Which clubs are the Class of 2010 going to?

ur not right, voavola was eligable to play but the school didnt deem it fair for him to play another season as they wanted to give finlay McDonald a go..

My understanding is AAGPS do not let u19s compete anymore (used to allow Oct/Nov/Dec boys) - was Ben born before 1/1/92?

Ben was not allowed to play this year, he is 19.

I thought the majority of schoolboyr playing rugby in Australia played RL.
It's a serious question cause all that I read about Aussie rugby the talent went to RL and coming from England I was just curious.

Lee, for a New South Welshman your mail on Qlders is pretty good.

Ben has a Waratahs Academy contract, which he was awarded after he started playing for the Pirates' IIs. West Harbour also have an academy (in fact two, one senior and the other junior) which help targetted youngsters in their employment and/or studies; Ben was picked up for the WH Academy some time ago. WH aren't silly about a talented young player's prospects: if he has ability and application we make sure the Waratahs are kept informed of the lad's performances. This also has the added benefit of the Tahs coming up with some money.

Last week the Pirates had 38 players on their injury list, hence Ben's run in furst grade. Apologies for the lateness of this post but as I'm at Colts every Saturday goings-on at grade sometimes take a while to get to me.

PS. Bruce, would you be kind enough to ask the powers-that-be at Sydney University Football Club to get their claws out of young Ben; he's made his decision to throw in his lot with the Pirates, how about SUFC respect that. Haven't you got enough young five-eighths at Uni? West Harbour have had long and fruitful relationships with those inner western schools who play rugby which results in a steady trickle of boys from Ashfield BHS, Concord HS, Fort Street HS, Homebush BHS, Newington, St Pat's and Trinity GS to West Harbour. Many boys at these schools play/ed juniors with Wests Junior Rugby. And many of them bring their mates over with them when they join a senior club. Ben comes from a school smack-bang in the middle of our traditional recruiting area, that's one reason why he chose the Pirates.

I think you're worrying unnecessarily, Lindommer.West Harbour has two academies, Sydney Uni has none. Also "West Harbour have had long and fruitful relationships with those inner western schools who play rugby which results in a steady trickle of boys from Ashfield BHS, Concord HS, Fort Street HS, Homebush BHS, Newington, St Pat's and Trinity GS to West Harbour." Wow! And "many of them bring their mates over with them when they join a senior club." Young blokes in every direction.

With that influx of local talent, it's no wonder that your club appears to have very recently introduced a policy that once a player has "made his decision to throw in his lot with" a club other clubs should "respect that".

Well re the above point Bruce mentioned a while ago that Uni do not recruit 'other clubs first grade players'. Obviously the rules were bent a bit for Berrick Barnes but to be honest I haven't seen many players be recruited to Uni's grade system from other clubs for a while.

It's the recruitment in colts that worries me - espically stealing of other clubs juniors directly out of school.

And here's yet another club that presumably has a hands-off policy. Gordon apparently is opposed to "stealing of other clubs juniors directly out of school". As the Good Book reminds us, stealing, i.e., the taking of another's possessions, is always a sin.

It would save a lot of misunderstanding if when parents bring little Johnnie along to play for the Under 8s they are made aware they are signing him up for life.

Bruce, that's easy to say when you're from the club who has by FAR the best resources to offer to these juniors from other clubs. The whole recruitment platform would be level and somewhat of a non-issue if clubs had resources to make counter-offers to their juniors after Uni approach them, but the fact of the matter is that Uni can offer a seemingly unlimited number of players partial uni scholarships etc.

Bull.
Gordon send out more letters to players that made school rep teams than any other club, aside from maybe Randwick. Most of these players would have obviously been aligned to a club previously, which is a crying shame on Gordon's behalf since they have the largest Junior base to go off.

It's always a shame to let facts get in the way of a good furphy, Hartman. This year I can only identify four (4) school leavers from 2009 who joined the Sydney Uni Football Club and have received scholarships.

It is possible I may have missed one but I am prepared to bet serious money that the total is no more than six. I am also prepared to wager a similar amount that most other Premiership Clubs are spending more on their recruits from school than Uni does.

My perception is that young players join Uni not because of scholarships but rather because of the program.

Uni are obviously setting the pace with recruitment. I say good on them and it's up to the other clubs to catch up. I've seen the same thing happen in rugby league with the Bulldogs, Roosters, Manly and Cronulla recruiting some of the best juniors out of Parramatta and Penrith. Whether we like it or not market forces dictate where players end up playing. They are only in the game a short while and must make hay while the sun shines.

What I mean is that the fact that Uni can throw so much more money at the Colts programme means that other clubs just can't match what they're offering.

Don't worry folks, Qld Uni are in the same boat. They have already made a play for young Sam Reiser to join their ranks next year. What pisses me off about the institutional clubs is that they don't give a frig about any District clubs and their junior set ups.

Bruce, you are absolutely right. I know many players who could command much more reward elsewhere yet stay at Uni because they want to be at the club.

Okay, name one of those players.