That's where it's on us to create own our special feeling around the club so locals turn down the opportunity to go to the southern states and stay here instead. Probably the best we can hope for is something close to what Adelaide/West Coast have where locals grow up dreaming of playing for the Crows or Eagles. We sort of saw it with Weller coming back to us after a few years at Freo but I'm not so sure that would have happened if Lachie had been drafted to a Victorian team. Lachie Weller was our version of Rankine joining the Crows in a lot of ways.
Toss in Ethan Reid and Will Graham this year. Leo will be a very good player - just needs to give off a little more when he gets in a tight spot but he's a star for sure. Jai Murray is another young guy coming through to keep an eye on.
Leo Lombard was selected in the U16s AA team and was named as our U16s Academy MVP last year so obviously the kid can play. For those who don't know, his father is a very famous Cuban UFC fighter named Hector Lombard and one look at the old man will show you that Leo has been blessed genetically:
It's funny you mention him being pulled to another sport because Leo was (unsurprisingly) a gold medallist at the U12s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Australian Open back in 2012. I won't profess to be a BJJ expert by any means by I would assume a low centre of gravity would be advantageous in that sport and he's clearly carried that into footy. I remember Leigh Matthews once saying Karmichael Hunt's low centre of gravity reminded him of Peter Daicos and, if used correctly, can be devastatingly effective in footy.
I think we're all very excited about the potential with Nancarrow and if he becomes even half the player Ryder was in his prime then we'll have a very handy player on our list. It's not often both the U18 & U16 AA CHFs come from the same academy (particularly given one was an underager) but we saw that last year with Walter and Nancarrow dominating at the national championships. It's all very exciting and it couldn't come at a better time when we're about to climb the ladder into (hopefully) a top 8 position this year!
Just the two? Any reason Walter didn't given he is in the afl academy.Academy members Jake Rogers (Broadbeach) and Ethan Read (Palm Beach) travelled to Melbourne in December to take part in the National Academy session at Essendon's Tullamarine training facilities. Hopefully the two lads learned a thing or two that they can implement in their games this year.
As for our female academy, Darcie Davies (Southport) and Sienna McMullen (Bond University) will travel to Victoria this weekend to take part in the AFLW National Academy session at Tullamarine and Geelong Grammar.
Young SUNS stars to begin AFLW Academy journey
SUNS Academy duo Darcie Davies and Sienna McMullen will join their AFLW Academy counterparts in its first high-performance training camp in Victoria this weekend.www.goldcoastfc.com.au
Nice to see our academy prospects getting the opportunity to train with the best junior footballers in the country!
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I believe Nancarow and also Boston Everitt will only play in any of the Melbourne games scheduled - so they both look like getting some access to competition.Was an interesting U18 trial match, with the squad now being cut to 40 and announced on Monday.
The big 3 for this years draft sat on the sideline. No Nancarrow either, which makes me wonder if he will be playing for us or the Sandy Dragons this year…
Few notable performances were Lombard, who as Sun Stormer alluded to, was everywhere. Over played his hand at times, but overall very classy user and hard as a cats head. Zanker-Close was excellent down back and reads the play well, but looked a little lost when he was rotated forward later in the match. Hay and Graham both played well, however both left the game injured, missing the final quarter. Dawson dominated in the ruck with Read out. Clunked some solid grabs and hit the scoreboard when moved into KPF.
Hudson and Adinsal both played remarkably well considering they are playing up from the U16 group. Murray started on ball, but was moved forward early.
Signs are pointing to a very competitive U18 team this year with the inclusion of Read, Walter and Rogers.️
How exciting! Hopefully we'll soon get some kind of update from down south on how Nancarrow is progressing. Seems like our '24 crop could be just as strong as our '23 crop if these guys keep developing at the same trajectory. I know Addinsall and Murray were also named in the U15 All Australian team last year so the '25 crop may be strong too but it's probably far too early to read into their draft chances.Was an interesting U18 trial match, with the squad now being cut to 40 and announced on Monday.
The big 3 for this years draft sat on the sideline. No Nancarrow either, which makes me wonder if he will be playing for us or the Sandy Dragons this year…
Few notable performances were Lombard, who as Sun Stormer alluded to, was everywhere. Over played his hand at times, but overall very classy user and hard as a cats head. Zanker-Close was excellent down back and reads the play well, but looked a little lost when he was rotated forward later in the match. Hay and Graham both played well, however both left the game injured, missing the final quarter. Dawson dominated in the ruck with Read out. Clunked some solid grabs and hit the scoreboard when moved into KPF.
Hudson and Adinsal both played remarkably well considering they are playing up from the U16 group. Murray started on ball, but was moved forward early.
Signs are pointing to a very competitive U18 team this year with the inclusion of Read, Walter and Rogers.
So does Jake Stringer
So does Jake Stringer
So does Jake Stringer
Just on Zai, obviously Darren Millane is the most famous name in the family but Zai's father John has been involved in local GC footy for a while now and currently serves as a senior assistant coach at Palm Beach Currumbin. John and Darren's brother Sean Millane is also involved in local GC footy and is the current senior head coach of Palm Beach Currumbin. So I'd imagine Zai will find his way into the PBC senior side either this year or next year.
Everyone keeps forgetting Will Graham - keep your eye on him. He's a jet.
