Where are the good SA midfielders

Jeffcrowe

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Posts
13,307
Likes
15,319
AFL Club
Adelaide
#51
Depends how you measure success though. Is the purpose of the U/18 carnival to have your team win? Or is it to have players drafted / developed for AFL?

I'm not saying SA should have as many footballers drafted as Victoria. I'm asking whether SA is now producing footballers of the same quality as we did previously.
The best footballers are coming out of vic country and NSW !!
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Posts
64,671
Likes
56,199
Location
Baghdad
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
West Adelaide, Baghdad Bombers
#53
Depends how you measure success though. Is the purpose of the U/18 carnival to have your team win? Or is it to have players drafted / developed for AFL?

I'm not saying SA should have as many footballers drafted as Victoria. I'm asking whether SA is now producing footballers of the same quality as we did previously.
I think the criticism of Sth Aust teams at U18 is that we have been more focussed on winning than having players developed ......well that's easy to say if you're Victoria and losing

We're still getting better numbers of players drafted than ever b4

Of late NSW and Queensland have produced some exceptional players .....does that mean their program is better than Victoria .....or is it more that the "star" players are more cyclic from state to state ?
 

Jeffcrowe

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Posts
13,307
Likes
15,319
AFL Club
Adelaide
#54
Even anecdotally though, the State of Origin team we could pick now compared to 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago SUCKS and is getting worse as Pavlich, Burgoyne, Thompson finish up.

Some of the more recent SA early draftees Aish, Mayes, Trengove haven't exactly set the world on fire either.

I think in yesteryear playing SANFL football against men would have been an advantage. However, we're now seeing a weakened SANFL and a more professional TAC Cup.

The TAC Cup allows all the best 17-18 year olds to play each weekend against each other in the same environment. Much easier for recruiters to measure players against their peers than in SA where players would be spread out over U18's, Reserves and League. Also the SANFL clubs are fairly old school - still have big oafs like Alleway parked at full forward - whereas the TAC Cup team are mini versions of an AFL set up. All the zones, defensive set ups, clearing out your forward line etc. Remember how Bassett revolutionised the SANFL by bringing a few AFL strategies in?

Do TAC Cup players miss out on playing against adults but adapt to the AFL system quicker? Is the SANFL system - that was once a strength - now a liability?
People in Melb are saying the opposite as the vic metro talent looks thinner year on year
 

Red mist

Reynholm Industries
Joined
Jun 30, 2014
Posts
24,558
Likes
31,409
Location
The Winchester
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, East Side Hawks
#57
Brenton Phillips probably does set up an SA U18 side to win more than have the the best 18 full stop. Maybe vic metro just has a different approach.
 

Firewalker

-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Posts
1,785
Likes
2,417
Location
SA
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Charlotte Hornets
#59
Brenton Phillips probably does set up an SA U18 side to win more than have the the best 18 full stop. Maybe vic metro just has a different approach.
His obsession with selecting man-child midgets who hit their peak at 18 has been a problem now for a number of years
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Cleric

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Oct 14, 2011
Posts
12,896
Likes
13,754
Location
Adelaide
AFL Club
Adelaide
#65
When comparing the SA sides of late we tend to have smaller mids, around 178-182, than is the current trend.
As others have said, alot of our top kids have gone to shit teams like GCS, Melbourne and Brisbane, where they have rotted and their development has been destroyed.
But as I keep saying the AFL has promoted the TAC cup and development in NSW and Qld ahead of SA, WA and Tasmania. They have used the fact that more kids come from Vic as the reason to pour money into the TAC cup and that they need to develop the game in NSW and Qld.
SA, WA and Tas in their eyes should just keep on keeping on and dont need the money that they put into the other areas.
 
Top Bottom