Which clubs are the Class of 2010 going to?

[groger]

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..

 

[lincoln]

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?

 

[pitbull]

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

 

[rugbyrules]

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 Grant]

Rugby league is a bigger sport here - at least as far as the eastern seaboard is concerned. It's one of the few areas in the world where league is bigger than union, and Aussie Rules is bigger in the other states.

A lot of lads play both league and union but because there are 15 Oz professional league teams and only 4 professional union teams (soon to be 5), there are more jobs going in the 13 man code. They even nab some of our youngsters who have played mostly rugby union. Plus league is on TV all the time and for longer in a year than union is; thus league players are the heroes of more youngsters.

Sometimes we get them back into our code and gnash our teeth listening to commentators saying, for example: "Rocky Elsom, the rugby league player ... " when he played union for Oz Schools.

I went to a big schools rugby union match yesterday and spoke to a few parents - all they could talk about was the rugby league from the weekend. Nobody talked about the Springboks v Wallabies test.

We Oz union fans are strangers in a strange land.

 

[Lee Grant]

I guess we are more interested in which club school stars are going to play for next year, but academy news can be interesting.

Greg Terrace 2nd rower Sam Reiser didn't make either of the Qld Schools teams, and got in the Oz Schools tournament in the Combined States team. This side can include players overlooked for other states plus lads who played in the Division II championships.

From that he was picked for Oz Schools. I don't know what the story about Sam is and why he wasn't picked for Qld Schools, but there are always close calls about the selection of state teams (and let's not re-visit that topic). But it was a good effort to be spotted in a lesser team and picked for Oz Schools whereas others who didn't have to go through that process missed out on Oz Schools or were picked for Oz A Schools.

Anyway - my mail is that Sam has been offered a Brumbies academy contract - at what level I don't know. He's not sure if he will take up the contract but it'snot bad for a bloke who was playing in the 16Bs last year - as a centre !!

 

[Doc]

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

 

[Lindommer]

Lindommer where are you? Can you confirm this re BV as a visit to the Waratahs site does not list him in either Academy Squad (pro or non pro) - or has he just been asked to come down for a run? BTW how did BV get into 1st grade did Jai Ayoud get injured as he looked OK but is no longer listed in any grade at Wests?

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.

 

[Bruce Ross]

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".

 

[AussieDominance]

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.

 

[Bruce Ross]

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.

 

[Hartman]

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.

 

[skullring]

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.

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.

 

[Bruce Ross]

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.

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.

 

[observer]

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.

 

[Hartman]

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.

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...

 

[unsub god]

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.

 

[topo]

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.

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.

 

[Hartman]

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.

 

[Lee Grant]

There is no obligation for somebody connected with a club in some way to respond to such a question. Some knowledge is gained from conversations made in confidence and it would be remiss of a person so informed to nominate who said what, or even who said what about whom.

In the end you have to trust what people say. I would trust what topo says about Sydney Uni. and not just because I heard NFJ say something similar on the matter about 5 years ago. I wouldn't challenge Lindommer about West Harbour business either, nor AussieDominance about Gordon stuff, lily about Manly, Bruce also about Uni ... and so on.