Zeke Uwland played well from what I hear. Any news on Lombard and Millane?
Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory
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I watched only first half. Zeke had clearly the best game from those 3. Commentators comparing him to Errol Gulden
Lombard and Millane did not show too much. Rainy conditions.
Lombard with the 18 touches/7 tackles/5 clearances against one of the stronger group of 18’s midfielders I can remember in recent times.
Can’t see him being moved too much in the rankings until the combine. For whatever reason he seems to be in that 7-12 group and that will be a steal.
Can’t see him being moved too much in the rankings until the combine. For whatever reason he seems to be in that 7-12 group and that will be a steal.
KaySwizzle
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From what I’ve seen, that seems about right. A strong body allows him to dominate similar aged players and he has good burst.
But nowhere near clean enough to be at the top ranked mid seeds right now though.
Zeke as an elite half-back would normally go mid first round, depending on the depth of his draft pool. Also depends how much hype he gets and whether he plays more mid time next year, but looks good so far!
Also, can we get some of these kids to play VFL for us now their main block of games are over?
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Wish we could draft zeke now
Zeke was definitely the best Subs player in this game.
However the thing that stood out to me the most was the umpiring. Oh boy, if this is the best they've got under AFL seniors level umpiring then none of the current crop should be worried about losing their jobs.
However the thing that stood out to me the most was the umpiring. Oh boy, if this is the best they've got under AFL seniors level umpiring then none of the current crop should be worried about losing their jobs.
The Lombard Rule: Academy prospect so good he could force a rule change
Leonardo Lombard has a wicked shoulder roll, bursts out of contests at speed, and has a penetrating right boot. He's so good, he could force an AFL Draft rule change, writes Jasper Chellappah.
lommy
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The Lombard Rule: Academy prospect so good he could force a rule change
Leonardo Lombard has a wicked shoulder roll, bursts out of contests at speed, and has a penetrating right boot. He's so good, he could force an AFL Draft rule change, writes Jasper Chellappah.www.espn.com.au
I think Leo might get sick of people bringing up his dad, who is not in his life.
I saw one interview with him and he cut the interviewer off as soon as he brought up Hector Lombard.
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Feels like the cat is out of the bag with Zeke Uwland. He's already having best on ground performances for the Allies as a bottom ager and that's against the strength and might of the Vic Metro team. Draft onlookers are already saying he's likely to be a top 10 pick next year. As for Lombard, it seems like he was a little quiet (by his lofty standards) against Vic Metro. Should still comfortably make the All-Australian team from here though and Uwland may even be a chancve to make the AA team this year as well.
central.rookieme.com
Scouting Notes: 2024 AFL U18s - Vic Metro vs. Allies
Vic Metro downed the Allies by 16 points in dour conditions at IKON Park to kick off their Under 18 National Championships campaign.
central.rookieme.com
Bloody hell, somebody already put Zeke as #1 in 2025.Feels like the cat is out of the bag with Zeke Uwland. He's already having best on ground performances for the Allies as a bottom ager and that's against the strength and might of the Vic Metro team. Draft onlookers are already saying he's likely to be a top 10 pick next year. As for Lombard, it seems like he was a little quiet (by his lofty standards) against Vic Metro. Should still comfortably make the All-Australian team from here though and Uwland may even be a chancve to make the AA team this year as well.
Scouting Notes: 2024 AFL U18s - Vic Metro vs. Allies
Vic Metro downed the Allies by 16 points in dour conditions at IKON Park to kick off their Under 18 National Championships campaign.
Southern Sun
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"Zeke the freak"
" potential no.1"
Yeah fair to say the cat is out the bag
" potential no.1"
Yeah fair to say the cat is out the bag
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Pick 1 for a small running defender?!?
Sounds like a lot of overreaction to some good games from Zeke, and possibly some bait to rile up the Vic team supporters.
Dyson Sharp still would be pick 1 favourite by a mile.
Sounds like a lot of overreaction to some good games from Zeke, and possibly some bait to rile up the Vic team supporters.
Dyson Sharp still would be pick 1 favourite by a mile.
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Carlton among clubs set to oppose proposed changes to AFL academy, father-son bidding system
Carlton is among the clubs preparing to oppose changes to the AFL’s father-son and academy bidding system as it prepares for the arrival of the Camporeale twins later this year.Brisbane, Carlton and Gold Coast will lobby the AFL to retain its current bidding system for father-son and academy players as the league prepares to rule on changes to November’s national draft.
