Craig Bird in u18 Rams game

[sWAns63]

In 2004 it was Jarred Moore who starred for the Victorian metro team,was all Australian and won an individual award as well.
Look where he is now.Languishing in a reserves team that gets no opposition so he just cruises around getting kicks.Many of his teamates from that Vic team are established AFL senior players now!
It is stories like this that make me non interested in what goes on in the under 18s as it seems to be luck of the draw at seasons end.

What we need is a Swans reserve side in a combined Qld-NSW league incorporating a NT side as well.

[Nico]

In 2004 it was Jarred Moore who starred for the Victorian metro team,was all Australian and won an individual award as well.
Look where he is now.Languishing in a reserves team that gets no opposition so he just cruises around getting kicks.Many of his teamates from that Vic team are established AFL senior players now!
It is stories like this that make me non interested in what goes on in the under 18s as it seems to be luck of the draw at seasons end.

We don't genuinely blood players. 20% game time on the isolated occasion in the ones does nothing for development, particularly in a game at Telsra Dome when the so called established midfield(Snail Brigade) were playing like dogs.

[ugg]

Article on Bird and NSW/ACT: http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/bi...e#contentSwap1

[nomae]

What we need is a Swans reserve side in a combined Qld-NSW league incorporating a NT side as well.

thats a lot of travelling for players, many of them only part-timers.

[giant]

Bird was interviewed (very badly) by Rohan Smith at half time of one of the games yesterday. He's not big.

[liz]

The final round of the div 2 U18 Champs were played today and the Rams comfortably took care of Tasmania to finish on top, unbeaten.

Bird was named as the Rams' best and won the Div 2 B&F medal for the championships.

http://afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=47013

Great to see how much better NSW/ACT have done this year. Last year they were made to look ordinary by all their opponents.

Ranga was named as the second best, coming off a BOG performance against Queensland last week. Geelong obviously has first dibs on him, as he's a scholarship holder. Does anyone know how the scholarship system interacts with the Swans' NSW priority rookie selections? Geelong can put him on their senior list with their final pick in the draft but if they choose not to, do they still have first dibs on him as a rookie, or do the Swans then get first dibs under the priority system? Given how few NSW boys have been drafted in recent years, he'd still be a long shot to be considered worthy of a senior spot by Geelong but there was certainly something appealing about him in the early season games he played with our reserves team as a top-up.

Ruda will be pleased to see that Scott Reed was also named in the best for the Rams in today's game.

[DST]

From what I understand, if Geelong don't list him before the draft as their fourth round pick then he will be open to everyone at the draft and then if no one takes him then or at the pre season draft he will be available to be listed as priority rookie by the Swans before the Rookie Draft.

Will be very interesting to see if Geelong take him as you would think with their current list and no likely retirements (other than King) then they would be very unlikely to delist more than the minimum of three players and would probably re draft back one or so of those. Not to mention their senior rookie list as well regarding possible up grading to the senior list.

I was in the area today and almost got out of the car to have a look at the game today, just to see what Bird looked like on the field. From all reports he was tracking for a second rounder, possibly late first so he will be a good get for a fourth rounder.

DST

[liz]

From all reports he was tracking for a second rounder, possibly late first so he will be a good get for a fourth rounder.

DST

It's hard to know really. Although it's very encouraging the way he's been the dominant player in his team - and led the team to success - it must be borne in mind that

a) he's a solidly built young man, which can be a big advantage at underage level but others soon catch up

b) he's already left school and, as he told us in that article linked a few posts back, he's been training fulltime with the Swans for most of this season.

It is therefore to be expected that he would dominate at the level he's currently playing. If he wasn't, it would probably say more about his AFL likelihood than the fact he is.

Still, it would be exceedingly surprising if the Swans didn't pick him up. Maybe we'll see him and Schmidt together, bustling opposition midfielders around in the centre square in a few years time.

[DST]

Still, it would be exceedingly surprising if the Swans didn't pick him up. Maybe we'll see him and Schmidt together, bustling opposition midfielders around in the centre square in a few years time.

With all the work they have put into him, only chance he wouldn't be drafted is if he had a shocking carnival.

Reports suggest he has not only played well, but dominated the three games which shows he is willing to push himself even if he is finding it easy.

Other snipets of goss from the carnival also suggest that this years crop is very even and is probably top heavy with height. Will mean that good recruiters should be able to extract value later in the draft due to it's eveness.

DST

[liz]

Just read that Ranga doesn't turn 17 until August of this year, meaning that he's next year's crop, not this year's. Makes his BOG and second on the best list in the last game even more impressive.

[bandwagon]

Maybe we'll see him and Schmidt together, bustling opposition midfielders around in the centre square in a few years time.

Would there be room on our list for Bird, Moore and Schmidt? It sounds as if they play very roles and have similar physical attributes.

[Jeffers1984]

Birdy was ranked 5th on the overall performances from June 23 to July 11

5 ? Craig Bird ? NSW/ACT

Born: 21 January 1989, Height: 178cm, Weight: 76kg, Club: Nelson Bay

Capped off a super carnival with the Harrison Medal for second division's best player, Bird racked up 33 possessions against Tasmania at Victoria Park. His clearance work was outstanding ? he won 13 ? and he also laid six tackles for the match.

Source: http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/New...x?newsId=47118

[DST]

Would there be room on our list for Bird, Moore and Schmidt? It sounds as if they play very roles and have similar physical attributes.

You could say that, but Bird will come to us the most highly rated of the three.

DST

[Nico]

The small paper in Melbourne today they said that the midfielders in this draft were not in abundance as in past drafts, so if he has made the national under 18 team and B&F in Div 2 then has to have been close to the best midfielder in the carnival. That in turn puts him at the top of midfielders in the draft and rated at least in the top 15, which means we would be foolish not to take him.

Soundas almost ready made.

[chuckie]

We need key position players. It's no use drafting good midfielders cause all we do is turn them into taggers instead of letting them show abit of flair.
If we had of drafted Chris Judd back when he was first available by now he might be a reasonable back pocket player.