Swans Academy Games - 2022.

[dejavoodoo44]

So far the coverage has been a scoreboard on a blue screen saying Cluch. Well done Cluch TV. Although, the Giants are leading 33-13 at quarter time, so probably haven't missed much.

[dejavoodoo44]

They managed pictures that quarter, but no commentary. Giants in front 54-20 at the half.

[dejavoodoo44]

Just noticed that some of our academy players are in action for the Allies against SA today. The streaming link is on the AFL site. Currently SA is 7 points in front halfway through the second quarter.

[dejavoodoo44]

Ended up a fairly comfortable win for SA. Anderson, Edwards, Webster and Cleary were our academy guys that played today. Kirk and Endemann were listed in the squad, but I didn't see them, so unless they were injured early, they weren't playing. Alker was also listed, but he played VFL today. Of the

[dejavoodoo44]

Must stop accidently pressing 'post'.

Anyway, of the four who played, Webster is the only one who's in his draft year. Anderson and Edwards were last year; Cleary is next year. All played well to varying degrees. From what I saw, Webster and Edwards had strong games as tall defenders, with Edwards also acquitting himself well when relieving in the ruck. Anderson got plenty of the ball as an inside mid, but the quality of his possessions were variable. When he attacked the game, they were generally effective. However, sometimes he was indecisive in traffic, which led to him being caught with the ball. Other times, he looked like he's been spending too much time with Lewis Taylor at training, in that he was going for dinky short kicks that didn't have much purpose. Still, he tackles hard and gets his hands on the ball, so I do think that he's worth persisting with.

To me, Cleary further enhanced his reputation. Although they had him on the wing, instead of letting him play his natural game of nippy, in and under midfielder, he still did manage to impress. Good things tended to happen when the ball was in his area. Either through sharp and incisive possessions, or using his pace to put pressure on his opponents. I definitely think he'll be in draft contention next season.

[dejavoodoo44]

Rookie Me Draft Central included this write up of Angus Anderson, in their scouting notes on the Allies v SA match.

"Accumulating a game-high 25 disposals and seven clearances, Anderson was a beast around the ball. The over-age Swans Academy standout had little trouble imposing himself on the contest, often proving too big and strong at stoppages. His hands were typically clean and with such a strong frame, Anderson powered out with relative ease to get the Allies moving forward. As he was on Sunday, he’ll continue to be a core member of his side’s midfield group during this year’s championships."

They also included Webster in their match report, as one of the best for the Allies. He seems to be improving as the season progresses and I think he has a reasonable chance of being rookie listed as a KPD.

[liz]

Rookie Me Draft Central included this write up of Angus Anderson, in their scouting notes on the Allies v SA match.

"Accumulating a game-high 25 disposals and seven clearances, Anderson was a beast around the ball. The over-age Swans Academy standout had little trouble imposing himself on the contest, often proving too big and strong at stoppages. His hands were typically clean and with such a strong frame, Anderson powered out with relative ease to get the Allies moving forward. As he was on Sunday, he’ll continue to be a core member of his side’s midfield group during this year’s championships."

They also included Webster in their match report, as one of the best for the Allies. He seems to be improving as the season progresses and I think he has a reasonable chance of being rookie listed as a KPD.

I reckon three of the "big blondes" stand some chance of being rookie listed at the end of the year - Anderson, Webster and Edwards. They all fit list needs we have in that they are different kinds of player to the young brigade already gathered. I don't think any has been startlingly good in any of the underage games I've seen this year, but their size and athleticism gives them a better chance of an AFL career than the rest of the academy squad.

I also hope Kirk gets an opportunity in the next U18 championships game. He looked decent in the early season academy games, where the whole team looked fit, strong and cohesive. As they gradually deteriorated as the season progressed, it was harder to get a handle on individuals' games. I don't think he has the tricks (speed, elusiveness) to play as a small forward at AFL level, which is where he has played most of his academy football this year (that which I've seen, anyway) but I wonder if he could become a Jake Lloyd style player with further development.