The AFL has told clubs it will summon them for a June 25 day of feedback on its competitive balance review, which will focus on three key areas — football performance, football operations and talent pathways.
South Australian clubs are desperate to escape the SANFL, while the Lions, Blues and Suns have access to elite kids in this November’s national draft.
The AFL has foreshadowed changes to the 2024 draft that could see clubs forced to pay more to match bids on elite first-round talents.
Clubs are hopeful they will have a decision from the AFL on the draft system within the month.
Gold Coast was last year able to use pick 4 to trade for a vast collection of later selections that helped it secure four early academy picks – Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham.
This year, the Lions have the possible No. 1 overall pick – Levi Ashcroft – as a father-son and another first-rounder in midfielder Sam Marshall as an NGA selection.
Gold Coast has likely top-15 midfielder Leo Lombard as an academy selection and next year’s likely No. 1 overall pick is Suns academy player Zeke Uwland, the brother of current Suns defender Bodhi.
The Lions have told the AFL they have done extensive planning on this year’s draft, including what they will need to match any bids. They believe it is too late in the AFL season to make drastic changes, with Carlton in the same boat given they have father-son selections Ben and Lucas Camporeale.
One possibility is that clubs will need a live selection in the round they are matching a bid in to stop them trading out of early picks when they are likely to bid.
The AFL could also adjust the points system allocated to each pick, or even scrap the points value for late-draft picks to stop clubs stockpiling them for father-son or academy bids.The clubs will be briefed by the AFL at the June 25 meeting about potential changes and asked their views on potential changes. Clubs will also be asked about their views on the sub rule and whether to add a fifth interchange member.
The Lions are in favour of a fifth bench member given players hate the sub rule and the difficulty in getting match practice into players who are picked as the sub.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-among-clubs-set-to-oppose-proposed-changes-to-afl-academy-fatherson-bidding-system/news-story/d0f2affca152e5a28d6e974f15ca3dc8
They compare him to Errol Gulden.
It was in that article about the changes to bidding out of the VIC media and it did sound very much like they were hyping him up as part of their northern academy rort rhetoric.
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Michael Voss warns the AFL its recruitment strategy is at risk, Suns want loosened restrictions on drafting academy players
Michael Voss admits he’s confused that the AFL are making changes to this year’s draft that will put their recruitment strategy at risk. Plus more on the Suns’ stance to make it easier to draft academy players.Gold Coast will tell the AFL it should lessen its restrictions on heartland clubs bidding for next generation academy talent rather than make it harder for northern-states clubs to secure its future wave of stars.
And Carlton coach Michael Voss has warned the AFL its recruitment of the Camporeale twins is at risk if the league makes the “confusing” decision to change its points system ahead of the 2024 national draft.
The Herald Sun on Saturday reported AFL clubs were bracing for the league to make changes to its bidding system for November’s national draft.
AFL football boss Laura Kane confirmed on Saturday that was a live prospect as club chiefs await an AFL briefing on Tuesday ahead of a June 25 official feedback session.
Gold Coast has top 15 pick Leo Lombard available this year but next year could have the No.1 pick in Zeke Uwland, with 200cm NGA pick Kalani White available as the son of Melbourne’s Jeff White but also a Demons father-son.
As Brisbane and Richmond made clear their objections with any change this season, Gold Coast’s Mark Evans said the league should considering changing tack.
He told the Herald Sun the AFL should abandon restrictions that mean Victorian clubs cannot bid for their next generation academy talent within the first 40 selections of the draft.
At present Sydney, GWS, Brisbane and the Suns can take their northern states academy talent as early as pick 1.
But there are restrictions that mean a club which plays finals can only take two academy picks, with the Suns able to take four last year because they missed finals.
Evans told this masthead the league should instead be incentivising all academy talent after changing its rules when the Dogs secured academy talent Jamarra Ugle as the No.1 overall pick.
“Our view on academies is we think the easier solution (than changing the draft) is for the AFL to widen and improve what it does for access to NGA academies rather than make it more difficult for northern academies. There is a fair argument to treat father sons and NGAs the same,” he said.
“Our primary position is this can be solved by opening up NGA player acquisition rather than diminishing the chances for northern academy players to be drafted to their hometown.
“The whole idea was to incentivise clubs. You have to understand why the academies were there in the first place. The next generation academies are there to promote indigenous and multicultural talent. The northern academies are there to grow the game in those markets and service the players and families to promote a higher level of involvement in the code. We shouldn’t do anything to diminish that.
“There are already protections in terms of the number of players who can be matched as academy talent.”
