lesson would be a good start when "Easts" gets tied to Pink - ostensibly the Southern Region Team.

Maybe the next best thing would be to ensure the Selectors are on the same page as to what supposedly was to be the stated aim of all of this .

Interesting too that there seem to be non starters from Clubs that its probably fair to say have families that are more financially challenged than more affluent pockets and who couldn't afford to pay the fee , and where , the Clubs decided not to cover for selected players.

$600 to play compared to sub $200 for a comparative Rugby League Rep Event ?

The issues in all of this are many fold , and , actually retard the very thing that this is meant to be about now , at an U13 and U14 age level

Well said. It should be more about development than combinations and win at all coasts (er, I mean costs). Nerang in u13 is virtually a hand picked super team and yet there is "apparently" disharmony because the GCJRU selectors have done the right thing and spread out the talent! I can understand the regional approach with respect to training logistics and location, but a couple of rep teams are dominated by Div 1 players whilst the other two teams have combinations of Div 1 and 2. Ipswich, recently moved down a division, has shown the relative strength of DIv 2 by beating the top two Div 2 sides by a combined 80 points in the last two weeks. They must be missing the competitiveness of the stronger teams?

 

[Harry Small]

State Champs a different ball game all the boys will lift, and there are boys doing a great job week in, week out, across all of the teams.
The "super team" analogy in this age group is getting pretty boring - seven "super teams" were created according to what I have read.
Watched the Riverside boys today - tries from a number of areas, so clueless as to who the "three players" they rely on are.

 

[Prince Henry]

State Champs a different ball game all the boys will lift, and there are boys doing a great job week in, week out, across all of the teams.
The "super team" analogy in this age group is getting pretty boring - seven "super teams" were created according to what I have read.
Watched the Riverside boys today - tries from a number of areas, so clueless as to who the "three players" they rely on are.

Riverside clearly recruited from Brothers and Sunnybank. Gone from a team that was beaten in one game last year by 71-0 to an alleged powerhouse. But once the strong teams work out those 3 players, they'll be vulnerable. Brothers forfeited today and game not played last week (??) so hardly a super team.

 

[Prince Henry]

Riverside v Ashgrove last year - half of the Riverside boys in the medic tent, Ashgrove had a cracker scoring 8 tries through one wing -, full credit to the Ashgrove boys on the day. Ashgrove team this year very different.

So are Riverside

 

[King Henry]

Riverside v Ashgrove last year - half of the Riverside boys in the medic tent, Ashgrove had a cracker scoring 8 tries through one wing -, full credit to the Ashgrove boys on the day. Ashgrove team this year very different.

Cracker scoring wing, sounds familiar to riverside (one of the three players)... Riverside still a great team though.

 

[Harry Small]

Yep - they all change at this age, last years scores mean nothing......

 

[Harry Small]

Great team effort there.....does not matter who is on the wing if they do not get the ball....

 

[Sunny]

Kids do tend to grow
Funny, guy today asked what grade is on, I said 14's
"WOW" he said look at the size of them...our boy's are 13's
I said it's hard to believe my boy was that size are year ago.
Sometimes I look at the 13's playing and think how little the boy's were once, Then the 15's show up and you go, ok he's still little....LOL

 

[Garry Owens]

I'll have a crack at the u13's

Brisbane 4 teams from what I see; Blue, Green, Orange and Pink.
I can only also comment from what I hear about Darling Downs, Sunshine Coast and the two GC teams.

Brisbane Blue look like the strongest team with the squad evenly divided between the competition leaders Riverside and 4th place Souths who have just recently defeated Riverside on the weekend. They definitely have to be favourites going into this.

Pink looks like they also have a strong team mainly consisting of Easts players with a light sprinkle of other clubs. Pink have the combination advantage but maybe not a great deal more than Blue.

Green & Orange appear to have a combination of players from the lower divisions and lower Div 1 teams. This is not to say there aren't very good players within these groups, I'd bet my hat there are. but I don't believe they'll have the strength across the squads to compete with Blue and Pink.

It will be interesting to see how Green and Orange match up against the Country teams. Gold Coast once again have opted for the 'two even teams' policy. Picking a 60 player squad and then equally dividing the players up into two teams. Hence splitting not only the best players up but also club combinations. Unlike Brisbane who maintain club players largely in their rep teams, not so GC. This has created much disharmony on the coast.

The GC teams and DD traveled to the Sunshine Coast for some trial games on Sunday. I wasn't there so I can't comment from personal experience, but I'm hearing that the four teams involved (GC x 2, SC & DD) were pretty even. I've heard that the standard wasn't great but that's to be expected when bringing players together and also due to the very heavy weather conditions.

But do any of the Qld Country teams stand a chance against Blue or Pink - not by a long shot. Therefore my predictions are: Blue, Pink at the top and then an interesting battle between the remaining Brisbane teams and Country teams.

I personally would have preferred an 'A' GC team to challenge Brisbane's best but alas I have no say in that.

green and pink have the best foward personnel and blue and pink the best backs

Lots of big names / reputation players in the forwards from blue , but , I would only look at a one of their forwards at prop and a second rower ( both play in a multitude of different positions at club ) . From Green I Iwould easily take one of their props , one of their second rowers and their No 8 as automatic City selections . From Pink , two of their Props and their 2 xHooker , definitely their No 7 , and two of their second rowers , one of whom can cover 6/8

So that's 7 from pink , 3 from Green and 2 from Blue ....won't work out that way though ( of course ) The Green Prop who should be first Prop picked doesn't have the "name" ...Green second Rower who is either No 1 or No 2 as the best
ball running lock ...and equal 1 or 2 as best line out man also probably won't get a look , as again , he doesn't have the " name"


Anyway ...Blue backline will kill everybody even if they only get sub 50% ball . Can only see 3 from Pink being in the mix ( maybe 4 ) and 1 from Green if he's lucky ( maybe 2 )

Pity Rangers new outside back only came along the week after trials - he's a killer and equal or best outside back in the competition