List Mgmt. Next Generation Academy/Northern Knights

[Blue and Silver]

As I am sure we all remember the AFL re-introduced zoning for the drafting of players from indigeneous and non-traditional footballing backgrounds. We've been allocated the Northern Knights zone as our feeder region.

So I thought we could use a thread to keep track of developments with the academy and players who we might produce.

http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2016-02-04/blues-allocated-region-for-academy

 

[gandaal]

The worst thing the AFL has ever done. They couldn't have thought of a better way to permanently create an unbalanced competition if they tried.

 

[thylacine60]

Northern Melbourne? That's it? Where's our regional/indigenous zones?

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Northern Melbourne? That's it? Where's our regional/indigenous zones?

Only the desperate clubs like Essendon and Richmond get those....

AFL is a joke.

* the academies off. Heeney & Mills in consecutive years... what a joke.

 

[HBF]

Only the desperate clubs like Essendon and Richmond get those....

AFL is a joke.

**** the academies off. Heeney & Mills in consecutive years... what a joke.

The AFL just can't help themselves in giving the northern clubs a leg up wherever possible.
Maybe they need to look closer to home and give some bloody assistance to the foundation clubs of the competition, not these johnny come lately's.

 

[gbatman]

AFL Academies goes against everything the AFL drafting system stands for. No club should have them, period.

 

[Cringle]

So whats does this actually mean?

Do we get first crack at the players from Northern Knights or?

 

[Jimmae]

Northern Melbourne? That's it? Where's our regional/indigenous zones?

Where are most of the immigrants in Victoria?

 

[ferrisb]

Cringle and others with similar questions/concerns.

Are we going back to zone recruiting?

NO. My understanding is that the program is set up to capture kids that wouldn't normally be captured by the footy system. And any kid already playing footy is off-limits.

The idea is to promote football to kids from different backgrounds (and indigenous kids). So you get access to an area, you teach foreign/indigenous kids about football, get them excited about the game, stick a football in their hands, teach em drills for a couple of years and you get access to them ala father-son bidding.

I think the rules are something like you can't have played football by the age of 16 and at least one of your parents has to be born overseas (diff for indigenous). Or some such. Of course as it's the AFL, I'm pretty sure they have announced the academies but haven't actually figured out exactly how it's going to work.

Which zones are the best?

As far as the zones, I don't think there is any actual association with the TAC teams or comps. I think Northern Knights is mentioned only as a guide to the kind of footballers that have come from that zone. Although that is probably a completely irrelevant guide (see below).

My interpretation is that you want a zone that has a high concentration of indigenous kids and/or foreigners. It could be better to have an area that hasn't traditionally produced many footballers.

While our zone looks the smallest and doesn't necessarily have huge footballing pedigree, I don't think it's as bad as it seems.

Quick facts on our zone

5 mins of research tells me

1) 40% of the North Melbournbe population is born in Australia vs national average of 69.8%. So lots of foreigners, then. TICK

1a) NM seems to have had an influx of migrants from Somalia and Eritrea. I only know a little about East Africa, but I don't think it's too far a stretch to suggest you could find extremely gifted athletes in the general style of Majak Daw or Gach Nyuon. TICK. Yeah, I know neither of these have done much, but imagine having a pool of 30 kids that are 6'6" and can run like the wind....All that's left to do from that point is EVERYTHING else that matters in football

2) Northern inner city suburbs seem to have a higher than average aboriginal population

So, it's all good then?

This post is partly trying to add facts to what has been a pretty heated and at-times vitriolic debate. But mostly I'm trying to convince myself that our zone isn't as crappy as I feared and the AFL hasn't ****ed us over yet again.

References

1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Melbourne,_Victoria
2 - http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/reports/VEAC demographics report Final 14.7.09.pdf

 

[mediumsizered]

So whats does this actually mean?

Do we get first crack at the players from Northern Knights or?