Carlton coach Michael Voss told AFL 360 on Monday night the club had specific plans to secure the Camporeale father-sons and any changes to the points value of the draft picks would be disastrous for the Blues.
“There will be some conversations over the coming weeks but our position will be emphatic,” he said.
“We are all in theory behind the change that needs to happen. The timing of it is somewhat confusing. The expediency of it to get it in this year when planning has been done over 12 months or two years in many instances is confusing.
“We have got some prominent names there we would like to respect and we would like some assurances about them being involved at our football club. If we look at decisions made 12 months ago there are some decisions we would make differently. We would have positioned ourselves differently to how we have.
“Right now we are really comfortable with the points system and do we have enough points to execute that strategy. But if the proposed changes are made we fall short and we have to put our thinking caps on about what we do. Absolutely they shouldn’t be able to do that (with changes for the 2024 national draft).
Brisbane football boss Danny Daly said ahead of the clash against St Kilda the Lions _ with potential No.1 pick Levi Ashcroft and first-round academy mid Sam Marshall _ were against hasty changes to the system.
“Until we find out more about what the AFL is proposing it’s hard to know what will happen but clubs have done a lot of work in the last year in planning and strategizing and we would hope it would be taken into account.”
Richmond president John O’Rourke told ABC Radio on Monday the Tigers, with a swag of late picks they assembled last year to maximise their draft hand, should not be disadvantaged.
“Blair Hartley, our Richmond list manager is aware of the conversations but you plan for list management over three, four or five years at a time. Our view is there needs to be a transition if there is going to be change.”
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Any idea where most these guys are playing this weekend? I assume QAFL
No Nat champs game, no academy games, basically a full afl team in the vfl to pick
No Nat champs game, no academy games, basically a full afl team in the vfl to pick
SUN OF A GUN
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AFL competitive balance review: Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans reveals levels of disadvantage for non-Victorian clubs
As the AFL examines 27 issues in its competitive balance review, Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans has lifted the lid on the inequities kneecapping teams outside Victoria.Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans watched on with shock and dismay last October as heartland clubs took to the Suns academy with the biggest stick possible.
The Suns had finally reaped a bountiful crop of four players in the first 26 picks after huge investment — and yet the established clubs were throwing the toys out of the cot.
The loudest voices included Collingwood, which won a premiership last year with father-sons Nick and Josh Daicos, captain Darcy Moore and NGA star Isaac Quaynor.
And Essendon, which in a 10-match streak this year until round 24 will not set foot out of the state while Gold Coast’s will travel six times including two Perth trips in its final 10 weeks.
It got Evans thinking about the extraordinary inequity in the competition as the AFL’s own competitive balance review continues this year.
As Evans has presented to the AFL in a detailed, multifaceted presentation, the Gold Coast northern academy is the single advantage GWS and the Suns hold on their rivals.
The AFL is pondering changes which would make it harder for clubs with academies to match bids on that talent, forcing them to give up much more draft collateral.
Evans’ document titled “Summary of Advantage and Disadvantage” is stark in highlighting the struggles of non-Victorian expansion clubs which are smaller in size and have historically been in the bottom ten clubs.
As Evans told the Herald Sun this week the reverse-order draft and weighted fixture are the only true equalisation measures — and even then the draft’s effect is diluted by free agency.
And yet in his graphic showing 14 key factors that help a club succeed, there are 13 crosses and a single tick when weighing up what the Suns are up against.
The tick representing an advantage is the club’s academy.
And yet compared to established, Victorian or large-scale clubs the Suns are behind the eight ball in trade-free agency acquisition, contracting and retaining players, father-son selection, NGA academies, the fixture and marquee contests, travel load, the Grand Final venue, the second-tier competition, the soft cap and staffing as an interstate club and facilities.
Evans told the Herald Sun this week of the league’s 27-stream competitive balance review: “The AFL has 27 projects in this review. It would be a terrible outcome if all of the things that that review throws up makes it harder for clubs who are already disadvantaged.
“And it’s hard to get people to understand imbalance, because they tend to look at it from their own self interest first. The only way I can think of to get people to understand imbalance is to flip the advantage the other way and tell me whether you would accept that?”
Evans four key requests contained in his submission to the AFL are:
● The ability to retain the club’s academy players with no change to the bidding system given its critical role in growth of the club and code in the region.
● Fairness with the club’s fixture and travel load with additional matches, which includes the potential for Victorian clubs to give up home games on a rotating basis to be played interstate.
● Another review of the AFL’s MCG Grand Final, with the proposal that the AFL consider a three-match Grand Final or a Grand Final at a neutral venue.
