Hawthorn goes back to school to plant AFL in New Zealand

noosa hawk mad

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...l-in-new-zealand/story-e6frg7mf-1225801844010





UNDERSTANDABLY, the announcement last week of Hawthorn's plan to drive an AFL flag into New Zealand turf and lay claim to whatever football potential it can discover there met with a muted response.

Talk of the world as Australian football's oyster is not new and, of course, after-shocks from the news only days earlier of Kevin Sheedy's appointment as coach of a team from western Sydney that will enter the AFL competition in 2012 were still being felt.


Understandably, too, what coverage the announcement did garner was given over to Kurt Heatherly, the 190cm, 14-year-old nephew of former All-Black Jeff Hine, who has turned his back on exceptionally promising careers in basketball, rugby and cricket for the opportunity to become Hawthorn's first international scholarship player.

Link above.......:thumbsu:
 

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Frankston Rover

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#3
That is a great article, not just for Hawthorn but for AFL in general.

For Aussie Rules to be given that level of exposure in NZ is phenomenal and to think that Hawthorn have got in on the ground floor is even better.

Just shows that Jeff and his team are always looking for that next opportunity.
 

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#5
1) It would appear we are lining up our next home game venue for if and when the Tassie deal expires.

2) I was surprised the article identified that we get no claim over any NZ player.
Technically we don't, but if a player excels in one of our competitions, do you think he'll want to sign with a club that jumps in in the last minute or one that has spent time developing him?
 

Abasi

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This article should be sticky'd in my opinion. Mainly because out foresight and innovation should be at the top of the board for all to see.
And anyone who questions Kennett, Pelchen and their worth to our club should have quick access to this.

Worth noting also that the AGE and Australian have now run with stories about the HANZUP program and the signing f Heatherley, yet the HUN have made absolutely no mention of it.
They bang on about their football coverage, and then fail to document something as groundbreaking to our national game as a push into our closest neighbour. It's bewildering to me.
 
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#7
So I wasn't the only one wondering why the AFL has long been pushing the game down the throats of countries further away, all of whom are less likely to adopt our game than NZ, while a nation of people who are as mad about sport as we are has sat there ignored.

That plan seems very sound, it's not some ill conceived, half cocked blueprint for failure.

Again we've left other clubs behind with innovative ideas - the guys steering the ship right now are streets ahead of their competition. It shows in the profits, member numbers, team, and now this.
 

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#9
This article should be sticky'd in my opinion. Mainly because out foresight and innovation should be at the top of the board for all to see.
And anyone who questions Kennett, Pelchen and their worth to our club should have quick access to this.

Worth noting also that the AGE and Australian have now run with stories about the HANZUP program and the signing f Heatherley, yet the HUN have made absolutely no mention of it.
They bang on about their football coverage, and then fail to document something as groundbreaking to our national game as a push into our closest neighbour. It's bewildering to me.
thats because, for the age and australian they will comment on each story on its own merrit (normally) for the herald sun, it is to continually pump up certain clubs (mainly Richmond, Essendon collingwood and Geelong) and bring down some others at every chance (Mainly Hawthorn and North Melbourne.)
 

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#11
I'm sceptical about Kurt Heatherley. Can you guys cast your mind back to when you were 14? Imagine you loved doing art at school and you were an awesome painter and graphic designer and so on, then some Investment Banking firm rocks up at your school one day and throws some money at you and says "We want you to come work for us when you're 20. We'll put you through all the necessary training and fly you up to Sydney 4 times a year to work at our head office and before long you'll be a star Investment Banker".

Now that might sound great at 14, but considering what kind of stuff you go through from 14-18 in terms of changing your mind about what you want to be, discovering the different pathways that life has to offer and so on, don't you think you'd get a bit claustrophobic that your entire future has been mapped out for you in a profession you don't even know anything about?

Kurt might get to 16 and be sick of playing a sport that no-one in NZ has heard of, and be sick of his school mates teasing him about being a traitor and decide to cancel his scholarship. He might find that AFL isn't anywhere near as fun basketball or rugby and decide to quit for that reason.

