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CAS Rugby 2014

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CatchnPass

Vay Wilson (31)
I
I have no way of knowing whether this is true or not. But for as long as anyone can remember, the Associated Schools competition has been affected by the disparity in the size of the schools. It goes some way to explaining why Cranbrook and St Aloysius, these days, will usually struggle to make an impact in the 1st XV competition.

I wouldn't assume, however, that it's a straight-line relationship. Even if Knox filled its years with 300 boys, many of them would be soccer players, or swimmers who played no other sport, or AFL, or volleyball, or any one of the other options now available.

Most schools begin full-on training this week. Any news?

It's true that there are circa 300 boys in yr 7 and not far off that in year 8. However, tragically, there are only 6 or so rugby teams in each year. A number of the GPS schools would field that number of teams with half the year size. Not sure how this measures up with say Barker which is also a large school. Anyone know?
 

Scythe

Larry Dwyer (12)
I

It's true that there are circa 300 boys in yr 7 and not far off that in year 8. However, tragically, there are only 6 or so rugby teams in each year. A number of the GPS schools would field that number of teams with half the year size. Not sure how this measures up with say Barker which is also a large school. Anyone know?

You make a good point - what other sports are so dominant?
 

Snort

Nev Cottrell (35)
Appears that most schools have internal trials this Saturday. Cranbrook and Waverley play a trial on 29 March.
 

Snort

Nev Cottrell (35)

That's just a juvenile answer.

The actual reason, for anyone interested, is the change in the Associated Schools season. For the last six years or so, the competition has been ten rounds, home-and-away. That schedule - ten competition games - puts significant pressure on the coaches to keep their squads intact throughout the season - especially schools like Trinity, Cranbrook and St Aloysius, who have small playing squads. The cost of this has been that non-competition fixtures have suffered - even long-standing rivalries like Cranbrook/Scots, Trinity/Newington and Knox/Shore have become hard to fit into the calendar. Coaches simply don't want to risk losing players to injury - so a midweek Waratah Shield game isn't attractive to anyone.

Actually, this has always been an issue, now I think of it. I remember Trinity entering in 1980, when it thought it had a chance to do well. It won its first game, against Forest High, 31-0, but the only available day for the next round was in the week before a particularly important Associated Schools game. So Trinity sent its Seconds off to play North Sydney Boys, and lost narrowly. Trinity ended up as CAS premiers so no doubt thought it was the right decision.

I'm not suggesting that an Associated Schools team would win the Waratah Shield, although there have been sides over the years that would have given it a good shake. To my mind, the introduction of the home-and-away season has had several disadvantages, and the inability to compete in the Waratah Shield is one of them.
 

Scythe

Larry Dwyer (12)
That's just a juvenile answer.

The actual reason, for anyone interested, is the change in the Associated Schools season. For the last six years or so, the competition has been ten rounds, home-and-away. That schedule - ten competition games - puts significant pressure on the coaches to keep their squads intact throughout the season - especially schools like Trinity, Cranbrook and St Aloysius, who have small playing squads. The cost of this has been that non-competition fixtures have suffered - even long-standing rivalries like Cranbrook/Scots, Trinity/Newington and Knox/Shore have become hard to fit into the calendar. Coaches simply don't want to risk losing players to injury - so a midweek Waratah Shield game isn't attractive to anyone.

Actually, this has always been an issue, now I think of it. I remember Trinity entering in 1980, when it thought it had a chance to do well. It won its first game, against Forest High, 31-0, but the only available day for the next round was in the week before a particularly important Associated Schools game. So Trinity sent its Seconds off to play North Sydney Boys, and lost narrowly. Trinity ended up as CAS premiers so no doubt thought it was the right decision.

I'm not suggesting that an Associated Schools team would win the Waratah Shield, although there have been sides over the years that would have given it a good shake. To my mind, the introduction of the home-and-away season has had several disadvantages, and the inability to compete in the Waratah Shield is one of them.

Thank you for such a great response !

Scheduling really makes things difficult as I have heard suggestions of having a champion of champions style knock out comp for the highest performers in ISA, GPS e.t.c post season however rep commitments would make most of the core players unavailable

In the pre-season you are right with all you have said above but in one sense it feels sad that there is no universally accepted mechanism to test Sydney's best schoolboy urban and metro teams.

Having played and coached in Japan, most sport over there runs without closely knit associations and instead state wide and national competitions are held nationwide for all sports.

