RWO Game Day Thread - Round 9 - June 4-5

[Pmcc2911]

Were any games played yesterday at Olds ?

[saviour01]

Were any games played yesterday at Olds ?

Nah all rained out.

[barracuda]

Here is my 2 cents. Under 15s, 17s, 19s football in Sydney still suffers from a lack of oversight and organisation. This years under 19s div 1 is being dominated by North Shore who have allegedly done the following:

1. Developed an unhealthy relationship with the swans academy which may be impacting the flow of players to them
2. Infiltrated St Ives further such that St Ives now takes out of town swans academy players sent by North Shore into the 15s and 17s with the agreement that they go to North Shore 19s
3. North Shore is contacting Forrest players (and others) in the Under 15s/17s inviting them to play with North Shore

I don't blame North Shore, I blame the NSW AFL who know that clubs will get resourced to chase talent, and yet do nothing when the registrations and transfers come in. The establishment of player lists in these under age groups should be carefully monitored to create an even competition. Why? Because it is in the best interests of the players.

North Shore under 19s have been winning by big margins this year. One North Shore parent commented that they have not had a single decent quarter of competition yet. I think Nth Shore are resting players now, and going easy. I think that makes bad footballers not good footballers. Not only that, the same North Shore parents lamented that the chances of their sons getting a game in prems this years was next to none. They referred to the log jam of talent North Shore has. Contrast that with Manly who have two regular prems players aged 16 (Sam Wicks) and 17 (Jarrod Osborne), and the week before last blooded another 16 year old (Evan Kaporis). There are only 2 other 16 year olds in Prems neither of which are at North Shore.

The Manly under 19s team is struggling partly because it has been out recruited by North Shore. Good on North Shore. In addition the relationship Manly has with the Giants, no doubt doesn't help with the swans.

However it should be the responsibility of the AFLNSW to be aware when clubs are out recruiting and do something to step in to ensure the best competition for junior players. God knows they should know by now after the debacle that was the Pennant Hills under 17 super side. aa

[unconfuseme]

To be fair, NS had to do something after they were decimated by Manly's evolution in recent years.

I'm not familiar with the "zoning" in the area, do St Ives and Forrest not fed to the NS senior club?

If they do, I don't see the problem, and in fact, I applaud NS for being proactive in transitioning kids to senior football - what every senior club needs to be doing.

When you talk of "out of town" kids, I assume county based ... If you were the Swans Academy, who would you be directing kids to play with?

I assume that you are from Manly? ... they did a great job not so long ago in this area ... what's gone wrong? ... not enough help from GWS!!!???

[Norris Lurker]

Under the old Pathway zones, North Shore and Manly had the same area; which includes Forest and St Ives.

[saviour01]

Can hardly be angry at North Shore for getting involved in the junior clubs then if Manly didn't.

[barracuda]

I agree. As I said, good on North Shore. It's the afl that should manage junior leagues better to create closer comps.

[Pmcc2911]

I agree. As I said, good on North Shore. It's the afl that should manage junior leagues better to create closer comps.

I think the GSJ (Greater Sydney Juniors) do a reasonable job on keeping the junior (U/17 and below) reasonably even, despite the best efforts of some trophy hunting clubs.
One club down south last year nominated their 17's in the div 3 comp, smashed everyone and were regraded to the Div 2 comp and made the finals.
This year same club pleading lost players and small numbers renominated the same team for 17 Div 3, guess what they smashed everyone again and have been regraded to Div 2 again.

U/19's are the responsibility of Sydney AFL.

[saviour01]

You get that in all sports though. I coach an u17s rugby league side who play div 2. One team has made the past 3 gfs (won 2) and same thing every year, lost players, can't compete in div 1 etc and are now 5-1 with a percentage of ~300%.

At least GSJ put the div 3 side in question up after 5 rounds (just had a look, assuming we are talking about the same side). In the jrl they wont do that to the side because they threaten they will fold so they just let them flog everyone every week.

[Tim Freedman]

North Shore under 19s have been winning by big margins this year. One North Shore parent commented that they have not had a single decent quarter of competition yet. I think Nth Shore are resting players now, and going easy. I think that makes bad footballers not good footballers. Not only that, the same North Shore parents lamented that the chances of their sons getting a game in prems this years was next to none. They referred to the log jam of talent North Shore has. Contrast that with Manly who have two regular prems players aged 16 (Sam Wicks) and 17 (Jarrod Osborne), and the week before last blooded another 16 year old (Evan Kaporis). There are only 2 other 16 year olds in Prems neither of which are at North Shore.

Just checked and your info from a NS parent looks to be way off the mark. NS have played at least 9 kids from their U19s in their premier division team this year. That's a very high number at the half way point and if I was an U19s player at NS I would be fairly motivated by that. Maybe the parent you spoke to is a little one eyed.......

[barracuda]

Just checked and your info from a NS parent looks to be way off the mark. NS have played at least 9 kids from their U19s in their premier division team this year. That's a very high number at the half way point and if I was an U19s player at NS I would be fairly motivated by that. Maybe the parent you spoke to is a little one eyed.......

Thanks Tim, good point.

[Pmcc2911]

You get that in all sports though. I coach an u17s rugby league side who play div 2. One team has made the past 3 gfs (won 2) and same thing every year, lost players, can't compete in div 1 etc and are now 5-1 with a percentage of ~300%.

At least GSJ put the div 3 side in question up after 5 rounds (just had a look, assuming we are talking about the same side). In the jrl they wont do that to the side because they threaten they will fold so they just let them flog everyone every week.

The GSJ competition committee spend a lot of time trying to balance out the junior divisions.
They take their job seriously plus they are just volunteers.

[barracuda]

The GSJ competition committee spend a lot of time trying to balance out the junior divisions.
They take their job seriously plus they are just volunteers.

Thanks Pmcc2911, Does the GSJ or the NSW AFL analyse player registrations and transfers, to determine where the player lives relative to the target club, or to determine where academy players are moving?

If the GSJ or NSW AFL identify unusual volumes of transfers, say a large number of swans academy, or lots of players from areas outside the club area, will they intervene in the transfers on the basis of achieving a fair competition?

[tara]

Thanks Pmcc2911, Does the GSJ or the NSW AFL analyse player registrations and transfers, to determine where the player lives relative to the target club, or to determine where academy players are moving?

If the GSJ or NSW AFL identify unusual volumes of transfers, say a large number of swans academy, or lots of players from areas outside the club area, will they intervene in the transfers on the basis of achieving a fair competition?

The was a thing called the Pathway - the PD clubs didnt like it and the league removed it. Given there are now no restrictions its open slather.

[Pmcc2911]

Thanks Pmcc2911, Does the GSJ or the NSW AFL analyse player registrations and transfers, to determine where the player lives relative to the target club, or to determine where academy players are moving?

If the GSJ or NSW AFL identify unusual volumes of transfers, say a large number of swans academy, or lots of players from areas outside the club area, will they intervene in the transfers on the basis of achieving a fair competition?

For juniors (ie U/17's below) the GSJ actively monitors team lists and encourages sharing around.
They wont allow stock piling of academy players in one team.
A couple of years ago Pennant Hills had a gun team stocked with rep players and I understand the GSJ encouraged them to split it into two teams with an even spread of talent.

For seniors, all the clearances (transfers) are visible on the SFL website so it easy to track who is moving where but I am not sure if the SFL intervenes at all.

Sounds a bit like you are suggesting a "local draft" for academy kids, pretty sure what the reaction to sending an acadamy kid to a "crap" club would be.
In all honesty I think the academy just wants their kids to play where they can get the best development, evenness of competition is not on their agenda.