2015 academy discussion thread (with some FS thrown in for good measure)

[707]

Be great if Hopper is as good as suggested. Means GWS may have to use their first rounder stopping them putting in a spoiler bid for Mills.

"THE AFL?s controversial northern academies are set to bear more fruit with Riverina teen Jacob Hopper almost certain to be Greater Western Sydney?s first-round pick in November.

The AFL Academy midfielder has huge raps, despite knee surgery last year, and could end up going only a few picks behind likely No. 1 selection Callum Mills.The 186cm midfielder has divided his time between the NSW-ACT Rams and Ballarat?s St Patrick?s College after growing up in the country town of Leeton, near Wagga Wagga."

[jono2707]

GWS might find themselves in a similar position to us come draft time;
GWS Giants set to secure young Riverina rising star Jacob Hopper

He can hardly be called an Academy product of the ilk of Heeney and Mills though - he's from the Riverina and goes to school in Ballarat so I don't see why guys like this need to access an academy???

[liz]

He can hardly be called an Academy product of the ilk of Heeney and Mills though - he's from the Riverina and goes to school in Ballarat so I don't see why guys like this need to access an academy???

Yeah, it is players like this who weaken the argument for the academies - that the provide development opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available to a player. If someone is boarding in Victoria, this can't be said of them. It is strange that there is a residency qualification for the period a player must be resident in a club's academy zone (which prevented GC taking Weller last draft) yet players can move interstate for school (and football development). There is an inconsistency there.

[tasmania60]

People what happens when academies are producing more than what we need will the southern lemmings bleat then ?

[S.S. Bleeder]

Yeah, it is players like this who weaken the argument for the academies - that the provide development opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available to a player. If someone is boarding in Victoria, this can't be said of them. It is strange that there is a residency qualification for the period a player must be resident in a club's academy zone (which prevented GC taking Weller last draft) yet players can move interstate for school (and football development). There is an inconsistency there.

For all we know he might have been with the GWS academy from the day it started. He might have a background story similar to Heeney for all we know.

[jono2707]

For all we know he might have been with the GWS academy from the day it started. He might have a background story similar to Heeney for all we know.

He doesn't - he's from Leeton - reasonably strong AFL territory (by NSW standards anyway). I'd guess he's a Giant more from them being given the entire Riverina as their recruiting zone than being an Academy success story.

[Ludwig]

Beside the point that with a name like Hopper perhaps he should be a Kangaroo, it raises some interesting issues concerning the AFL's long-term GWS strategy.

The AFL have reiterated over and over about their unwavering commitment to making Western Sydney a successful AFL territory. I don't know how concerned they would be about the lack of on field and off field success so far. The membership numbers are not looking too good this year so far. And despite the high number of top draft picks, this has been somewhat offset by a steady outflow of talent back to Victoria.

The GWS academy, particularly the allocation of traditional southern NSW areas, may be part of the strategy of providing NSW talent to GWS, which may help in their battle for player retention. Chances are the GWS would have access to a top talent in next year's draft anyway, so getting Hopper is no big deal from fair value perspective in all likelihood. But as Liz points out, there are likely to be objections to funnelling Riverina kids to the GSW academy, although no one is forcing them to sign up and they can choose to opt out and enter the ND.

The AFL is faced with the kind of dilemma that many businesses face. Do you focus on keeping your existing customers happy (Victoria) or do you turn your attention to breaking into new lucrative markets? Of course the AFL would like to do both, but it may be hard to do if it means giving concessions to clubs in new markets which guarantee them success at the expense of the traditional VFL clubs.

The advantages of the academies to the 4 northern clubs may be something that the Victorian clubs will have to tolerate for a while if the AFL is to find success in NSW and QLD. This may include these clubs having better access to top talent, which may well contribute to on field success (and financial success for all concerned). But without this success, the AFL move to the north may be doomed to fail. Demetriou and Co should have foreseen this situation unfolding when they went down this road. It doesn't help to have your Eddie McGuires ranting over these things now when they all signed up to this expansion years ago.

As for the Swans, they took away the COLA. That should be enough for now. This attack on the academies and watering down the academy system is unwarranted and counter-productive to achieving a truly national competition. So what if the Swans go through a period of success. I don't hear any complaints about Geelong or Hawthorn. Somehow, if it happens for the Swans, its because of the COLA or because of the academies. Next thing they'll be blaming the sunshine.

[dimelb]

Absolutely. If the AFL is serious about a national competition the academies have to stay; end of story. To use their own ad line, we are footifying the nation.

There may be some tinkering with the details, but the clubs that are putting in the money should get some benefit from it, at least for the near to medium future. If it turns out to be unfairly weighted, then tinker some more; but in the meantime let the system's workings establish what is a normal pattern, which will not be a gun every year for any one club.

[Matt80]

Does Boarding School spending come under the football department spending? What is to stop the Swans poaching the best 15 year old talent in Melbourne and putting them in the QBE Academy. They would live in elite Sydney Boarding Schools within the Academy catchment zone.

Is there a rule against this? It may be against the Academy ethos, but it could be a pragmatic way to win!

[aardvark]

Does Boarding School spending come under the football department spending? What is to stop the Swans poaching the best 15 year old talent in Melbourne and putting them in the QBE Academy. They would live in elite Sydney Boarding Schools within the Academy catchment zone.

And why on earth would Victorian kiddies want to do that?

[goswannies]

People what happens when academies are producing more than what we need will the southern lemmings bleat then ?

I think, ideally, that's what's supposed to happen. We should get preference for the best of who we develop because we're spending the $$, but there should be surplus players for other clubs because the aim is to develop NSW football talent for the benefit of football overall

[Matt80]

And why on earth would Victorian kiddies want to do that?

Because their parents may not have the financial resources to send them to an elite private school in Melbourne.

You would only target the elite public school talent in Melbourne.

They would get an opportunity to get a great education at a great private boarding school in Sydney. They would be part of an elite AFL training program and they have a direct path onto a club list if they are good enough.

After a couple of years in Sydney and at Bondi beach, they may not want to return to Victoria when school is finished.

[jono2707]

Because their parents may not have the financial resources to send them to an elite private school in Melbourne.

You would only target the elite public school talent in Melbourne.

They would get an opportunity to get a great education at a great private boarding school in Sydney. They would be part of an elite AFL training program and they have a direct path onto a club list if they are good enough.

After a couple of years in Sydney and at Bondi beach, they may not want to return to Victoria when school is finished.

It's obviously not what our Academy is designed for and if we went down that road, I would no longer support the academy concept.

[sharp9]

And why on earth would Victorian kiddies want to do that?

No you can't do that - academies picks are for local boys only....see younger weller who went to GC academy but not till he was 16 when his brother went there (whole family moved)...but not eligible for GC priority pick because he was not ORIGINALLY from the Gold Coast (even though he attended the academy).

[Meg]

Strong defence of the academies near the end of this article (originally from Courier Mail). Including the statement that: "Brisbane lost four players from their academy in the past 12 months to their original sports, two to basketball, the others to scholarships at the Reds and the Cowboys."

No Cookies | Herald Sun