Dark Shark
Alex Ross (28)
First time post here - Nudgee U15A have forfeited game v GT this weekend. Why? - Approx 9 players at Met North trials same day. Sorry but school and schoolmates come first. There are now 21 young men (inc GT lads) without a game because 9 are pursuing a personal advancement. Is this the same mindset program that has given us James O'Connor et al.
I do not have a direct connection to Nudgee or the U15's but have a life long Nudgee mate whose son has been talking this game v GT all year and will now be in his blazer for the day. He is shattered.
Here is an idea. Promote the young men from the B's to fill the void left by those choosing to play in another jersey. I reckon they would have a real crack and probably enjoy a rugby experience they may not have the opportunity to have again at school.
This is wrong Nudgee. It is only Tuesday, the game is Saturday. Make this right.
Just some clarifications to provide info to help get to a more complete picture (and then some opinion)
It is the u15 State Schools Championships being held from Thurs to Sunday this week. The Nudgee boys and I believe one or two Terrace boys have been selected to represent their regional schools district, Met North.
The schools have to nominate the boys to take part in this, so it is not the boys going out to seek personal advancement behind the schools back. Most schools encourage participation in this tournament for the experience the boys will receive playing the best players from around the state.
It is disappointing for the remaining 20 or so boys to miss a match when the QLD GPS season is already to short, particularly for the under age teams.
It appears Nudgee have made the decision to forfeit the game. I am assuming that it is because they feel they do not have sufficient numbers of the playing calibre required to play at the A level. Unfortunately if that is the reason, I believe it is a poor excuse as NC has the strongest and deepest playing depth out of any school in the QLD GPS in every age group. The one thing that does occur is that the playing field could be said to be "evened" without rep players being involved.
In an earlier post of mine, on this thread, before I was aware that NC had forfeited, I did say that NC had the most to lose as far as reputation and GT getting a kick a long for future years with a bit of confidence. Those involved in NC Rugby may have felt the same way.