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Waratahs 2014

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tranquility

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Good on Alofa for taking his opportunities. Pretty inspiring really.
 

Dave Beat

Paul McLean (56)
I think Cheika has an armed guard around his home and tanks are down the street.

He's been identified by the Tahs for a long time and so has another lad, still at school (whose name we won't mention in this thread.)
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I'd like to see how he goes in first grade first.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Kellaway's played a bit of 1st grade already, generally as a sub and scored a try. He has a big future.

Kellaway is 18/19? and Northam is 21. Harry Jones is a real talent too.
 

Dave Beat

Paul McLean (56)
The problem with that is if you wait a year, another province will probably pick him up.

Part of your EPS recruitment has to be to lock in some young stars of the future.
Understand but gee I'd like to know he can play grade before he plays Super. There is time this season so let's wait and see.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Harry Jones has already picked up 7 meat pies in First Grade in his first year out of school for the Rats.

Most games seem to have been off the bench, and he has been "deemed" a Second Grade Run on player standard. Pretty good for a school leaver, and in doing so IIRC he has bypassed Jones Major who is still grunting away in Colts 1 with the Rats. Probably some interesting discussions around the dinner table at Chez Jones.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
Staff member
The problem with that is if you wait a year, another province will probably pick him up.

Part of your EPS recruitment has to be to lock in some young stars of the future.

Exactly right.

That's the sad thing about Oz footie. Because we don't have the depth of senior players outside of existing Super Rugby stables as the SAffers have on display in the Currie Cup and the Kiwis in the ITMC, our pro teams target the youngsters, sometimes right out of school, and give them contracts outside of what their experience should entitle them too.

Then they seek to get them to learn on the job like JOC (James O'Connor) and Luke Jones at the Force, when they should be learning their trade against hard heads in club rugby. Then the Super Rugby outfits hope they stay with them later.

You can't blame the Super Rugby guys because the demand is greater than the supply.

We have to grow the supply by getting more youngsters into the game in the first place, getting them enthused with local programmes and the Junior Gold Cup, getting more into Colts when they leave school and yarda yarda.

Otherwise we will keep talking about last year's schoolboys instead of fellows like Northam who is a cracking player and is ready now.

And we do the talk because we know what the Super Rugby guys are thinking, not because we think recent school leavers will be better Super Rugby players next year than a guy in his early 20s.
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