Swans Academy and player watch

[andy0414]

I tend the think that Victorains who have grown up with only AFL don't appreciate how difficult it is to turn kids and even more so their parents away from Rugby League to AFL.
It would be far better, in the interest of the game, to have the Swans and GWS working together otherwise GWS will not survive.

[Reggi]

Is the minimum ND intake two or three players?

Heeney interview now on Swans site. I note he signed with us at 12 YO and believes he would not play AFL except for the academy

[Melb Blood Bro]

Heeney and Davis this year; Dunkley and Mills next year. Looks a very good start to a couple of drafts regardless how the rest of it goes.

Spot on Ludwig. My tip; those four kids to be red and white and Eddies face to turn purple when he sees how good these kids are.

Eddie hates us with a passion and his next mission will be to try to close down the academies.

[Nico]

I tend the think that Victorains who have grown up with only AFL don't appreciate how difficult it is to turn kids and even more so their parents away from Rugby League to AFL.
It would be far better, in the interest of the game, to have the Swans and GWS working together otherwise GWS will not survive.

Back in the 90's I was involved on a committee basis with both Auskick and junior footy. I saw a couple of tall, talented and athletic kids play school footy, but they played basketball at weekends. This was when basketball was at its peak. No way would their parents allow them to change to footy. The sportsmaster was also a basketball man. Very hard to change old habits. Happens here too Andy.

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Spot on Ludwig. My tip; those four kids to be red and white and Eddies face to turn purple when he sees how good these kids are.

Eddie hates us with a passion and his next mission will be to try to close down the academies.

I thought Collingwood had their own academy.

[Reggi]

I thought Collingwood had their own
academy.

Yes but they only coach shoplifting methods

[Melb Blood Bro]

Yes but they only coach shoplifting methods

Haha. I actually don't think they do have an academy. The sides in Sydney and Brisbane do and I think that the Dockers and the Crows do but I don't know of any Melbourne sides who have an academy. I don't think it is feasible for Melbourne as there are no recruitment zones. Hopefully someone out there knows the answer to this.

[Doctor]

I tend the think that Victorains who have grown up with only AFL don't appreciate how difficult it is to turn kids and even more so their parents away from Rugby League to AFL.
It would be far better, in the interest of the game, to have the Swans and GWS working together otherwise GWS will not survive.

It's not League they turn them from, it's soccer, basketball and rugby union. Junior numbers for League are pretty low in Sydney anyway, outside the Pacific Islander community.

My son plays for a club that had several boys from Bankstown move over to join us once all that stuff happened with Bankstown, GWS and realignment. They were in the Swans Academy already, which was obviously a bit of a factor too.

[Reggi]

Eddie McGuire blames ugly football on too many 'spuds'

The Eddie Academy whinge a thon has started

[jono2707]

I thought I was reading something from the Chaser or the Onion there - ludicrous.....

As far as Eddie's whinges go, not one of his better efforts. But still dangerous unfortunately.

[liz]

OK, so Eddie thinks there aren't enough talented players at the top level. So he decides to take a pot shot at an initiative designed to help the two most populous states of Australia start to contribute to the player talent pool? He doesn't think that the fact the Northern clubs have managed to develop talent like Heeney, that without the Academies would likely not have emerged, is helping? He doesn't realise that if the Swans add Heeney and Davis to their list this year (and the Giants add Griffiths or any of the other talents running around yesterday), that this will leave more Victorian and SA players for his Pies to scrap over?

[Reggi]

Heeney has now said he would never have kept playing AFL without the Academy. Makes any point Eddie makes moot. Any limit they put on the players that can be drafted, also likely to have the impact of lessening the attraction of the Academy.

I cannot see GWS maintaining access to players south of the Barassi line as that is just a rort.

Given we and GWS and Brisbane are likely to go for At least two players each, come the lead up to the draft this will get ludicrous and Heeney probably the most talked about in the draft.

But the whinging will be incessant

[Ludwig]

When I looked at the picture with the article .........................................

Eddies brain.jpg

I though the article was Eddie has Brain Scan.

[Matt80]

Has Eddie ever mentioned that Jarrod Witts was from Knox Grammer in Sydney? He was found by a Collingwood scout in Sydney!

[aardvark]

Has Eddie ever mentioned that Jarrod Witts was from Knox Grammer in Sydney? He was found by a Collingwood scout in Sydney!

I'm not sure they're all that happy with Jarrod at the moment, probably Sydneys fault too.

[DA_Swan]

Has Eddie ever mentioned that Jarrod Witts was from Knox Grammer in Sydney? He was found by a Collingwood scout in Sydney!

I think we missed on him like Isaac Smith , Luke Breust etc - we can't find them all and keep them all hopefully with the Academy we will