● Improving market-based factors, which would see the AFL helping the Suns improve their crowd size, stadium experience, facilities and consider rental assistance for staff or an extra soft-cap allowance.
Evans says for all the scaremongering about the Suns academy — which next year could deliver No. 1 overall pick Zeke Uwland — there are protections to ensure finals-bound teams can pick only two academy players and top-four teams can only pick one.
“So I think we are jumping at shadows …. Our concern would be if the AFL didn’t take seriously all of the imbalances of the system and just focused on a few,” he said.
In his examination of the travel imbalances across the competition Evans found problems and potential solutions.
GWS travels 14 times this year and Gold Coast 13 thanks to a pair of Darwin games that the AFL has nudged the club strongly into as it builds its financial bottom line.
Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and the Dogs travel only once but also have only a single Perth trip.
In Gold Coast’s 13 away games four of those trips are over three hours flight time and four require bus journeys to Brisbane that can be two hours each way in peak hour traffic.
He says he is serious about the AFL expanding to 24 total rounds and handing non-Victorian clubs an extra “home game”.
“When Tasmania comes in, there’ll have to be an even number of matches per team. You can’t have an odd number of teams, and an odd number of matches per team. It creates an odd number. You need the final number to be divided by two so that someone plays each other,” Evans said.
“So you either have to go back to 22 matches per team or go to 24 matches per tower, okay, If we were expanding to 24 matches per team you put all of those extra matches outside of Victoria. It would allow interstate teams other than SA teams to get an additional match in their home state.
“Or would we be prepared for four Victorian teams on a rotating basis to take a match interstate so that the interstate team gets an extra match in their home state?”
He says the AFL could solve some of the travel issues with smart fixturing that could include the Suns playing two away games in a row across two weekends.
He has asked the AFL to consider more charter flights, to make Victorian clubs travel in the pre-season competition, to ensure the lowest-travelling teams (invariably Victorian) are saddled with dual trips to Perth.
“I can’t understand why teams who already have a higher travel load also get more longer-haul flights. Why wouldn’t the longer haul flights be skewed towards teams with the least travel,” Evans said.
The Suns have to pay overs on free agents like Brandon Ellis and Rory Atkins and never secured a premier free agent, with Evans wondering out loud if top four clubs should have to give up their first pick if they secure a free agent.
“Do you actually lose a draft pick if you obtain a high priced free agent. Do you get them for free or do you lose your draft pick?”
Gold Coast does not have a single player with a regular media deal and the scope for huge endorsements is minimal compared to Victorian players on $500,000 or more from total outside endorsements.
Evans says as the Suns progress towards regular finals football they will need regular access to an MCG the Pies play on at least 14 times this year.
Football will always have inequities.
The MCG is contracted to stay at the ground to 2059.
But as part of the bigger picture, Evans’ message is this: “Academies are one advantage that we have. Do you want to take that advantage away from us? My starting position is we need to have ways to retain the academy players.
“The growth of the game by having local talent join the list when those three boys from Palm Beach Currumbin (Ethan Read, Jed Walter and Will Graham) play, and 1500 people come from Palm Beach dressed and come down to the boundary, then you understand the impact that it’s having.
“All of the kids and families connected to the academy have plenty of other things they can do if our academy doesn’t run. They don’t continue their progress in football and in particular in women’s sport, they will go to another sport.
I think there’s an argument to look at the total balance and total imbalance, and say, is that needed? We shouldn’t make it harder for the teams which are already disadvantaged.”
KaySwizzle
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As I said before, some of his suggestions are wild and will never be looked at. But they are just examples to expose the inequalities and are, in some ways, hyperbolic to get a reaction.
But the fact that Collingwood are whinging the most gave me a ****ing laugh. 3 father-sons (all AA level) and a NGA player, some of the least travel in the league and the biggest marquee matches (regardless of their position on the ladder). Add on endorsement options and their club is among the most imbalanced of the lot!
Obviously big clubs get big games and big sponsors. But they cannot seriously suggest that we, a tiny club who plays in the most stadiums around Australia, hasn’t drawn an A grade player to the club since Ablett, and has never played finals (or come close), are the main problem here…
First good thing Evan’s has done in 8 years.
Given the VFL food for though.
Though the AFL with Kane and Dillon in charge look to be out of there depth
Given the VFL food for though.
Though the AFL with Kane and Dillon in charge look to be out of there depth
A detailed presentation might confuse and frighten the crayon-eaters at AFL House, would he have been more successful if he presented it on a napkin?
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