By my reckoning (though I no longer consider myself to be across the list rules, so often have they changed), we have Wicks, Amartey and McLean all with contracts for next season and all having already spent three years on the rookie list. I think that means they all need to be elevated to the senior list at the end of the year. Which means we may not have many available spots in the ND* but should have quite a few on the rookie list. That seems to be the sweet spot for this year's academy prospects.

* I started a paragraph speculating on how many spots, before checking myself and realising there is a better thread for that discussion.

[dejavoodoo44]

I reckon three of the "big blondes" stand some chance of being rookie listed at the end of the year - Anderson, Webster and Edwards. They all fit list needs we have in that they are different kinds of player to the young brigade already gathered. I don't think any has been startlingly good in any of the underage games I've seen this year, but their size and athleticism gives them a better chance of an AFL career than the rest of the academy squad.

I also hope Kirk gets an opportunity in the next U18 championships game. He looked decent in the early season academy games, where the whole team looked fit, strong and cohesive. As they gradually deteriorated as the season progressed, it was harder to get a handle on individuals' games. I don't think he has the tricks (speed, elusiveness) to play as a small forward at AFL level, which is where he has played most of his academy football this year (that which I've seen, anyway) but I wonder if he could become a Jake Lloyd style player with further development.

By my reckoning (though I no longer consider myself to be across the list rules, so often have they changed), we have Wicks, Amartey and McLean all with contracts for next season and all having already spent three years on the rookie list. I think that means they all need to be elevated to the senior list at the end of the year. Which means we may not have many available spots in the ND* but should have quite a few on the rookie list. That seems to be the sweet spot for this year's academy prospects.

* I started a paragraph speculating on how many spots, before checking myself and realising there is a better thread for that discussion.

Yes, and if not, they may get a VFL contract. Which is some sort of option to further assess academy products that are thereabouts, but not kicking the door down.

And I'm mildly interested in how the club manages the VFL squad. Will it mainly be a means of keeping borderline academy graduates in the system for another couple of seasons, while it's determined whether they are likely to play senior football? Or will players like Morrison, Bartholomaeus, Cordell, etc, who have played pretty well at VFL level, be rewarded with another year or two, even if they're probably not going to be promoted to the AFL list?

[Ludwig]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think Liz is right about the 3 year rookie rule. We could always use the delist with promise to re-rookie if need be. I wouldn't be too worried about doing that with Wicks and McLean.

Anderson + 2 KPPs sounds like a good recipe for this draft, and if we do it with academy kids, all the better. We've already used one spot on HKK, so we need to delist someone just to get back to the limit. It's still too early to count list openings. We have a fair number of players in doubt for next season, including Lloyd and Cunningham as free agents. Melican may also want a trade. I don't know how much interest their would be in him. He's a FA next year.

Our first line of KPPs looks good, but the depth going into the future is suspect, with Franklin, Reid, BOC, Melican and McLean all looking as possible departures over the next couple of years. I think we need to focus on KPPs this season.

[dejavoodoo44]

Looks like the same four academy players (Anderson, Cleary, Edwards and Webster) are playing for the Allies against Vic Metro today. Unfortunately, the match starts at 1pm, which is the same time as our VFL match.

[dejavoodoo44]

Anderson, Alker and Cleary from our academy, line up for the Allies today in their match against Vic Country. The match is streamed on the AFL site.

Watch it LIVE: Allies v Vic Country from 11.30am AEST - Watch it LIVE: U18 Championships

Of those players, Anderson and Alker are overage, while Cleary is underage. Webster who has played in previous Allies games and is in his draft year, did pretty well in our VFL team yesterday.

[dejavoodoo44]

Our U16 academy side is playing a match against NT at Metricon at 2.15pm today. No idea if there's any streaming of the match.

[liz]

Watch it LIVE: Allies v Western Australia from 12.30pm ACST

The Allies are playing WA shortly. Game starts at 1pm (Sydney time) and it is being streamed on the AFL site. Anderson, Edwards and Webster are all set to play.

I'm slightly disappointed that young Kirk hasn't been given at least one game to experience this level of footy.

[liz]

Can anyone provide hints about how to actually watch the stream? The page I linked above states it is being streamed but I can't find a link to the actual stream anywhere.

[rb4x]

Toby Alker who has been playing in our VFL side is also named.