Sydney Uni + Collingwood U/18 Team

[ShortHalfHead]

Yes, Spectrum and Student obviously are not in the inner circle or have been blatantly lied to by their hard working and brilliant committee.

On a sad note, Nick Perry has apparently suffered a serious knee injury at the State Zone trials. Having MRI scans during the week. It is the other knee to the one that put him out for most of last season. Great kid and hope it isn't too bad.

[Pace To Burn]

A bit of news on the grapevine. A certain AFL clubs General Manager, Senior Coach and talent Co-ordinator had a meeting with the NSWAFL crew yesterday in at headquaters and expressed their views very adamantly that this Team shouldnt go ahead. I think youl find that apart from the 5 or 6 kids actually on scholarships with collingwood, the others will be told to stay put at their clubs and there transfers will not be accepted

[ShortHalfHead]

I really can't see how the AFL will stop transfers. A lot of the kids are from Junior Clubs anyhow. Will they also stop the transfers of Campbelltown kids to East Coast etc? I know one player from the West that has been to all training sessions at Uni and just last week decided to join the East Coast Poachers (apparently they have put AFL career lights in his head). Will the AFL stop that transfer???.. I don't think so !

[nugget]

I really can't see how the AFL will stop transfers. A lot of the kids are from Junior Clubs anyhow. Will they also stop the transfers of Campbelltown kids to East Coast etc? I know one player from the West that has been to all training sessions at Uni and just last week decided to join the East Coast Poachers (apparently they have put AFL career lights in his head). Will the AFL stop that transfer???.. I don't think so !

I thought the same thing, I can't see how they can stop the transfers from junior clubs. Wouldn't that be a new registration as they are no longer eligible for junior football.

I don't know about the kid joining east coast, I have heard of another one going back to his original club as uni are apparently not delivering on what they promised when enticing these kids to play at uni. I think someone was very clever in the wording of the "prospectus".

[Pace To Burn]

I really can't see how the AFL will stop transfers. A lot of the kids are from Junior Clubs anyhow. Will they also stop the transfers of Campbelltown kids to East Coast etc? I know one player from the West that has been to all training sessions at Uni and just last week decided to join the East Coast Poachers (apparently they have put AFL career lights in his head). Will the AFL stop that transfer???.. I don't think so !

There could be some news on this tommorrow, watch this space

[tara]

Speaking of u18's good to see Penno fielding a Challenge cup team again rather than lose kids they have developed but may not have gotten a game in Premier Cup.

[Doormat]

Tara - do you think that Penno having a Challenge cup team will effect Mac Uni, Balmain & in some way Syd Uni 18's?

Speaking of u18's good to see Penno fielding a Challenge cup team again rather than lose kids they have developed but may not have gotten a game in Premier Cup.

[tara]

Tara - do you think that Penno having a Challenge cup team will effect Mac Uni, Balmain & in some way Syd Uni 18's?

No I was merely stating its good to see teams who develop their kids retain them. Make of that what you will. Anyway why mention Balmain they are Prem Div arnt they? and their not not even remotely near Penno.

[Hawknik]

Hi Doormat, From Mac Uni point of view is great they are in Challenge. We have a strong side that is nearing 30 players which was our target. Obviously Penno not fielding a side may have produced some overflow. We seem to work amicably with Penno so all is good.

On a aesthetic note, it now rounds out the comp to 10 teams, thus removing the bye which gives the boys more games.

Congrats onto them, thats great and lets the boys play with their mates which is pretty important at that level, mind you our boys will still strive for the flag as they did last year.

[ShortHalfHead]

A bit of news on the grapevine. A certain AFL clubs General Manager, Senior Coach and talent Co-ordinator had a meeting with the NSWAFL crew yesterday in at headquaters and expressed their views very adamantly that this Team shouldnt go ahead. I think youl find that apart from the 5 or 6 kids actually on scholarships with collingwood, the others will be told to stay put at their clubs and there transfers will not be accepted

Any updates?

[Pace To Burn]

Any updates?

Have heard that they are going to bring in a new By-Law that prevents Scholarship players from being taken out of their own area to play which will take some time but apparently is going to happen

[Doormat]

PTB - By the time the By-Law/s are introduced, Syd Uni & ECE will have all your scholarship players anyway

Have heard that they are going to bring in a new By-Law that prevents Scholarship players from being taken out of their own area to play which will take some time but apparently is going to happen

[mountainsofpain]

It was my belief the League restructured the whole competition in an attempt to even out the standards through each league, and stop the continual hundred point losses some teams were having which drove away players. Yet the league not only allow Sydney Uni to cherrypick the best kids from each club, but they help them to do it. And whatsmore, they put them in the weaker of the two U/18 competitions!!

It is poor form by the AFL, but hardly surprising. Do you think they really care if a club like Sydney Uni raids one of the weaker western clubs for instance? I certainly don't.

If or when the AFL finally gets serious about senior football in the west, they will stop being party (directly or indirectly) to things like this. At the same time they will also stop providing the platform (via talented player programs for example) for the wooing of younger players from the weaker clubs to the stronger ones.

Senior football in the west will never develop while it is continually allowed to be raided of its best young players. It is long past time for the AFL to get serious and stop the mechanisms (outside of normal inter-club player movements) which facilitate this.

Incidentally, I'm another one who would love to know how these players were able to be contacted with a view to recruitment. I would have thought that the player details would only be held by their (now previous) club and the AFL. Very interesting.

[unconfuseme]

Incidentally, I'm another one who would love to know how these players were able to be contacted with a view to recruitment. I would have thought that the player details would only be held by their (now previous) club and the AFL. Very interesting.

... anyone who looks vaguely like a "recruiter" and hangs around at a state carnival would have these kids contact details from age 13!

[ShortHalfHead]

Incidentally, I'm another one who would love to know how these players were able to be contacted with a view to recruitment. I would have thought that the player details would only be held by their (now previous) club and the AFL. Very interesting.

The AFL send out to all clubs the contact details of all kids within a region in the 15-16 age bracket that will be moving to 18's in the next two years. So basically senior clubs like East Coast, Nor-West, Penrith, Holroyd etc all get details of players within that region. I don't have a problem with that, with the exception that guys from Blue Mountains etc get calls from ECE (If they are any good, of course)

Contacts are easy to get. You might get one player moving camps and the parents of that kid decide to get brownie points with the new club and "suggest" other players from their old club are targetted. They have no problem getting the players contact details and passing it on. That has certainly been prevalent this year where I know of two different parents have been actively recruiting their childs mates to "jump ship".

The big issue is that of officials approaching kids at carnivals (happened at Coffs this year) telling them if they switch clubs, they will get "bigger opportunities" to make AFL a career ! Word around was that at Coffs, it was pretty well a closed camp. Parents couldn't get near their kids during the day, but certain coaches and AFL talent scouts not involved with the team, were allowed inside the inner sanctum.