Academy 2021 Next Generation Academy Players - Nominations are in!

Those who have been nominated:

NEXT GENERATION ACADEMY
Carlton
Domanic Akuei

Fremantle
Eric Benning
Jesse Motlop

Hawthorn
Paul Haasbroek

Melbourne
Mac Andrew
Andy Moniz-Wakefield

St Kilda
Josiah Kyle
Mitchito Owens
Jack Peris
Marcus Windhager

Western Bulldogs
Cody Raak

 

Heaps of fun

Goatered on the sticks
Sep 13, 2013
23,853
62,248
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I’m pretty sure West Coast doesn’t have list spots for them all, so they end up in the open draft anyway... also you can’t take an NGA kid in the first 40 picks anymore.

So if they did decide to sack 3/4 of their senior list just so they could draft 30 NGA kids that weren’t good enough to go in the first 40 picks then really I don’t have a problem with that.
Don't be asinine. The issue has nothing to do with West Coast but rather that the NGA catchments are clearly wildly uneven. The fact is some clubs are getting up to ten times as many players in their academies to pick out the best from. How competitive would an academy with 20-30 kids vying for a spot be compared to ones where there are only a handful of players that meet the criteria?

The draft has advanced a lot in recent years that even beyond the top 40 picks clubs are still regularly picking out very good players. If some clubs are able to add 3-4 really good young blokes that have already been through an professional academy while others are leaving empty handed year after year then that's a significant advantage.
 
Don't be asinine. The issue has nothing to do with West Coast but rather that the NGA catchments are clearly wildly uneven. The fact is some clubs are getting up to ten times as many players in their academies to pick out the best from. How competitive would an academy with 20-30 kids vying for a spot be compared to ones where there are only a handful of players that meet the criteria?

The draft has advanced a lot in recent years that even beyond the top 40 picks clubs are still regularly picking out very good players. If some clubs are able to add 3-4 really good young blokes that have already been through an professional academy while others are leaving empty handed year after year then that's a significant advantage.
Don’t be rude, that was uncalled for.

If your claim is that having 30 extra kids to choose from after pick 40 means that the catchments are uneven then yeah, that’s possible. They could also be putting more resources into identifying players for their academy, whereas a lot of clubs have cut back due to covid, so there’s probably a few factors. But yes the result is uneven.

The thing is though that they’re not getting a benefit commensurate with the level of investment. At most they could take 3-4 of those kids if they cut really deep and take 7 in the draft, with four after 40. So like 10%, if they cut deep and are in some kind of rebuild, and they still have to have the points to match.

The other 26 kids with professional academy training paid for by West Coast end up at the other clubs when West Coast can’t match the bid on them, or else they don’t get drafted at all.

Altogether there’s close to 150 players in NGAs this year, plus father/sons and northern academy players not listed above who all have professional academy backgrounds. If every club takes 3 there’s still going to be over 100 of them not getting drafted at all.

And then there’s a heap of kids in the elite private schools system that are pretty similarly prepared, if not better, that go in the open draft.

If you wanted to redraw the lines you’d have to look at the distribution of migrant and Indigenous populations and then carve up the country the way we do with government electorates, so that the eligible population in each area is similar. I’d have thought that’s what they had already done but they haven’t been transparent about it afaik so it is worth further investigation.

What they do from there is up to them, maybe they pick three to develop, maybe they pick 30 and invest in all of them. It’s strategy and money at that point.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Moderator
  • #31
One interesting name here is Salele Feagaimalii.

I thought he ditched footy last year.
Quit footy for boxing. Last I had heard he had now quit Boxing as well. Just a talent that will go untapped, unfortunately.
 

Zurgblade

Team Captain
Feb 14, 2018
417
596
AFL Club
West Coast
How much longer can they keep this farce going? Looks like WC has 30 prospects this year to Carlton's 3. If they're not going to scrap it then the number of players a club can take should be capped at one. The rest go into the national pool.

I've followed the WC list quite closely and I can assure you, its far from a true reflection of draftable talent that they are developing. A lot of those players aren't on WAFL colts lists. Some of them aren't even playing anymore so it looks like WC simply submitted a list of eligible athletes.

The way Fremantle run their NGA is much more appealing, selecting only the best athletes and segregating them into 4 different tiers depending on their age and abilities.

I'm actually surprised to see to a number of 2002 aged athletes on the list. The ruling was meant to be that if an athlete was not drafted in their 18th year of birth, they were no longer eligible for academy selection? Perhaps the AFL has re-written this rule given the NAB restructure to an U19's system.
 
Last edited:
Nov 7, 2017
27,654
53,308
Melbourne
AFL Club
GWS
Other Teams
Manchester City, Collingwood AFLW
I'm actually surprised to see to a number of 2002 aged athletes on the list. The ruling was meant to be that if an athlete was not drafted in their 18th year of birth, they were no longer eligible for academy selection? Perhaps the AFL has re-written this rule given the NAB restructure to an U19's system.
I believe the ability to match bids lasts until the player turns 22
 
Apr 1, 2008
14,748
17,336
NASA
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Coburg
You can stay eligible through your overage year but that's it.

