NSW/ACT Rams 2009

[Chandra]

A windy start to the trials at Coffs- but a nice place to be watching some footy.

Plenty of recruiters there which was going to be interseting with clubs now having to fork out there own $$ for the Scholarship program.
Stingrays knocked off the local "Heat" in the opener. Leroy Eggmolesse was creative off 1/2 back using the ball well into the wind.

Kaine Stevens showed a bit of poise and kicked nicely for the Cats in their win over the Starz who failed to kick a goal. Josh Bruce also played well for them, Ted Strudwick showed some good run and game sense for the Starz.

Was keen to see Duryea and McNeil for the Rebels- but most players are tending to find their match feet, the decision -making as well as the wind affected the standard of games.

Northern Heat then got the home crowd excited to kick 3 late goals with the wind and down the Starz- might be their first U18 win? James Webster took them on and kicked the goal from 50m in the last minute.

Look forward to a less windy night tomorrow and see if the players have settled into their footy a bit more.

 

[Dave The Man]

Any Scholarship Players getting a Go for the u-18 Rams this year?

 

[lloydy1]

with some of the names for these teams...
what were they thinking?

 

[borgsta2006]

How did Braedon Jones go???

He's a gun in the Black Diamond AFL Senior comp and on scholarship with the Western Bulldogs.

 

[Chandra]

How did Braedon Jones go???

He's a gun in the Black Diamond AFL Senior comp and on scholarship with the Western Bulldogs.

Didn't watch him that closely but noted that his kicking was a bit off- but found the footy a few times. The games are 2 x 15 mins and the players change positions every half, so it's not a format that sees players dominate a game.

 

[desie]

How did the newly formed Pioneers go Chandra?

There's half a dozen Penrith boys in the squad so I'm hoping they in particular do well.

 

[Chandra]

Didn't watch the Pioneers- will get back out there tonight

RESULTS - DAY ONE

STINGRAYS 6.2 (38)
NORTHERN HEAT 2.1 (13)

GOALKICKERS - STINGRAYS: R Quade 2; K Aylett, W Hancock, B Camilleri, C Andrews NORTHERN HEAT: J Gillingham, A Mitchell

STARZ 0.3 (3)
CATS 6.3 (39)

GOALKICKERS - CATS: J Tutt, K Stevens 2; J Millynn, J Manie

PIGEONS 0.0 (0)
REBELS 9.8 (62)

GOALKICKERS - REBELS: S Schulz, J Williams, A Miles, C Sargeant, A Grigg, L Maloney, L Johnson, T Segrave, D Star-Hossack

NORTHERN HEAT 4.4 (28)
STARZ 4.3 (27)


GOALKICKERS - NORTHERN HEAT: J Lewis, Z Manley, B Singleton, D Lloyd STARZ: M Trent, J Martin, J Duncan, J Mobbs

CATS 5.3 (33)
PIGEONS 4.2 (26)

GOALKICKERS - CATS: A Curtois, A Vandenberg, B Matthews, J Evans, M Pelda PIGEONS: K Emery 3; N Weldon-Bowen


REBELS 4.3 (27)
PIONEERS 3.2 (20)

GOALKICKERS - REBELS: D Star-Hossack 2; C Duck, J Williams PIONEERS: D Spiteri, B Bourke, J Pianta


PIGEONS 3.3 (20)
STARZ 2.2 (13)

GOALKICKERS - PIGEONS: A Riley, J Britton, K Temple STARZ: K Murphy, S Easey

NORTHERN HEAT 1.3 (9)
REBELS 6.5 (41)

GOALKICKERS - REBELS: C Duck 3; C Sargeant 2; A Grigg NORTHERN HEAT: S Adams

PIONEERS 5.1 (31)
STINGRAYS 8.3 (51)

GOALKICKERS - STINGRAYS: S Burge 2; L Haddrill, J Simonetta, R Quade, H Cumming, J Johns, B Mabon PIONEERS: D Spiteri, R Bottin-Noonan, B Bourke, J Randall, A Sneddon

 

[borgsta2006]

Alex Mitchell from my town Singleton is another lad worth watching in this tournament too. He is a very determined player. Hard at the footy.

 

[vandelay]

Any Scholarship Players getting a Go for the u-18 Rams this year?

There'd be plenty I'd imagine.

St Kilda's Josh Duncan, Port Adelaide's Jordan Johns, Sydney's Ryan Bottin-Noonan and Geelong's Kale Temple were all around the mark last year so one would expect the 4 of them to feature fairly prominently.

Chandra mentioned James Webster who's an Essendon boy as well as Ted Strudwick who, looking at my records, is a Melbourne boy.

I'd also expect to see Hawthorn's AIS boys in Trent Stubbs and Will Langford having an impact, although they're ineligible for this year's draft.


Great report, Chandra.

 

[no orange peeler]

hey chandra can you tell me how Sam Daniel is faring for the Cats

 

[Chandra]

hey chandra can you tell me how Sam Daniel is faring for the Cats

Couldn't really honestly say sorry mate. Jackson Moloney and Kaine Stevens were good for them. Brendan Matthews looked lightning quick.