We get a crack at those who are from non-traditional football backgrounds or who are indigenous. We need to work closely with some of the private schools in the northern suburbs, e.g. Parade College, Ivanhoe Grammar etc, to offer scholarships to talented kids with these backgrounds.

 

[thylacine60]

Scholarships. Utter failure for us in the past.

 

[ferrisb]

Never fear, Thy.

The past has been reset....

 

[mediumsizered]

Scholarships. Utter failure for us in the past.

I think our efforts were token at best. Taylor Walker has worked out alright with the Crows & Bird played some good football with the Swans.

 

[Doro]

I think our efforts were token at best. Taylor Walker has walked out alright with the Crows & Bird played some good football with the Swans.

I think that will be the point of difference if we are to get some results from this zone. Putting some effort into it, rather than just the school clinics- but a bit of follow up and building some networks at regional club level as well. Our zone relationship at Bendigo used to be a great one. Hopefully that can be re-created here.

 

[ferrisb]

I think that will be the point of difference if we are to get some results from this zone. Putting some effort into it, rather than just the school clinics- but a bit of follow up and building some networks at regional club level as well. Our zone relationship at Bendigo used to be a great one. Hopefully that can be re-created here.

Agree. And the efforts will also need to go beyond the football field.

For some of these kids, it will need engagement with their parents/community. There might be some language issues or financial stresses.

I'm not suggesting that every kid from an immigrant family is a poverty-stricken, non-english speaker. But just that some sensitivity and care will go a long way. In fact, I'd even suggest cultural and personal understanding is possibly more important than stumbling upon some genetic freak.

I'm thinking of Jeffy Garlett - I doubt he would have made it to AFL if he wasn't taken in by a family associated with Swan Districts. Jesaulenko never would have played for Carlton if we hadn't convinced his parents we were a better fit than North. etc...

 

[Cringle]

Do we only have one region because we unofficially have an academy up in Western Sydney?

 

[Jimmae]

WA, SA & Tassie are yet to be divided up

 

[thylacine60]

Tassie please.

 

[ferrisb]

WA, SA & Tassie are yet to be divided up

We'd be entitled to some juicy zones...

Boltsland in TAS
Swandistrictsland in WA
Paybackforbettsandsauceland in SA

 

[Cripps 'n' Blue Bloods]

We'd be entitled to some juicy zones...

Boltsland in TAS
Swandistrictsland in WA
Paybackforbettsandsauceland in SA

#godscountry

 

[Jimmae]

It would appear that 1AW is heading up our Next Generation academy, and he'll be running a 10-week program next year, culminating in a round robin tournament where his squad will play two games against teams from the other 5 metro regions.

http://nthknights.com.au/andrew-walker-multicultural-squad/

 

[Deep Blue]

Only the desperate clubs like Essendon and Richmond get those....

AFL is a joke.

**** the academies off. Heeney & Mills in consecutive years... what a joke.

AFL run by reactionary clowns - even worse, they're very handsomely remunerated reactionary clowns!!! Academies/zones - complete mess - flies in the face of the so-called equalisation policy! I suppose it could have been worse though, what if they'd given us Macquarie Island?

 

[Deep Blue]

It would appear that 1AW is heading up our Next Generation academy, and he'll be running a 10-week program next year, culminating in a round robin tournament where his squad will play two games against teams from the other 5 metro regions.

http://nthknights.com.au/andrew-walker-multicultural-squad/

Just loving all the new initiatives - coordinated, forward-looking, carefully planned and crafted!!!

 

[Deep Blue]

WA, SA & Tassie are yet to be divided up

What about Christmas Island (any asylum seekers still there?) and Australian Antarctic Territory - those emperor penguins have a bit of size about them and would make for good defenders, especially during breeding season when guarding their chicks?

 

[Deep Blue]

We get a crack at those who are from non-traditional football backgrounds or who are indigenous. We need to work closely with some of the private schools in the northern suburbs, e.g. Parade College, Ivanhoe Grammar etc, to offer scholarships to talented kids with these backgrounds.

Broady Tech still goin'?