My point is that although I think it's great that we're getting involved in NZ and we've found a sporting gem in Kurt, our chances of getting him to ever play a senior game for the Hawks should be considered practically impossible. Sorry to play Devil's advocate but I can't see this working out. He's too young
 

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RustyHawk

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#12
It appears as usual..Hawthorn do the hard work, put the dollars in and one of the low life poor clubs come along with nothing to offer but want to take as much as they.

Herald Sun article: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...s-to-new-zealand/story-e6frf9jf-1225803187317

"BE it an act of innovation, desperation or both, the Western Bulldogs unsuccessfully sought to sell two home games to New Zealand next year for $1 million. "
 

Roddy27

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#13
I'm sceptical about Kurt Heatherley. Can you guys cast your mind back to when you were 14? Imagine you loved doing art at school and you were an awesome painter and graphic designer and so on, then some Investment Banking firm rocks up at your school one day and throws some money at you and says "We want you to come work for us when you're 20. We'll put you through all the necessary training and fly you up to Sydney 4 times a year to work at our head office and before long you'll be a star Investment Banker".

Now that might sound great at 14, but considering what kind of stuff you go through from 14-18 in terms of changing your mind about what you want to be, discovering the different pathways that life has to offer and so on, don't you think you'd get a bit claustrophobic that your entire future has been mapped out for you in a profession you don't even know anything about?

Kurt might get to 16 and be sick of playing a sport that no-one in NZ has heard of, and be sick of his school mates teasing him about being a traitor and decide to cancel his scholarship. He might find that AFL isn't anywhere near as fun basketball or rugby and decide to quit for that reason.

My point is that although I think it's great that we're getting involved in NZ and we've found a sporting gem in Kurt, our chances of getting him to ever play a senior game for the Hawks should be considered practically impossible. Sorry to play Devil's advocate but I can't see this working out. He's too young
I think while it is necesary to be cautious- any player in the current scholarship schemes comes with a risk that they might not play for you, 'make it', or indeed they might just go home. Irish players, NSW players are as likely as Kurt is to turn to another sport or do any number of things that you've outlined above.

NZ is a lot like Melbourne, sporting mad. They are more accepting of the spectacles and nuances of different codes- and as a nation love nothing more than a challenge. IMO i would describe their sporting tastes as more cultured than that of NSW people (where i live)... The parochialism of people who support the NRL here from your average Joe through to the games celebrities and commentators is astonishing- and i can guarantee you that out of any market to date, it is the hardest one to crack. All we hear up here is the rhetoric of 'backs to the wall' and 'we have the greatest code and all we need to do is get a few things right and AFL we'll present us no worry at all'--- and i can say that that is an actual quote. It is an astonishing achievement, not only for our club, but for the code itself that so many young sportsmen are starting to play the code. People like Kieran Jack, like him or not, make an amazing statement about our game. I marvel at it given the state of the organization of AFL in sydney... you need only look at the fact that it's called Sydney AFL and not NSW AFL to see how it struggles. SANFL, VFL, WAFL, TFL, NTFL, QAFL- state and territory named leagues.

I digress...my overidding point is that Kurt has some significant advantages or rather we do in regards to him, that are culturally based for one but also based in how he and other young people learn about the sport through their secondary education system. Your fears about him being branded a traitor and surcuming to pressure arent necessarily warranted given that he was introduced to the game and more importantly played the game a) at school, and b) with his friends. There is a serious case to suggest that he genuinely became enamored with the code. He's not been poached from another sport. He has been able to make, somewhat, an informed decision based on his experience of the game. No one has come along waving cheque books or dollar signs in his face- which, i might add, other codes who dont have the restrictions in place that AFL does can do. For example- a 15 year old junior rugby player in NSW can be signed on a $50,000 a year retainer to agree to play for said clubs feeder organisations.

This venture may end up like a Marty Clarke, or Tadgh Kenneally, or any number of cases that we could care to list...however the fact we are starting from the bottom up, so to speak, as opposed to other scholarship schemes suggests that our chances for success over the years will be greater due to these solid foundations.
 

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#14
I think while it is necesary to be cautious- any player in the current scholarship schemes comes with a risk that they might not play for you, 'make it', or indeed they might just go home. Irish players, NSW players are as likely as Kurt is to turn to another sport or do any number of things that you've outlined above.

