Swans chat Academy games 2026.

[dejavoodoo44]

I thought I might as well start this thread now, rather than about half way through the first quarter of the first game, after the YouTube algorithms had kindly reminded that there’s a game on. That first game is on February 28th at Henson Park, against a Canberra U22 side. Then there's a game against AFL Sydney, followed by games against the three northern academies. Then it continues with four talent league games, then the academy season rounds off with a couple of futures games.

U22s Summer Series to kick off 2026 Representative AFL Season - Play AFL https://share.google/bkM3cWsspUuDBi18j

[imuninformedtwo]

I know a lot can change over the course of the season, and players rise and fall quite dramatically often, but what's your starting assessment on our Academy players and where they sit?

Let's assume for the sake of the argument Aidan McCartney is an option, even though the consensus is he's highly likely to go to Norf.

[dejavoodoo44]

Also, Rookie Me have reported on some sort of preseason testing.

TOP 5s | 2026 NSW/ACT Preseason Testing - Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central https://share.google/0tNbl9tPq1fQ4ylvQ

Glad to see McGroder there, as I'm sure that there’s a strong temptation for him to pursue a career in athletics. If he plays a full season and decides to enter the draft, he could go very high. There was another guy testing really well, Jake Medved. I don't recall hearing of him before, so perhaps he's a recent convert?

[dejavoodoo44]

I know a lot can change over the course of the season, and players rise and fall quite dramatically often, but what's your starting assessment on our Academy players and where they sit?

Let's assume for the sake of the argument Aidan McCartney is an option, even though the consensus is he's highly likely to go to Norf.

I've always liked the Jenkin twins. Both smart footballers, both have big tanks. Although I can see myself being heartbroken there. For instance, an opposition club makes an earlier than expected bid on Guy, then we don't have enough to match the closely following bid on Will.

McCartney impresses me in bursts. He'll clunk marks and kick goals for ten minutes or so, but then go missing for a quarter or two, then he might re-emerge, only to drop marks or spray shots. Though of course, they say that talls need time to develop, so perhaps recruiters are more interested in the glimpses? Having said that, someone on Bigfooty reckons that he's picked up an injury and will miss most of the season. I couldn't find anything to back that up, but if true, I doubt if has the body of work to be taken high regardless.

If McGroder chooses football, he could be one of the most athletic people ever to have played the game: champion long jumper and quality 400m runner. I'm not sure if the club has found his best position yet, but I like the idea of him and Blakey eventually teaming up, rebounding off the half back flank. If he manages a few 20+ possession games this year, then they should have enough highlights for him to be taken high.

Other players spring to mind, who might improve into viable draft options. I've always quite like the skills of Isaac Luke as a small forward, but he might need a growth spurt and to kick a bag or two. Blackwell-Smith is quite a classy inside mid. Beavis disappeared from the side in the second half of last season, but up till then, he looked a competent defender who saw the game well. Coen Hardy could be a decent ruck prospect, if he fills out a bit.

There's bound to be a few decent prospects that I can't recall. And I feel like I should cover myself, by pointing out that around this time last year, Rookie Me had King and Chamberlain as chances to be taken at number one, while nobody had really heard of Harry Kyle.

[imuninformedtwo]

I've always liked the Jenkin twins. Both smart footballers, both have big tanks. Although I can see myself being heartbroken there. For instance, an opposition club makes an earlier than expected bid on Guy, then we don't have enough to match the closely following bid on Will.

McCartney impresses me in bursts. He'll clunk marks and kick goals for ten minutes or so, but then go missing for a quarter or two, then he might re-emerge, only to drop marks or spray shots. Though of course, they say that talls need time to develop, so perhaps recruiters are more interested in the glimpses? Having said that, someone on Bigfooty reckons that he's picked up an injury and will miss most of the season. I couldn't find anything to back that up, but if true, I doubt if has the body of work to be taken high regardless.

If McGroder chooses football, he could be one of the most athletic people ever to have played the game: champion long jumper and quality 400m runner. I'm not sure if the club has found his best position yet, but I like the idea of him and Blakey eventually teaming up, rebounding off the half back flank. If he manages a few 20+ possession games this year, then they should have enough highlights for him to be taken high.

