but he has been on the RA pathway so its all good...
it doesnt matter as long as you are on the pathway your actual performance on the field is irrelevant
Except he's very clearly still worthy of selection as evidenced by the fact that there's at least 8 halfbacks playing for their state side and he is in the top 2 of those.
Players aren't just kept in these squads because they were selected once and nothing ever changes.
Some players have moved (particularly at under 19 level) to get more opportunity with another state.
his performances would speak otherwise but because he is a "pathway" player he will continue to get picked and i think that is the point you're missing.
Is he worse than all of the following players?
Darcy Standfield, Tama Tunui, Lachy Smith, Callum Reidy, James Martens, Wally Wentzel.
There are plenty of 9s playing at the same of competition around the country. I don't think it was a surprise that Martens and Sharples were picked as the top two.
I'm sorry your son didn't get selected. It's weird to fixate on one player so much though.
The Cleaner
Watty Friend (18)
NSW Waratahs pathway, don't get me started.
The Cleaner
Watty Friend (18)
Yeah and we get embarrassed as a country at a world tournament because of our pathway.
The Ghost of Raelene
Rod McCall (65)
This is a kid that hasn’t been part of the pathways at all and earnt his crack at rep sides from Club performances. He’s a country kid that’s come to Sydney.
Love to see all the supposed guns not being selected.
I have quite a bit of knowledge across the youth systems as wankerish as that sounds and 95/100 the right kids make the squads. Hardest areas are front row to get right as the physical development is huge but a lot of the others are pushed by jaded family and parochial supporters.
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Backintheolddays
Johnnie Wallace (23)
Times have changed, generally for the better but are always subject to improvement. I had the pleasure of being in elite athlete identification over 30 years ago across many sports with the AIS. Nepotism and family/ regional influence were rife.
The focus was on the specific age group however with only a very limited view to the future.
The current approach does factor much more heavily the future element but still suffers from the human condition of bias, whether unconscious or otherwise. If you choose a kid as a 14yo and he keeps on turning up it is very unlikely your objectivity will be such that if through the years no one is markedly better you will just stick with the incumbent.
Australia is well behind the States and Europe is objective athlete assessment and is still led by “the gut” across most sports. Rugby Union is well off the pace for a science based approach.
The focus was on the specific age group however with only a very limited view to the future.
The current approach does factor much more heavily the future element but still suffers from the human condition of bias, whether unconscious or otherwise. If you choose a kid as a 14yo and he keeps on turning up it is very unlikely your objectivity will be such that if through the years no one is markedly better you will just stick with the incumbent.
Australia is well behind the States and Europe is objective athlete assessment and is still led by “the gut” across most sports. Rugby Union is well off the pace for a science based approach.