CaptainMurphy
Norm Smith Medallist
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2015
- Posts
- 5,715
- Reaction score
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- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
So spot on. I don't love the idea of academies in general, but when they are run the way the other three are running them the seem to produce a reasonable amount of talent (one or two players a year is enough compensation for running them, more is over the top) and more importantly produce players that wouldn't have played AFL without them. I can deal with that. But the GWS academy is just taking players that would have played AFL anyway and giving them to GWS. And currently at the rate of 5 top 30 players per year! It's outrageous.I can't understand how people (not saying you) can't see the difference between how Sydney and GWS work their academies.
Sydney have got two guns in Mills and Heeney who would not have played AFL without the academy. The Heeney for pick 18 thing was a joke, but the AFL fixed that. They both come from Sydney, live in Sydney and play for the academy. These player now cost market value. I'm all sweet with that.
GWS last year got Kennedy and Hopper. Hopper didn't live in Sydney, played his football at one of the better football schools in Victoria (St Pats), played for Ballarat Rebels. He was always going to play AFL, as someone who went to St Pats in 2011 there was hype even about him then. Kennedy didn't even go to the academy, he chose to play with his brothers instead. How the **** do they get the rights to him?
Just a quick look over who GWS have rights to this year, half of them are boarding in Melbourne and playing TAC cup. It's a joke, and it pisses me off that Sydney, Brisbane and GC get put in the same grouping as them. Those three clubs are using the system perfectly, getting kids who would have never played AFL and teaching them the game. GWS are picking kids who have always been on AFL clubs radars, sending them to the best football schools in Victoria and claiming them as their own.
I'd love to know how many hours Kennedy and Hopper spent at their academy compared to Mills and Heeney.
By the way, I had a sense that the GWS academy was working differently but had not had it really explained to me / confirmed, so thanks.



