NSW AAGPS Rugby 2013
- Thread starter Inside Shoulder
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CTPE
Nev Cottrell (35)
Tepai was definitely playing U15As for New (year 9) and created plenty of havoc out wide as he still does. It will be very interesting to see where he ends up post school - in the second row at Parra or perhaps at the 2016 Olympics playing sevens amidst a career in senior XV rep rugby.
GPSrow
Watty Friend (18)
GPSrow
Watty Friend (18)
i was taught by his old man, we had many a wonder what it would've been like and how much it has changed since then.
rugbyscribe
Herbert Moran (7)
I'll kick it off. Joeys will be the 2013 GPS champions!!!
We won last years 2nd's, 3rd and 4th's and our 16As were very dominant plus we have a heap of boys from the one's coming back. We will miss Piggy Robertson and you are right about the need for a lot of depth this year with 10 rounds of competition but Joeys have it and Matt Sandell will be hoisting the trophy very high come September. He will also go very close to captaining the Australian Schoolboys tour to the UK!!!
Newington will be our big challenge as they have a lot of very good players from last season's 1st's still available this year plus it's their 150th or 175th anniversary (?) so there's a lot at stake for them but over 10 rounds I can't see them having the depth we have as injuries etc take their toll. With OPL, Ahosi and Vea having left they will still have their great backline with Tepai, Milne, Abrahams, Lussick etc but they might be a bit light on up front?
Scots and Riverview have respectively also lost some very good and significant players from last season's year 12 - Stewart & Horowitz and Whitely & Dempsey etc though Scots do have some very good young loose forwards with the two Hamish's likely to stand out for them. I think that View might be a greater challenge in 2014 as some of their good young players come through.
Shore will be competitive as always especially at home but King's could be the smokies - they have Greg Mumm as their new coach and his coaching pedigree is a fair level above GPS. They also have most of their seconds coming back who were close runners up to us last year but they've lost Harry Jones and also Sam Carter as it seems from previous posts. They will still have some very good talent in their forwards though with McCalman who is an outstanding flanker and Bateman who will provide plenty of necessary mongrel and go forward up front plus their younger players in Burke, Stacey and Ballantyne. They also have possibly the best halves in Davis and Tulloch and also Will Davies in the centres who is very sharp. Not sure about the rest of their depth out wide though especially with Jones and Carter gone.
It's a pretty historic year with a home and away competition for the first time. Whilst the boys have played 10+ games per season including trials in the past it's a whole new ball game with all the "trials" now counting!!
random2
Johnnie Wallace (23)
Newington wil be going into the season as favourites, but like rugbyscribe said Joeys depth could get them over the line come the second round of fixtures. I expect Scots to be strong also with a weakened back line minus Stewart and Horowitz but a foward pack including Dunbar, Kamp and Crichton which will help them. Shore and Kings will be threats to the top 3 schools but cant see them getting the title. Riverview to have another poor season with a team filled with year 10 and 11 boys, but watch them for 2014. The 2013 school year hasnt even started so some schools could see some new faces which could change things, but for now thats my tip. RANDOM2
GPSrow
Watty Friend (18)
aside the fact that all these schools have such great players.......and its so even this year that i believe it is too close to call.
My pick: the team that has the least injuries over the 10 rounds
.....Every year schools have the best players in a certain year or have aus schoolboys in their team, but if they get injured it can create a huge domino effect on the other lads in the team and will falter the premiership, for example new could've been on 3 premierships in a row when in 2011, finlay mcdonald the key number 10 had a serious hand injury which came at a time when newington needed him most. At the start of the GPS season. unfortunately the player that replaced him was 10-20 kg lighter, was protected well by his 2nds team mates when he played, but when he was put up to replace fin, he crumbled and so did the team. This is purely my take on events and other factors have have led to it.
So 1st XV lads, eat well, stretch, put on ya skins and hit the ice baths whenever you can. Good luck every school this season, it will be one of the best.
Paddogreen
Herbert Moran (7)
Top footballers Shane and Graham. Brother Troy was even better and Attalah the cricketer is also a High old boys son.
GPSrow
Watty Friend (18)
atallah the cricketer, would now a 3rd gen newingtonian with 2 older brother going before him, they would've all been great for high, but new has em, sorry! he's smart too
GPSrow
Watty Friend (18)
even better, he went from prop to five-eight!
providence
Herbert Moran (7)
CTPE,
Predictions as requested;
At this point they are very limited from me, apart from the obvious which is that a 10 round comp naturally suits the school with the most depth. This said, and to counter this, Joeys have had a very good football first XI with VERY little depth for several years now.....whilst their rugby team has clearly struggled over the past 4 - 5 years by historical standards.
There has been very little discussion here regarding coaching / management in the GPS system. What there has been, has indicated that some schools have been falling behind / got stuck with the same coach for years whilst others have taken the initiative.
2 questions to anyone more informed than me;
1) Coaching V quality of player in a GPS team; what matters more?
2) Who has the most progressive / regressive coaching in the GPS system?
Thoughts?
rugbyscribe
Herbert Moran (7)
1. Definitely coaching - I have seen too many teams at all levels of rugby not reach their potential due to coaching inadequacies. There have been a number of the GPS sides dripping with talent in the last decade who did not meet expectations.
2. You can look at this in two ways - which schools have the best skills development programs across all the U13s to Opens age groups AND which schools have the best 1sts/2nds coaching staff. All 6 teams in this years competition have some form of skills development program and I suppose you'd need to look at overall results in all age groups over the last 5 or so years to pinpoint which of them is consistently producing the results. From just a 1st XV perspective Newington has won 2 of the last 3 GPS titles, Riverview have won 3 of the last 5 (incl joint wins) and Kings have won 2 of the last 5 (incl joint wins). Joeys last win was in 2007, Shore's was 2006 (jointly) and Scots have not won since 1993.
Newington's winning streak doesn't have a lot of depth being mainly confined to its 1sts so they must have some good coaches of that team. Scots went very well last year but again this was confined to their 1sts and they too must haves some good coaches on their 1sts staff. Interesting that Kings have brought in Greg Mumm as their 2013 coach - from memory he coached Sydney Uni to a couple of Shute Shields wins and I think he also coached one of the Pacific Island nations in a world cup? Sounds like they intend getting serious after poor years in 2011 and last year. I can't recall a more better credentialed coach taking the reins of a GPS 1st XV over the last 15-20 years.
Paddogreen
Herbert Moran (7)
It was a tough year for the New 13's last year. I think in one trial, the Scots As, Bs,and Cs raked up 300 points. So they will need some real parental support (or imports).
it wont get easier, Scots has 3 of the NSW PSSA side coming this year and 3 who played in the state carnival.
it wont get easier, Scots has 3 of the NSW PSSA side coming this year and 3 who played in the state carnival.
Inside Shoulder
Nathan Sharpe (72)
and Grammar has one who played in the state carnie
gpsoldboy
Chris McKivat (8)
Despite losing Jim Stewart and David Horowitz Scots will be more than competitive this year. We'll have a great set of forwards with Angus Crichton, Olly Kamp, Hamish Dunbar, Tom Cleaver, Toby Rudolph, Hamish Murray etc. I think all round that the Scots forwards will be stronger than Newingtons and will match Joeys and Kings. In the backs besides Andrew Kellaway we will also have Mitch Short and Ben Starkey returning from last years firsts plus players like Max Champion and Simon Johnson.
I agree that the new home and away 10 round comp is going to give every side the opportunity to win the title and you are right about depth being important as every game will count. Best of luck to all the teams.
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