 

[one 4 the road]

hey chandra can you tell me how Sam Daniel is faring for the Cats

Sam looked very good when playing in the forwards NOP. Seemed to be a bit rushed when playing through the middle and in the back line. Sam reads the play very well and moves to position to get the footy. Overall he would be fairly happy with his carnival, but like all the boys has areas he needs to improve on.
May sneak into the RAMS initial squad of 40.

 

[thejester]

How old's Spiteri this year? Was a child amongst teenagers in the NSW/SA game but I thought he showed a glimer of potential.

 

[deitzy]

Was up in Coffs for the week running for the Northern Heat boys. Must say the standard of footy was pretty good for January and there were plenty of good performers.
Was pretty tough to see a whole heap of the other games with being involved with a side but from what i saw the Cats and Rebels were the two standout sides in my opinion. McNeill was pretty good in, Chaz Seargent looked good up forward in the game we played the Rebels, hit the ball hard, good hands and good kick, and Hamilton was probably the best big man all week. I liked the way Tutt went about it from the Cats, plenty of run and hard work. Kirkwood probably a bit quiet, Stevens looks a player. From the Stingrays I liked Lawton, Aylett and Eggmolesse. Duncan was good for the Starz, Strudwick ok, and I thought Tim Wales looked pretty solid as a bottom age player. Spiteri was Pioneers best I thought and his leadership was sensational, Ben Bourke was the other one I thought was impressive from the Pioneers. I thought Rampe was the Pigeons best, while for us I thought Jake Roach, Mitch Rawson and Jack Gillingham were our better players. In response to Borgsta Braedons leadership of our side was unbelievable and his workrate outstanding, if he gets his kicking sorted out he could be an AFL footballer. Alex Mitchell was good early for us but got concussed and missed our 2nd and 3rd games on Tuesday and our game on Wednesday, but went ok last night.
Will be interesting to see what the selectors go with in the 40 man squad. Plenty of options out there for them to go with but I would expect a heavy representation from Southern NSW and the ACT as there was plenty of talent in those sides.

 

[pekay-norwest]

I heard Nick Perry, from Penrith, playing with Pioneers, scholarship with Collingwood, did his other knee in a serious incident up there, hope he is alright, great kid, big future.

 

[liz]

How old's Spiteri this year? Was a child amongst teenagers in the NSW/SA game but I thought he showed a glimer of potential.

He played a fair bit of senior ACTAFL footy last year as a top-up with the Swans reserves team and was one of the more impressive regular top-ups they used. His size may count against him but he doesn't lack for courage and looks pretty skillful too.

 

[whiteandred]

How old's Spiteri this year? Was a child amongst teenagers in the NSW/SA game but I thought he showed a glimer of potential.

Daniel is 2nd year 18's ... played for the RAMS in '08 and also played a number of games for the Swans ressies ... saw him a couple of times, and despite his size, very strong, and he certainly held his own against the men in the ACT teams ... good skills too.


Hey Deitzy ... how did your Swans Scholarship lad, Jay Lewis acquit himself?

 

[deitzy]

Daniel is 2nd year 18's ... played for the RAMS in '08 and also played a number of games for the Swans ressies ... saw him a couple of times, and despite his size, very strong, and he certainly held his own against the men in the ACT teams ... good skills too.


Hey Deitzy ... how did your Swans Scholarship lad, Jay Lewis acquit himself?

Mate Jay played pretty well at the carnival. Took a couple of good marks up forward and in defence. He works extremely hard and finds the footy. He turned into traffic a bit when he had the ball and gave away a couple of silly frees, however he loves to take the game on and is capable of the spectacular. I would expect him to play a couple of games in the Swans 2s this year. Him and Braedon were the better 2 of our scholarship boys. Webster who is scholarshipped to Essendon was good in patches, while Daniel Lloyd (Bulldogs) showed a few good signs on the 3rd day.

 

[yellowblack]

it will be interesting to see how the squad pans out with the carnival unveiling new talent and with some of the better known players not having the influence or impact i thought they would have.

whether or not it is because of the new match format and its stop start nature or just getting back into the swing of things i do not know.

personally i dont think they should judge it on the carnival alone with many players finding form and momentum as the preseason draws to a close and a couple of practice matches up their belt but it does give a fair indication

 

[desie]

Heard the same about Nick Pekay, waiting to hear how serious it is I think, hopefully it's not another season job for the young fella.

And he's a Sydney Uni boy these days unfortunately

 

[Cat60]

Saw the last evening of games at Coffs. Had heard that the Heat boys hadn't been performing at their best, but they really came out fighting Thursday night. Zac Manley and Jake Roach played some really good footy, while Braedon Jones was masterful as the captain, keeping the boys focussed and hard to the ball. Spoke to some friends after the game, and he broke his thumb in the first 5 minutes of the first game, which supposedly kept him a bit quiet in the first matches, then broke his nose in the very last game. Re his kicking, he apparently spent a week in Melbourne with the Dogs the week before the NSW trials, and they have completely changed his kicking style. Can't imagine he would be making any excuses, though - from what I've heard he just loves being on the field no matter what.