I don't ever see a dissolution of the governing bodies and the loss of tradition but it is sad that sometimes the past withholds us from exploring a new form of competition with an actual Sydney/state/national title at stake on a schoolboy level


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Snort

Nev Cottrell (35)
I can't say I'm a huge fan of the ten-round CAS competition. Certainly it achieves its purpose, which is to ensure that the best side wins. But it's gruelling and it skews things in favour of the larger schools. If a smaller school kept its squad intact and achieved an upset, it used to be in with a chance at the premiership. But in most seasons under the home-and-away system, the premiership has been all but decided after the first round of matches, and there have been some cricket scores in the return matches after injuries have depleted several squads.

The Waratah Shield should be a great competition - it's a pity that many schools feel it is impractical to enter.
 

Scythe

Larry Dwyer (12)
I can't say I'm a huge fan of the ten-round CAS competition. Certainly it achieves its purpose, which is to ensure that the best side wins. But it's gruelling and it skews things in favour of the larger schools. If a smaller school kept its squad intact and achieved an upset, it used to be in with a chance at the premiership. But in most seasons under the home-and-away system, the premiership has been all but decided after the first round of matches, and there have been some cricket scores in the return matches after injuries have depleted several squads.

The Waratah Shield should be a great competition - it's a pity that many schools feel it is impractical to enter.

True - are there any developments on an advisory level to address these concerns that you know of or do they just simply fall by the wayside ?


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Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
True - are there any developments on an advisory level to address these concerns that you know of or do they just simply fall by the wayside ?


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One issue is the various schools sectors having different sports at the same time. The GPS are about to do their athletics, the CAS winter team sports. That said I believe Knox are playing Joeys on the 29th and Newington on the 5th at 'home'. There are a few other CAS/ GPS trials but only in certain grades.
 

Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
You make a good point - what other sports are so dominant?

Recently Knox has opened up a range of sports that the kids can play. AFL is a noble one, but these days Knox seems to allow the kids to play any sport they want. Positive education is the thing, and we can't force the poor souls into doing things they may not want to do.
Plus applying discipline takes effort, far easier to take the easy path. Which partially explains the lack of crowds at Knox home games and those that do turn up are an undisciplined, self-indulged rabble when compared to visiting schools.

Though it probably should be aknowledged that Knox apparently won the cricket, basketball and tennis this year, so in some sports there could be some strength up there.
 

I like to watch

David Codey (61)
That's just a juvenile answer.

The actual reason, for anyone interested, is the change in the Associated Schools season. For the last six years or so, the competition has been ten rounds, home-and-away. That schedule - ten competition games - puts significant pressure on the coaches to keep their squads intact throughout the season - especially schools like Trinity, Cranbrook and St Aloysius, who have small playing squads. The cost of this has been that non-competition fixtures have suffered - even long-standing rivalries like Cranbrook/Scots, Trinity/Newington and Knox/Shore have become hard to fit into the calendar. Coaches simply don't want to risk losing players to injury - so a midweek Waratah Shield game isn't attractive to anyone.

Actually, this has always been an issue, now I think of it. I remember Trinity entering in 1980, when it thought it had a chance to do well. It won its first game, against Forest High, 31-0, but the only available day for the next round was in the week before a particularly important Associated Schools game. So Trinity sent its Seconds off to play North Sydney Boys, and lost narrowly. Trinity ended up as CAS premiers so no doubt thought it was the right decision.

I'm not suggesting that an Associated Schools team would win the Waratah Shield, although there have been sides over the years that would have given it a good shake. To my mind, the introduction of the home-and-away season has had several disadvantages, and the inability to compete in the Waratah Shield is one of them.
I only got one bite,but it was a big one!
Interestingly Knox entered a team in the last 2 years,but only got around to actually playing in it last year IIRC,which is after the 2 rounds in the CAS comp was established.
obviously,Barkers team of 2013 would have been favourites to have won last year,had they competed.
 

Elfster

Dave Cowper (27)
The summer season is finally over and the Rugby starts this weekend.

Aloys and Cranbrook have internal trials or Sevens. Waverly travel to Riverview, Barker are at home to Radford (Canberra) and Knox travel to Cliff Oval Wahroonga to host Marist Canberra and I am not sure what Trinity are up to (though I believe it may be nothing).

A nice warm day for being outside watching some hopefully entertaining Rugby and host some visiting Canberra sides.
 
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