Other players spring to mind, who might improve into viable draft options. I've always quite like the skills of Isaac Luke as a small forward, but he might need a growth spurt and to kick a bag or two. Blackwell-Smith is quite a classy inside mid. Beavis disappeared from the side in the second half of last season, but up till then, he looked a competent defender who saw the game well. Coen Hardy could be a decent ruck prospect, if he fills out a bit.

There's bound to be a few decent prospects that I can't recall. And I feel like I should cover myself, by pointing out that around this time last year, Rookie Me had King and Chamberlain as chances to be taken at number one, while nobody had really heard of Harry Kyle.

Not at all, and that's why I started my post by saying a lot can change for good or bad over a year. Kyle's rapid development was part of why he went so high. Clubs rate that because it suggests once they get into a high-performance environment, they can kick on even further and faster. Someone I know associated with the Swans said his ascent from May to August last year was genuinely rapid.

I'd almost forgotten about McGroder, mainly because I hadn't seen anything suggesting that he's leaning towards footy over athletics. He's certainly an intruiging prospect but you'd want the exposure to footy to be substantial this year, so they can settle on what sort of footy IQ he's got. One of the knocks on King and Chamberlain was they were athletes more than high-production footballers. We will see.

[imuninformedtwo]

Charlie McClennan from the Academy among the group that the Tassie team is taking a look at for players they can pre-list as 17yos.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1469931/revealed-the-full-list-of-under-17-guns-as-tasmania-names-players-of-interest

[dejavoodoo44]

Charlie McClennan from the Academy among the group that the Tassie team is taking a look at for players they can pre-list as 17yos.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1469931/...rs-of-interest

That'd be unfortunate if they did get him. Watching a few U16 games last season, I was generally more impressed by that cohort, than this year's draft cohort. And McLennan was the one that impressed me most. He's a slick ball user, who can get out of traffic at a high pace and can cover a large amount of ground.

[dejavoodoo44]

The game against AFL Canberra U22 is about to start. I couldn't find a team sheet, but the AFLNSWACT Facebook page might have coverage. That is, it seemed to be covering the female game, but for me, it only updated the score, rather than giving live pictures. Possibly not much of a contest, as I think that the final score was 121-1.

https://www.facebook.com/aflnswact

[dejavoodoo44]

Looks like that game was still going and the final score was 139-1. The male game doesn't seem to have started yet.

[dejavoodoo44]

Okay, it looks like the male game has got the same busted link as the female game. That is, it won't give live pictures, instead it just gives an updated still picture, with an updated score. After ten minutes we're in front 20-0.

However, clicking on the previously useless link to the female game, now gives a replay, so perhaps we'll at least get a replay of the male game?

[dejavoodoo44]

They did manage to give us a replay of sorts. Unfortunately the picture was so blurry, that most of the time I couldn't read the numbers or make out the player's faces. So I had to rely on the commentators to identify the players, but they were often more focused on inane anecdotes. Therefore, I can’t really say who our best players were.

Anyway, we won 8.12 - 60, to 4.3 - 27. Probably the most impressive thing was our defensive pressure, which meant that for most of the match, Canberra had very little time and space. McGroder had some flashy efforts in that regard. Although his disposal was a bit erratic.

Oscar Clifton was probably BOG. He's a slightly undersized, but athletic ruck, who also dropped back to take a few strong marks. Unfortunately his draft year was last year, but if he keeps being BOG, he could work himself into draft contention. Blackwell-Smith seemed to get plenty of contested possessions in the first half, but they didn't call him much in the second. Luke set up a few goals with some slick handballs, but a couple of times I did wonder, if he should've taken the shot himself. I think there was only one Jenkin on the field and he had a few nice touches.

Our goalkickers were: Pignatelli - 2, Griffiths - 2, Epis, Chambers, Coughlin and Meaney. Pignatelli and Griffiths both took some nice contested marks, and Meaney was probably among our best.

Anyway, a pretty good win, with our defence being better than our offence. Hopefully we can be a bit more cohesive next game. And hopefully, the issues with the streaming can also be sorted out.