 

[thejester]

He played a fair bit of senior ACTAFL footy last year as a top-up with the Swans reserves team and was one of the more impressive regular top-ups they used. His size may count against him but he doesn't lack for courage and looks pretty skillful too.

Daniel is 2nd year 18's ... played for the RAMS in '08 and also played a number of games for the Swans ressies ... saw him a couple of times, and despite his size, very strong, and he certainly held his own against the men in the ACT teams ... good skills too.

Thanks for that lads - as I said noticed him in that last game, was the standout for the Rams in that third quarter revival, but for some reason I thought he was underage. At 173 he won't get a gig unless he has a spurt - a shame because he looked like he had real ticker.

 

[playon2]

I watched alot of the games at Coffs and thought that the Rebels team and the Stingrays had the most talent as teams go, not the most talented players as the Sydney teams have been split into 3 teams now and in realistic terms there was a lot of players that would not have made the teams if it had been the starz and pigeons as per last year because when u look at the 3 Sydney teams 10 starz players are under age and 14 pioneers players under age and 11 under age pigeons that is 35 under age players plus Stubbs who did not play but will make the squad because he is in the ais.
If the talent is spread so thin why have 3 teams from sydney and desimate teams like the starz who apart from a few players in each sydney team were ordinary at best.
My best for the sydney teams were Josh Duncan for starz by far and Daniel Spiteri for Pioneers Riley and Rampe for the pigeons although he is over age and had played for years and is probably should not be there. Josh Bruce for the cats Killed it in the last game and was good in all games rebels dill mc neil was as always good but was held well against the Heat and the Starz. I look forward to next years under 18s when nearly a third of these boys will compete again.

 

[whiteandred]

I watched alot of the games at Coffs and thought that the Rebels team and the Stingrays had the most talent as teams go, not the most talented players as the Sydney teams have been split into 3 teams now and in realistic terms there was a lot of players that would not have made the teams if it had been the starz and pigeons as per last year because when u look at the 3 Sydney teams 10 starz players are under age and 14 pioneers players under age and 11 under age pigeons that is 35 under age players plus Stubbs who did not play but will make the squad because he is in the ais.
If the talent is spread so thin why have 3 teams from sydney and desimate teams like the starz who apart from a few players in each sydney team were ordinary at best.
My best for the sydney teams were Josh Duncan for starz by far and Daniel Spiteri for Pioneers Riley and Rampe for the pigeons although he is over age and had played for years and is probably should not be there. Josh Bruce for the cats Killed it in the last game and was good in all games rebels dill mc neil was as always good but was held well against the Heat and the Starz. I look forward to next years under 18s when nearly a third of these boys will compete again.

this is a good point, and the fact is that most of the other kids at this carnival have been playing for their zone squads since u/13's.
a lot of the new Sydney kids (at least 25 of them spread across the 3 teams) would never have experienced this level of competition.
I wonder, with that being the case, if it was a conscious decision to chose so many underage players.
and a number of the Rebels, I would imagine, would have TAC Cup experience(?)
I'm sure that performances at these "Zone Trials" are important, but generally, the squads are almost settled before they kick off, and as they choose a squad of 40 (?), plenty of them will get their chance to impress before the final cut.
the bottom line is that this carnival and the programs around it, looks like it is producing better players and more depth each year. The goal is a RAMS squad equiped to compete strongly with the elite u/18's Australia wide, and ultimately a good % of the NSW players being seen by recruiters as draftable ... we will see!

 

[yellowblack]

I watched alot of the games at Coffs and thought that the Rebels team and the Stingrays had the most talent as teams go, not the most talented players as the Sydney teams have been split into 3 teams now and in realistic terms there was a lot of players that would not have made the teams if it had been the starz and pigeons as per last year because when u look at the 3 Sydney teams 10 starz players are under age and 14 pioneers players under age and 11 under age pigeons that is 35 under age players plus Stubbs who did not play but will make the squad because he is in the ais.
If the talent is spread so thin why have 3 teams from sydney and desimate teams like the starz who apart from a few players in each sydney team were ordinary at best.
My best for the sydney teams were Josh Duncan for starz by far and Daniel Spiteri for Pioneers Riley and Rampe for the pigeons although he is over age and had played for years and is probably should not be there. Josh Bruce for the cats Killed it in the last game and was good in all games rebels dill mc neil was as always good but was held well against the Heat and the Starz. I look forward to next years under 18s when nearly a third of these boys will compete again.

disagree with the introduction of the pioneers. although the afl is trying to promote the game further with this new western sydney coming in, it has messed with the competition and standard of the sydney teams and also f'd up the format and structure of the week in coffs.

as for the sydney standouts i think 'playon2' is right, spiteri and bottin noonan did well in a pretty good looking team, whereas the duncans, rampes and rileys impressed despite being affected by struggling teams