NZ is a lot like Melbourne, sporting mad. They are more accepting of the spectacles and nuances of different codes- and as a nation love nothing more than a challenge. IMO i would describe their sporting tastes as more cultured than that of NSW people (where i live)... The parochialism of people who support the NRL here from your average Joe through to the games celebrities and commentators is astonishing- and i can guarantee you that out of any market to date, it is the hardest one to crack. All we hear up here is the rhetoric of 'backs to the wall' and 'we have the greatest code and all we need to do is get a few things right and AFL we'll present us no worry at all'--- and i can say that that is an actual quote. It is an astonishing achievement, not only for our club, but for the code itself that so many young sportsmen are starting to play the code. People like Kieran Jack, like him or not, make an amazing statement about our game. I marvel at it given the state of the organization of AFL in sydney... you need only look at the fact that it's called Sydney AFL and not NSW AFL to see how it struggles. SANFL, VFL, WAFL, TFL, NTFL, QAFL- state and territory named leagues.

I digress...my overidding point is that Kurt has some significant advantages or rather we do in regards to him, that are culturally based for one but also based in how he and other young people learn about the sport through their secondary education system. Your fears about him being branded a traitor and surcuming to pressure arent necessarily warranted given that he was introduced to the game and more importantly played the game a) at school, and b) with his friends. There is a serious case to suggest that he genuinely became enamored with the code. He's not been poached from another sport. He has been able to make, somewhat, an informed decision based on his experience of the game. No one has come along waving cheque books or dollar signs in his face- which, i might add, other codes who dont have the restrictions in place that AFL does can do. For example- a 15 year old junior rugby player in NSW can be signed on a $50,000 a year retainer to agree to play for said clubs feeder organisations.

This venture may end up like a Marty Clarke, or Tadgh Kenneally, or any number of cases that we could care to list...however the fact we are starting from the bottom up, so to speak, as opposed to other scholarship schemes suggests that our chances for success over the years will be greater due to these solid foundations.
Great post Roddy. I'm obviously trying to keep a lid on the silly expectations on this kid but I appreciate what you're saying and I really hope I'm wrong and he becomes a star for us.
 

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#15
Also, there's a bit of a difference from wanting to be an artist to going into banking than there is in going from playing all different kinds of sports and athletics and then being picked up to play footy.
 

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#16
I'm sceptical about Kurt Heatherley. Can you guys cast your mind back to when you were 14? Imagine you loved doing art at school and you were an awesome painter and graphic designer and so on, then some Investment Banking firm rocks up at your school one day and throws some money at you and says "We want you to come work for us when you're 20. We'll put you through all the necessary training and fly you up to Sydney 4 times a year to work at our head office and before long you'll be a star Investment Banker".

Now that might sound great at 14, but considering what kind of stuff you go through from 14-18 in terms of changing your mind about what you want to be, discovering the different pathways that life has to offer and so on, don't you think you'd get a bit claustrophobic that your entire future has been mapped out for you in a profession you don't even know anything about?

Kurt might get to 16 and be sick of playing a sport that no-one in NZ has heard of, and be sick of his school mates teasing him about being a traitor and decide to cancel his scholarship. He might find that AFL isn't anywhere near as fun basketball or rugby and decide to quit for that reason.

My point is that although I think it's great that we're getting involved in NZ and we've found a sporting gem in Kurt, our chances of getting him to ever play a senior game for the Hawks should be considered practically impossible. Sorry to play Devil's advocate but I can't see this working out. He's too young
Jesus Christ Nev! Ya hair pigment affecting ya brain or something? ;):D
 

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#17
Listening to Chris Pelchen today on SEN today and he he also said that the club has arranged for a NZ version of the Hawks Kids tv show to shown weekly and 8 Hawk games LIVE on NZ TV.
 

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#18
Listening to Chris Pelchen today on SEN today and he he also said that the club has arranged for a NZ version of the Hawks Kids tv show to shown weekly and 8 Hawk games LIVE on NZ TV.
The hawks games would have to be the foxtel games we have, as there would be little cost involved (Foxtel has a working cable partner in Nz i think, it might be foxtel over there, haha).
 

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#22
We were very active there for a few years, and funded a lot developments type programs like HANZUP
We still sponsor the national side, and do a lot of grassroots work

The game stuff might be all saints, but whilst they're getting the mentions in aus, we are in nz
 
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