Academy uproar rears again

[KTigers]

I'd be very surprised if Gulden is only 171cm. That is 5' 7" in the old language. We all know that tape measures and scales at footy clubs
are dodgy at best, and have been for decades. Normally players heights are overstated and their weight understated.

[rb4x]

I think that would be an old height. When I saw him in Round 1 I thought he looked a good bit taller than last year,

[stevoswan]

Pridham has come out absolutely swinging in today's HS re: the Victorian whinging about our academy. He basically said if they change the Academy system or try to shut it down, they can kiss goodbye to the FS system. As the HS is behind a paywall, here is a Foxsports link covering the same stuff. Gerard Healy has joined him in having a go at the criticism.

AFL news 2021: Sydney Swans academy debate, Andrew Pridham, Gerard Healy, Chris Scott

I'll throw in one Pridham quote here, which hits the nail of Victorian hypocrisy on the head.

"Pridham said he was flabbergasted clubs would “start throwing stones” after Sydney has only won three games.

“The thing that has always frustrated me is that if you look at things through a Victorian lens, if it is seen to have advantaged non-Victorian clubs it’s an unfair advantage,” Pridham said.

“If it benefits a club like Geelong or Collingwood, it’s tradition. Like the father-son system.”

[neilfws]

I'd be very surprised if Gulden is only 171cm. That is 5' 7" in the old language. We all know that tape measures and scales at footy clubs
are dodgy at best, and have been for decades. Normally players heights are overstated and their weight understated.

Wikipedia has him at 176 cm, AFL Tables at 175 cm. Have seen discrepancies of 4-5 cm for some players, I'm never sure which sources (if any) are accurate.

[dejavoodoo44]

I'd be very surprised if Gulden is only 171cm. That is 5' 7" in the old language. We all know that tape measures and scales at footy clubs
are dodgy at best, and have been for decades. Normally players heights are overstated and their weight understated.

Yes, 171cm is his height before his growth spurt. He's now 176cm. I'm actually looking forward to when we start to play him in his real position of midfielder. It might be a bit like the rabbit scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Oversized opposition mids, thinking that he's tiny and that they can power right over him: only to find themselves sprawled on the centre square turf, as he speeds away towards goal.

[Bloods05]

Pridham has come out absolutely swinging in today's HS re: the Victorian whinging about our academy. He basically said if they change the Academy system or try to shut it down, they can kiss goodbye to the FS system. As the HS is behind a paywall, here is a Foxsports link covering the same stuff. Gerard Healy has joined him in having a go at the criticism.

AFL news 2021: Sydney Swans academy debate, Andrew Pridham, Gerard Healy, Chris Scott

I'll throw in one Pridham quote here, which hits the nail of Victorian hypocrisy on the head.

"Pridham said he was flabbergasted clubs would “start throwing stones” after Sydney has only won three games.

“The thing that has always frustrated me is that if you look at things through a Victorian lens, if it is seen to have advantaged non-Victorian clubs it’s an unfair advantage,” Pridham said.

“If it benefits a club like Geelong or Collingwood, it’s tradition. Like the father-son system.”

Excellent stuff from Pridham. Thank goodness McGuire is silenced.

[liz]

Yes, 171cm is his height before his growth spurt. He's now 176cm. I'm actually looking forward to when we start to play him in his real position of midfielder. It might be a bit like the rabbit scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Oversized opposition mids, thinking that he's tiny and that they can power right over him: only to find themselves sprawled on the centre square turf, as he speeds away towards goal.

If you see him standing next to Papley, he is perceptibly shorter but only by a bit. So 176cm seems about right (assuming Tom's listed height of 178cm is accurate).

For reference, I think Ben McGlynn was listed as 174cm.

[Ludwig]

Pridham has come out absolutely swinging in today's HS re: the Victorian whinging about our academy. He basically said if they change the Academy system or try to shut it down, they can kiss goodbye to the FS system. As the HS is behind a paywall, here is a Foxsports link covering the same stuff. Gerard Healy has joined him in having a go at the criticism.

AFL news 2021: Sydney Swans academy debate, Andrew Pridham, Gerard Healy, Chris Scott

I'll throw in one Pridham quote here, which hits the nail of Victorian hypocrisy on the head.

"Pridham said he was flabbergasted clubs would “start throwing stones” after Sydney has only won three games.

“The thing that has always frustrated me is that if you look at things through a Victorian lens, if it is seen to have advantaged non-Victorian clubs it’s an unfair advantage,” Pridham said.

“If it benefits a club like Geelong or Collingwood, it’s tradition. Like the father-son system.”

