Academy Talent for 2016

[Auntie.Gerald]

how is Liam Maze going of late ?

"The athletic Liam Maze is another ruck option for the Rams, and is eligible to join the Swans through their academy set-up."

Tall timber on show in 2016 draft pool - AFL.com.au

[Ludwig]

I don't know how Maze is doing, but I posted in the Mitchell thread that I thought we should trade either Sinclair or Nankervis and fill the spot with a rookie ruckman. Maybe Maze is the one. I think Galloway will be delisted. I like the looks of the Sudanese ruckman from NT, Tony Olango.

[Nico]

James Bell played well today for a 16yr old in the Neafl semi final for the Swans in the midfield

2.10.99 DOB

Bell aiming to lead Rams to success | Illawarra Mercury

NSW-ACT - AFL.com.au

Is he an Academy player? If so he looks a ready made. He was most impressive and read the play very well.

[dejavoodoo44]

Is he an Academy player? If so he looks a ready made. He was most impressive and read the play very well.

Yes, he's an academy player and he did impress me, too. Especially for a 16 year old playing his first NEAFL game.

[707]

Yes, he's an academy player and he did impress me, too. Especially for a 16 year old playing his first NEAFL game.

I wonder what the thinking was in giving Bell his first NEAFL game in a final? Sounds like he did ok.

I assume given the lack of info from ressie watchers that none of this years academy players will be drafted in the ND but are any likely to be rookied?

[dejavoodoo44]

I wonder what the thinking was in giving Bell his first NEAFL game in a final? Sounds like he did ok.

I assume given the lack of info from ressie watchers that none of this years academy players will be drafted in the ND but are any likely to be rookied?

Yes, it was a slightly strange time for a debut, but I assume that it means that they have a high opinion of his capabilities.
In regards to youngsters coming through, other people would be much more qualified to answer than me: but of the top ups, Jake Brown is hard at the ball and looks promising, while Darcy Baron-Hay has done well, playing as a KPD against more mature players.

[Mug Punter]

I wonder what the thinking was in giving Bell his first NEAFL game in a final? Sounds like he did ok.

I assume given the lack of info from ressie watchers that none of this years academy players will be drafted in the ND but are any likely to be rookied?

I think that Jake Brown is a good chance of being drafted. I imagine we'd prefer to have him as a rookie lister as we like to keep a lean list of 38 senior players but we may need to be prepared to match a late bid and have some cap space in reserve. Are rookie salaries and match payments included in the TPPs? If so then the extra expense is only marginal.

Liam Maze I haven't seen but is one we may look at rookie listing if we lose Nankervis which I am hearing we may, whilst it suits us to have Toby as our fourth ruckman I'm not sure he feels quite so enthused about that situation. I'd also think we'd look at drafting a ruckman with whatever draft pick we get if we trade Toby and there seem a few decent ones this year.

Of the other toppies none really stand out for me, certainly not as potential AFL quality. Young Bell though looked right at home yesterday, real class, good skills, moves well. If he develops as he should then I could see him and Hardman being good draftees next year.

Then of course in 2018 there is the big fish in the Swans Academy at the moment, Nick Blakey. B-O-G as an Under-16 playing Under-19s yesterday and 193 cm. Seems like a real good kid too and as we all know his pedigree is impeccable. MVP for NSW-ACT at the recent U-16 Champs. You'd think we'd be in the box seat there over the Lions and Roos though I wonder if having your old man at the club is a good or bad thing?

[707]

Nick Blakey would have grown up red and white, given how long Dad has been with us, plus he's red and white academy infused. Having Dad on the coaching panel shouldn't be an issue, anyway he'll start off under the tutelage of super junior developer Rhyce Shaw.

Big decision in a couple of years for him, stay at home and in red and white playing for a flag contender or go to Melbourne to play for a battling Roos?

If he does decide Swans, expect a huge dose of outrage led by that self proclaimed defender of battling clubs Eddie Maguire!

[goswannies]

If he does decide Swans, expect a huge dose of outrage led by that self proclaimed defender of battling clubs Eddie Maguire!

Not to mention North & Brisbane

[WauchopeAnalyst]

With a quiet weekend I had a chance to catch up with a few Sydney friends and there are a few murmurs about the upcoming draft although most of it is about overagers, 19's this year.

It appears that Adelaide are coming pretty hard for Ben Davis and have visited him at home and not sure what Sydney are going to do with him.

