Sydney GPS 2013

There seems to be no reason to confine ourselves to talking about next year's comp - lets get out the crystal ball and have a go at 2013.

Joey's and Kings will share it - Grammar will come last and this horrific, overiding sense of deja vu will pervade the senses of anyone who remembers the winter of 1927.

Interesting - they will still have supplied more wallaby captains than any other school and more players to the 1927/28 Waratahs (including the captain A. C. "Johnnie" Wallace - who aslo rowed in 3 (3!) consecutive head of the river victories) than any other school.

And their recruiting programme of the late ninteenth century makes the efforts of the Kings and New' of today look positively spartan.

Yeah right - do you mean recruiting the first prime minister? or high court judges? or Col Windon or Alec Ross or was it something else you had in mind?

Nah Windon and Ross were not around in the late 1890s - Barton was there but he was watching his son play and yes, well high court judges are always in plentiful supply around Weigall.

Pick up next years copy of 'Breakaway Magazine' and check out the history article - I'm researching the hell out of it at the moment.
It put's recruiting in some form of big picture perspective.

Where do I get that mag?
I may have some stuff you can use/refer to

It's sold at GPS games . usually from about round 3 of each season (one edition per year).
I'll contact you with my e mail re' your contribution/input.

And for the resat of you .

http://www.shipleybrown.com.au/magazines.html

kings and joeys for the title with view and new close behind

IS: grammar won't come last (gasp) oh wait they won't field a team or they'll lose each game by 100 or more...its not a joke i'm super cereal

Kings have a very good chance as they won their undefeated season in 2011

Kings did win in 2011 but don't forget they beat New's 16A's by 10-7, and whilst it was a full strength Kings side, New were missing George Prassas (U16GPS 1sts, 2nd XV), David Morris (U16 NSW, 1st XV), Joey Lussick (NSW schools/1st XV), Eliss Abrahams (2nd XV) and Oscar Pople (GPS opens 3rd XV).

It was also an away win for Kings...but that was last year.

Would be interested if you could tell me who from New's firsts and seconds will be back next year.

From Shore's 1st and 2nds, these players will be returning:

1sts:

Jum Woodhill (7), Angus Cooke (6), Jack Clancy (10), Nic Clancy (15), Charlie Oldham (14), Doug Streeter (3)

2nds:

James Winton (4), Harry Emery (9), Nathan Lucas (6).

Could be a couple more from the 2nds, I'll have to check. Nonetheless a lot of boys returning from the top two teams, which when supplemented from the 3rds and 16 A's should make a strong and competitive side.

Next year Joeys will have these players returning from 1s and 2s

1st - Matt Sandell (3), Patty O'Brien (8), Pat Curtain (9), Andrew Deegan (10)

2nds - Ned Hanigan (4), Jono Hardy (5), Nic Penisi (6), Tevita Mackani (9), Connor O'Shea (10), Pat Vaughn (13), Angus McGrath (15)

They have a few more from the table topping 3rds and great players from the successful 16As including NSW fullback Mason Cohen, Sydney prop Teirney Glasson and superstar wingers Tim McCutcheon and Latrell Robinson. Look out for 15s star Tom Wright aswell.

Returning players from Newington:

1sts: Lachie Cannell (5) George Prassas (6) David Morris (7) Anthony Vasilis (8) Joey Lussick (10) Oscar Pople (11) Taane Milne (12) Taane Morea (13)

2nds: Vuni Fifita (1) Campbell Shearer (2) Matt Serhon (3) Luke Strong (5) Tim Lee (6) The open side not sure of his name (7) George Lucas Vianellos (9, 10, 15) Lachlan Anderson (10) Ellis Abrahams (12) Josh Mitchell (13) Mitch Shaw (15)

3rds: Jordan Roods (6) Tom Meaney (7) Reji Sano (9) Zac Roberston (13) George Cardassilaris (14)

Possibly some U15's boys will get a call up to opens

Josh Schwagger in 2nd row??

Returning from Kings in 2013:

1sts - Jack McCalman (6 or 7), Jono Burke (2), Lucas Bateman (1 or 3), Corey Tulloch (10), Will Davies (12), Harry Jones (14 or 15)

2nds - Ben Stacy (5 or 6), Sam Connor (7), Robert Black (6 or 8), Jamie Greentree (4 or 5) Rory Davis (9), Charlie Friend (10), Sam Carter (13), John Robertson (12),

There are also about 7-8 players from the 3rds who are in year 11 who will be in contention as well as some great talent in the 16As in the form of David Ballantyne, James Kane, George Lehman and Hugh Taylor

I'd be interested to see how much the Grammar teams are able to progress. Understandably, there are still an immense number of questions surrounding their participation next year, but there are certainly positive signs.

A number of year 11 boys have been playing for their 1sts this year, with Gorry arguably their best all year, and Lee and Westrup (their 6 I think) showing immense improvement through the year. As I understand, the school has stepped up the commitment regarding the physical training, and with 8 months, there will likely be good strength and size development through most of the team. Having only seen one of their 16s games this year (against Shore), there does appear to be some hope, as they matched up against a team which (as I have been told) was a complete A team. The only areas of concern I see is that with the departure of Healy and Penklis, I don't see any clear cut front rowers among their two age groups, and they may be a bit thin through the backs, particularly in the centres.

And to address a note that has surfaced multiple times in other forums, unfortunately the Armidale teams in the current years 10 and 11 are certainly weaker than their SGS counterparts, so I'm not entirely convinced the fixture-flipping is going to be viable next year.

Thus, in making an enormous guess, I would have to suggest any Grammar 1sts team for next year would be decent through a number of positions (I'm not sure of names, so excuse the gaps):

(1, 2 and 3) Haven't seen any who really fit the bill. Watch this space.

(4, 5) Pretty much a locked combination of Gorry [1sts] and Digby [16A]

(6, 7 and 8) A likely combination of Westrup, Sullivan and their current 7 (unsure of his name). I'm aware that all 3 are current 1sts players, though Sullivan is their current hooker; I expect that to change for next year.

(9 and 10) Lee [1sts] has been their best in the absence of Gorry, and seems to have a good build to maintain himself. If he continues to improve, I'm calling a bolter for GPS next year. The current 16A no. 10 seems certain to take the role next year. Fantastic control at the rucks, though certainly needs to latch on to a weights program of some description.

(12 and 13) Along with the front row, I can't see a clear choice here. Sutcliffe [1sts/2nds] seems a possibility, though I beleive he may be better suited at 15. This could be the achilles heel of this team next year.

(11, 14 and 15) Grammar always seems strong here, typically with an adequate mixture of pace and ball skills out here. Robertson [1sts] appears excellent with the ball in hand, though certainly undersized. A huge amount of potential though, and if he can sustain the performances he put against SIC earlier, I may elevate him to Lee's ranks as a bolter. Definitely needs to work in defence though, too inconsistent in contact. The 16A team offers a number of similar options, though their Asian no. 11 seems consistent enough, and clearly has the attacking flair the team would need. As stated earlier, Sutcliffe would seem the best option at fullback, though I'm unaware of the backs through the 2nds.

If anyone could help fill this list, that would be fantastic. I still believe this team can play next year, but there's going to need to be a sustained commitment. The physical presence in the front row and centres seriously worries me, though otherwise this could be a much improved team.