Academy Watch

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Nunez said:
I think we can sometimes forget how stressful grade 12 can be for some teens. If I were a player who was essentially guaranteed a spot at a club (Brisbane) and wanted to study after school as well, I don't think I'd work as hard as humanly possible on my football career as I would if I had no guarantees. I think it's a mentality kid and tbh just like Andrews and Keays I don't care where they land, if they're going to be 100% committed to their development and the team then that is more important than anything. If this year for Allison is a year of trying to mesh school and footy and its effected his form then so be it, but when he comes to the club next year, he won't have 30 hours of school as week to contend with and access to our full time development coach.

Sorry, I sorta blabbered on there. Essentially, he has the raw tools to be a good AFL player regardless of when he's picked, lets not worry too much and just enjoy seeing him develop.
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Um, Allison finished school last year and has been working two jobs I believe but I get your point. Pick 1 or pick 100 first day of pre-season it doesn't matter where you were taken it's how hard you work for it.
 
Nunez said:
I think we can sometimes forget how stressful grade 12 can be for some teens. If I were a player who was essentially guaranteed a spot at a club (Brisbane) and wanted to study after school as well, I don't think I'd work as hard as humanly possible on my football career as I would if I had no guarantees. I think it's a mentality kid and tbh just like Andrews and Keays I don't care where they land, if they're going to be 100% committed to their development and the team then that is more important than anything. If this year for Allison is a year of trying to mesh school and footy and its effected his form then so be it, but when he comes to the club next year, he won't have 30 hours of school as week to contend with and access to our full time development coach.

Sorry, I sorta blabbered on there. Essentially, he has the raw tools to be a good AFL player regardless of when he's picked, lets not worry too much and just enjoy seeing him develop.
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in queensland theyre out of school in their final year of underage footy...
 
briztoon said:
Not any more he's not. Not pick 1 or top 10. Probably first round. There's a lot of hype around some of next years GWS kids (better than this years crop) and a few of the Vic country and quite a few of the Vic city kids. Ballenden may not even be the top QLD prospect with GC ruck prospect Brayden Crossley in the frame.
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There's a few development people around (notably Kevin Sheehan & Brenton Sanderson) that have in the past month stated that Ballenden is still in the fram for #1 and easily has the best KPF in next years draft :thumbsu:

But...of course, things can change in the space of 12 months :cool:
 

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I actually think that being out of school hurts. They are cut loose from the structured environment for the first time in their lives. They are expected to actually work and earn a living (a few go to uni admittedly). It is a time of massive change for them and often these kids seem to take their mind off the ball. WA and Qld kids are both affected and the down year as a top ager is most common in those groups.

How long before the later school finish change that has been implemented works through to grade 12?
 
Quigley said:
I actually think that being out of school hurts. They are cut loose from the structured environment for the first time in their lives. They are expected to actually work and earn a living (a few go to uni admittedly). It is a time of massive change for them and often these kids seem to take their mind off the ball. WA and Qld kids are both affected and the down year as a top ager is most common in those groups.

How long before the later school finish change that has been implemented works through to grade 12?
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I strongly agree with this and was going to make a similar point myself. Victorian kids go from structure to structure, especially with all their football-related structures too. Queensland have a drop off in the middle, and at best a semi-professional league on the weekends for footy structure.

IIRC Queensland isn't getting a later school finish, it was just added as an earlier school start.
 
Yes. Isaac Conway had to do some sort of apprenticeship (?electrican) while still doing some training and playing on weekends - the year he was drafted to us as a rookie. He commented on the difficulty juggling things in that year.
 
jjami15 said:
Um, Allison finished school last year and has been working two jobs I believe but I get your point. Pick 1 or pick 100 first day of pre-season it doesn't matter where you were taken it's how hard you work for it.
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Ah true. That sounds even rougher.
 
BigCat2 said:
Yes. Isaac Conway had to do some sort of apprenticeship (?electrican) while still doing some training and playing on weekends - the year he was drafted to us as a rookie. He commented on the difficulty juggling things in that year.
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Isaac has had a pretty good year from the stats I have seen over the course of the year. Good on him.
 
dlanod said:
IIRC Queensland isn't getting a later school finish, it was just added as an earlier school start.
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Pretty sure it was done to bring qld in line with the rest of the country - P to 12. I think the current Year 9 group will be the first to finish as 18yo's
 
Yup, bringing in line with other states. Schooling years basically goes by financial year rather than calendar year, which means a bunch of kids now finish school at 18.

I've actually never thought about how the kids up here have that gap year and how that would effect their drafting and footy development. Maybe there is a connection between QLD talent dropping off in their draft year after looking good as an underager. The boys down south still have that strict structure in their life, as well as having school, club and rep footy in the u18. Our boys basically get spat out into the wilderness... maybe play for their local club, but they also have to keep moving along with their lives.

Perhaps something the academy and our development/welfare can or should look at more perhaps. Only so much you can do when they aren't on our list, but they are still in our academy.
 
AFL had the jump on Rugby League from about 2010 to 2014 with all the hoo-rah of the inception of the GCS. AFL slaughtered RL in QLD with growth of numbers. There was a lot of discussion in the RL world of how to counteract the AFL juggernaut in QLD. It seems the QRL did have a think tank and came up with some solutions. One of which comes into being late this year.

The Gold Coast Titans have basically copied the Lions AFL academy idea to put in place the 1st real visible pathway for young aspiring RL players in South East QLD. At the top of the pathway pyramid is the Titans. Under that, A Intrust Super Cup team (QLD cup) will be located in Toowoomba. There will be Academy Cells (Juniors) based in Toowoomba, Roma and either Warwick or Gundi. Each club from the various regions have been asked to nominate 2 players from each team (u12 through to u18) to be looked at by the academy. Players and parents are interviewed, the child must have good behaviour and attendance records at school.

The Intrust super cup team based out of Toowoomba and the academy will be called, the "Western Mustangs". The academy will not make up teams or play games. Therefore there is no need to select kids to make up team numbers. Therefore only those deemed 'elite' will be selected. Players are taken to the Titans to use facilities etc. Personalised weight training programs are give to each boy. They are educated in sports psyc, nutrition, physical health, etc.

What this does is give SEQLD kids and parents a clear view of what to aim at. The same as AFL kids have had all to themselves up to now. Had this been in place 5-6 years ago, Kids like Wylie Buzza would never have crossed codes as he would have been in the Titans academy and had a clear pathway to focus on.

QRL have just upped the anti in the already uneven struggle for top end talent between the codes in SEQLD. Competition brings out the best in everyone. I believe the Lions academy will respond, I'm just not sure how they go about it. Certainly a greater focus on the Darling Downs senior competition, with a goal of an QAFL side playing out of Toowoomba with a similar structure of juniors under it like the Titans are implementing. AFL cant afford to be drowned out by an Intrust super cup side based out of Toowoomba as the interest it will generate will be massive. They will flood Darling Downs eadia and make huge inroads into the available juniors numbers.
 

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noone else from our academy. Just Watson and Allison really.
 
Dylan12 said:
Still reckon we dropped the ball not recruiting Watson, even if it meant over paying in the short term.
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Norf paid pick 34 for him. He would've cost us Corey Lyons plus pick ~20 next year, with a pick in the 40s coming back. Too expensive unless the club valued him very highly...
 
iBeng said:
He'll come home in 2 years anyway, he's QLD royalty.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
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So off to Collingwood then?
 
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