A couple other overagers but no further details. Maybe Baron-Hay, Hebron, Wilson, Reinhard and Veale are possible targets from other clubs or us.

Jake Brown is our best U18s, in terms of mids/FF but next year could be great.

Blakely is very good and Hardman could be anything, he is that good and fast.


John Blakey came to Sydney at the end of 2006 after retiring in 2002 so Nick was 4 then and was 8 when John joined the Swans. I can only think that Nick has been in the system for 3 or 4 years.

Good luck to Nick even if we don't good him, someone is going to miss out.

[Mug Punter]

The Swans should be getting their primary list to a local content of 50% asap in my opinion. At the moment we have 10 NSW Boys (KJ, BJ, Heeney, Mills, Rampe, Robbo, Harry, Sam, Abe, Hiscox) If we assume that Jack Hiscox and BJ won't make it and if we assume we'll get Brown, Bell, Hardman, Foote and Blakey on the list by the end of 2018 we're still only at about 33%. We may well find another one or two over the next couple of years to get it to 15 players.

It will start to flow on after that but for all the hysteria in Melbourne it's really hard work for us to find and develop these players.

[Pmcc2911]

You should also look at Noah Wright, another 16 yo played in the 19's on the weekend,and went well, backed up on Sunday to win a flag with St Ives U/17.
Rumoured to be moving to Melb to,play with the Oakliegh Chargers in the TAC cup

[Ludwig]

It appears that Adelaide are coming pretty hard for Ben Davis and have visited him at home and not sure what Sydney are going to do with him.

A couple other overagers but no further details. Maybe Baron-Hay, Hebron, Wilson, Reinhard and Veale are possible targets from other clubs or us.

Jake Brown is our best U18s, in terms of mids/FF but next year could be great.

Agree that Jake Brown is the one Academy player we should draft, even if it means having 39 on the senior list. I'm not sure if we can hold out on our final rookie upgrade until after the ND, which would allow us to see if Brown gets bid for or not. In any case, I think he's worth a late ND pick if he were on the open market.

I don't think I would draft any of the others, except perhaps Ben Davis as a rookie. There may be a few NSW players available from the GWS academy that don't get listed by them. They have around 8 or 9 draftable players this year and there certainly won't be enough places for all on their list.

[Mug Punter]

You should also look at Noah Wright, another 16 yo played in the 19's on the weekend,and went well, backed up on Sunday to win a flag with St Ives U/17.
Rumoured to be moving to Melb to,play with the Oakliegh Chargers in the TAC cup

I can see the logic of sending your son to a kind of football finishing school but really it shouldn't be necessary with the Academy system in place. It would be good if the NSW/ACT RAMS could play full time in the TAC Cup but maybe it's deemed too disruptive with travel and all that combined with the rigours of Year 11-12 (only the minority get drafted, the rest need to get a real job)

I would have thought with the National Championships, the TAC games they do play and then regular NEAFL in their final year that it would be sufficient but good luck to the lad.

Think I'm right in saying that his father captained the Swans Under 19 in the late 1980s, was a gun junior (won the B&F at Teal Cup) but never went on at AFL level. Was a good SFL player for many years.

Not quite the Blakey bloodlines but not bad either.

[barracuda]

You should also look at Noah Wright, another 16 yo played in the 19's on the weekend,and went well, backed up on Sunday to win a flag with St Ives U/17.
Rumoured to be moving to Melb to,play with the Oakliegh Chargers in the TAC cup

We went through the TAC option for our son who is an under 18s swans academy. We found there are pros and cons with both options. Given some 65% of players get drafted from the TAC cup it does seem to be attractive. On the other hand sending a boy to board, during his HSC and draft year, adds a significant amount of pressure. He has to effectively start again in a new city, alone.

On the other hand the swans program is elite. It is genuinely linked to a very successful AFL club, whereas the TAC teams are apparently not well linked and have lower standards than the swans. The addition of the NDS program at the swans and the opportunity for boys to play a significant number of games in Neafl is very positive as well.

On balance we felt that if our son is good enough the swans program would get him there. We felt that the fact our son understood the personnel, standards and processes at the swans was a distinct benefit, coupled with a stable home environment and good school as well.

In the end it was a bit of a no brainer. I think the way the system is working at the swans and if you can't get there through the academy, you are unlikely to improve your chances going to melbourne.