14.8 Over Age Players

If a Player is not included on a [NSW/QLD] Club’s Primary List or Rookie List after attaining draft eligibility age, a Club may retain the Player in the Club Academy who is aged over 18 years and under 19 years as at 31 December in the Football Year following the year they attain draft eligibility age for a period of one year, provided such player complies with Rule 14.6 and has previously nominated for the National Draft but has not been selected in any Draft.

15.9 Over Age NGA Players

If a Qualified NGA Player is not included on a Club’s Primary List or Rookie List after attaining draft eligibility age, a Club may retain the Qualified NGA Player in the Football Year following the year they attain draft eligibility age for a period of one year in the Club’s Next Generation Academy, provided such Qualified NGA Player attends any screening/testing as directed by the AFL (including the AFL Combine), has previously nominated for the National Draft but has not been selected in any Draft and the General Counsel has granted his approval.


 

Eastcoasteagle

Premiership Player
Oct 20, 2017
4,794
11,971
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
I've followed the WC list quite closely and I can assure you, its far from a true reflection of draftable talent that they are developing. A lot of those players aren't on WAFL colts lists. Some of them aren't even playing anymore so it looks like WC simply submitted a list of eligible athletes.

The way Fremantle run their NGA is much more appealing, selecting only the best athletes and segregating them into 4 different tiers depending on their age and abilities.

I'm actually surprised to see to a number of 2002 aged athletes on the list. The ruling was meant to be that if an athlete was not drafted in their 18th year of birth, they were no longer eligible for academy selection? Perhaps the AFL has re-written this rule given the NAB restructure to an U19's system.
Plus, it's not as if we've had a tonne of academy players yet. Jarrod Cameron the lone prospect thus far, compared to other clubs this is nothing!!!
 

Eastcoasteagle

Premiership Player
Oct 20, 2017
4,794
11,971
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Chelsea FC
I’m pretty sure West Coast doesn’t have list spots for them all, so they end up in the open draft anyway... also you can’t take an NGA kid in the first 40 picks anymore.

So if they did decide to sack 3/4 of their senior list just so they could draft 30 NGA kids that weren’t good enough to go in the first 40 picks then really I don’t have a problem with that.
Isn't it first 20 picks this year and first 40 picks next year!
 

dylan93

Club Legend
Mar 16, 2011
2,422
1,819
Melbourne
AFL Club
Melbourne
Hope we actually finally reap the rewards with this Mac Andrew lad in the coming draft.

Haven't had much to come from our NGA so far, whereas other clubs have been getting a bunch of decent players.
 
Jul 25, 2019
53,234
78,465
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Leeds United
Thought it might be a good idea to keep an eye out for Mac Andrew, who is projected to go to The Dees as an Academy Selection, but due to recent changes to NGA rules, the Dees will miss out on him If a club bids on him before pick 20.

Hopefully (for Melbourne's sake) this is not the case.

But it just adds to my constant irritation and hypocrisy at the AFL constantly changing rules on the run, and this rule (seemingly) does not apply to Northern State club academies.
 
Raak played VFL last night in Canberra and didn't look out of place. Was dominating u18s for the jets until the comp hiatus.
That awkward size where he plays KPD as a junior but wouldn't be able to at AFL level so needs to really push his intercepting/kicking game to stay on the radar
 
Jun 19, 2016
20,756
39,597
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Raak played VFL last night in Canberra and didn't look out of place. Was dominating u18s for the jets until the comp hiatus.
That awkward size where he plays KPD as a junior but wouldn't be able to at AFL level so needs to really push his intercepting/kicking game to stay on the radar
Still very lightweight.
 
Still very lightweight.
I don't think that's a concern. As they say it's easier to add size than add talent. Buku has developed well in his time at the Bulldogs and I suspect Raak would follow a similar path. Wood's close to the end (that spot is your Buks) and Raak seems a natural Crozier/tall interceptor type which coaches love in a zone defence.
 
Jun 19, 2016
20,756
39,597
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
I don't think that's a concern. As they say it's easier to add size than add talent. Buku has developed well in his time at the Bulldogs and I suspect Raak would follow a similar path. Wood's close to the end (that spot is your Buks) and Raak seems a natural Crozier/tall interceptor type which coaches love in a zone defence.
Yeah I meant in relation to being picked up mid season.
 

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,863
31,794
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I don't think that's a concern. As they say it's easier to add size than add talent. Buku has developed well in his time at the Bulldogs and I suspect Raak would follow a similar path. Wood's close to the end (that spot is your Buks) and Raak seems a natural Crozier/tall interceptor type which coaches love in a zone defence.


I highly doubt he ends up at the Dogs.

Will 100% get snapped up in the first 3 picks of the MSD.
 
Aug 9, 2019
37,994
64,900
Victorian Central Highlands
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Panthers, GWV Rebels, Central Augusta
Bloody hell he's tall.

Who will he aim to push out of Adelaide's side in the next few years?
Plenty of contenders there...Frampton, Himmelberg, Fogarty all underwhelming and an aging Tex Walker won't be there.

But let's not kid ourselves with his athleticism, agility, wheels and height it is almost a certainty that he won't be available to us after pick 40 for matching purposes.

We're not the Western Buldogs when it comes to free hits at top end talent thanks to the VAFL..
 
Back