don't let your sons grow up to be footballers

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He has some excellent points. Perhaps careers are being cut short, or not allowed to start at all. And the league complains there is not enough talent about !
 

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It's interesting although I don't know if I agree entirely.

In the last few years Adelaide has mostly recruited players in their 20's.

The young guys who have been drafted usually play a couple of years in the SANFL before they gain senior selection anyway.
 
I agree with the general idea of what Neesham is saying, but I think that most of the pressure falls onto kids that are picked up in, say, the top 15 or so of the draft. Players like David Wirrpunda and Michael Gardiner, both #1 draft picks, had a lot of pressure on them because of it, but the professionalism of the West Coast Football Club has seen them graduate to become good footballers. On the other hand, someone like Travis Johnston of Melbourne hasn't lived up to the pressure of being a #1 draft pick, but does that say more about how Melbourne develops their players than the draft itself?

It's also ironic that someone like Neesham should be writing about his concerns about young players when he showed no sympathy towards Jeff White's homesickness. I get the feeling that a club like West Coast would have done more to make a young player feel at home in Perth and done more to make sure that he stayed with the club.
 

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don't let your sons grow up to be footballers

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