What I don't like about going public like this is that Pridham is begging other clubs to make early bids on our academy players. If Hawthorn had made a bid for Gulden at pick 6, we would have been crying out "vexatious bid."

[Steve]

Michael Gleeson made the point that the Swans academy, because it starts from 10yo, turns out draftees with exceptional skills potentially better than those who go through the VIC, WA, SA systems.

But was anyone saying that 6 months ago before Campbell and Gulden? How many have gone through the Academy (is it 1200 I saw quoted somewhere)? There’s a handful at best that I would say have ‘exceptional skills’ so it’s hardly as though we are taking dozens of 10 y/o rugby players each year who can’t kick and through intensive training turning them all into 18 y/o’s with elite skills.

I think there’s also some mythology sprouting as to what we are doing with these kids at 10, 11, 12 years old as well - people seem to think we are training them 30 hours a week every week of the year or something, the reality is very different.

It’s actually a raw deal we get under the current system when you think about it. We’re like a farmer who spends money and effort nurturing a product, and then when the crop is yielded we actually have to pay again to keep it for ourselves if it is of sufficient quality that others value it.

The only benefit we get is first access so we get local recruits and reducing the go-home factor, but arguably that is only squaring the ledger against all the southern clubs who have that benefit.

[Bangalore Swans]

Pridham has come out absolutely swinging in today's HS re: the Victorian whinging about our academy. He basically said if they change the Academy system or try to shut it down, they can kiss goodbye to the FS system. As the HS is behind a paywall, here is a Foxsports link covering the same stuff. Gerard Healy has joined him in having a go at the criticism.

AFL news 2021: Sydney Swans academy debate, Andrew Pridham, Gerard Healy, Chris Scott

I'll throw in one Pridham quote here, which hits the nail of Victorian hypocrisy on the head.

"Pridham said he was flabbergasted clubs would “start throwing stones” after Sydney has only won three games.

“The thing that has always frustrated me is that if you look at things through a Victorian lens, if it is seen to have advantaged non-Victorian clubs it’s an unfair advantage,” Pridham said.

“If it benefits a club like Geelong or Collingwood, it’s tradition. Like the father-son system.”

Pridbam said in the article that you can rent a 8 bedroom house in Geelong for $300 a week?

Is that correct?

[crackedactor 01]

I cannot believe the criticism. 12 out of 2400 kids that have gone on to play AFL Football. Ask them(VICTORIAN CLUBS) if they would start an academy that costs millions of dollars and only get only .005% of them good enough to play AFL.

[KTigers]

Pridham said in the article that you can rent a 8 bedroom house in Geelong for $300 a week?

Is that correct?

Apparently that is what he said. I think he is just trying to make a point that it's a lot cheaper than Sydney, and I'm sure it is.
You couldn't pay me any amount of money to live in Geelong. Except there are some pretty good golf courses down that way.
I don't mind Pridham. He comes out swinging and you won't die wondering about what he thinks.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

I don't mind Pridham. He comes out swinging and you won't die wondering about what he thinks.

Sounding a bit Richard Colless - it'll be naughty hand gestures next.

[dejavoodoo44]

Good of Pridham to remind the Victorian clubs that they have their own academies, with the NGAs. I wonder why they seem to forget about those? Could it be, that the NGAs don't really take up much time and effort during the season, and that they only their minds, in the run up to the draft?

- - - Updated - - -

Good of Pridham to remind the Victorian clubs that they have their own academies, with the NGAs. I wonder why they seem to forget about those? Could it be, that the NGAs don't really take up much time and effort during the season, and that they only their minds, in the run up to the draft?

They only enter their minds.
(I can't blame the auto correct for that).

[Sandridge]

Pridham has come out absolutely swinging in today's HS re: the Victorian whinging about our academy. He basically said if they change the Academy system or try to shut it down, they can kiss goodbye to the FS system. As the HS is behind a paywall, here is a Foxsports link covering the same stuff. Gerard Healy has joined him in having a go at the criticism.

AFL news 2021: Sydney Swans academy debate, Andrew Pridham, Gerard Healy, Chris Scott

I'll throw in one Pridham quote here, which hits the nail of Victorian hypocrisy on the head.

"Pridham said he was flabbergasted clubs would “start throwing stones” after Sydney has only won three games.

“The thing that has always frustrated me is that if you look at things through a Victorian lens, if it is seen to have advantaged non-Victorian clubs it’s an unfair advantage,” Pridham said.

“If it benefits a club like Geelong or Collingwood, it’s tradition. Like the father-son system.”

Big thanks for posting this Stevo. Particularly love Pridham's jab at Collingwood!