Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory

[Sun Stormer]

Good hit out for our u18’s, comfortably beating the Lions this morning in hot and humid conditions, with not much of a breeze.
“A” team played 3 x 20 mins, then 2 x 20 mins for the fringe players.
Was too far away from the scoreboard to quote the exact score, but Suns kicked 8 in the first 3 quarters to the Lions 4. Suns should have kicked at least 2-3 more from set shots, with probably around 8-9 behinds.

First quarter was tight, but the Suns speed on the ball slowly overwhelmed the Lions as the game wore on. A number of times Reid tapped down to Rogers, Lake, Eckersley and co, who burst out of the midfield and speared the ball straight onto a leading forward’s chest. The Lion’s didn’t seem to have an answer, but battled on bravely.

Jake Rogers is the REAL deal. He had his own pill through the middle and racked up possessions with ease. Reminds me a lot of Touk. Hit his targets by hand and foot and shook off would be tacklers with ease. Laid a number of big tackles on larger opponents and kicked a nice goal when he floated forward. Absolute standout BOG for mine.

Walter had a quiet outing only slotting a behind or two. Crashed a number of packs and is definitely a physically imposing presence. However, the pairing of Walter and Dawson in the forward line looks potent, with Dawson kicking 2 majors and clunking 5 or 6 marks inside 50. He probably should have finished with 3-4. Looks like we have the crash and bash Casboult type KPF in Walter and the agile leading KPF in Dawson. Joe Kennedy (Matthew Kennedy’s son) popped up for 3 goals, crumbing well off Dawson and Walter.

Reid was strong in the ruck, and was only chopped out by Dawson for maybe 5 mins a quarter. He is agile and has a great tank for his height, but needs to put on serious weight to transition to the top level. Looks to be easily over 200cm. Can see him sitting behind Moyle and honing his craft while his body matures.

Our backline lacked a bit of height with Zanker-Close out injured. The Lion’s had two tall KPF’s and the plan seemed to be to bomb it in to them. Worked once or twice, but the backline generally held up well. There is no real tall timber (over 195cm) back there, which may be an issue going forward.

U16’s Addinsall and Uwland (brother of Bodhi) both showed they were comfortable at this level. Addinsall was good out of the midfield and Uwland was composed coming out of defence. Murray played in the forward line, but looked a bit lost. Got in the way of the KPF’s a few times and failed to hit the scoreboard. They may be looking for a spot to play him, as he has been pushed out of the mids at this level.

The quality dropped markedly once the “A” teams came off after 3 quarters, but the Suns were well on top in that contest too.

All in all, a solid start to the U18 season. With the likes of Lombard and Zanker-Close yet to return, and the possible inclusions of Nancarrow and Everett, this team will be extremely competitive in the Northern Academies Series and Coates Hire Talent League this season.

GC Goals: Kennedy 3, Dawson 2, Rogers, Gulbin, Number 3. (Sorry, no team sheet)

Jake Rogers and Leo Lombard are both Touk clones - so the future's looking bright. Did Will Graham play?

 

[Brad Jordan]

Jake Rogers is the REAL deal. He had his own pill through the middle and racked up possessions with ease. Reminds me a lot of Touk. Hit his targets by hand and foot and shook off would be tacklers with ease. Laid a number of big tackles on larger opponents and kicked a nice goal when he floated forward. Absolute standout BOG for mine.

Keep going, I'm almost there.

Would've liked for Walter to hit the scoreboard, but I'll take positive Rogers news any day of the week. Hope he's a super star for us someday.

 

[SUN OF A GUN]

Jake Rogers and Leo Lombard are both Touk clones - so the future's looking bright. Did Will Graham play?

He did, but unsure of his number. I think he rotated through the midfield with Corbett.
No teamsheet was provided. It was hard to see faces from the boundary and they all seem to have mullets….

 

[The Victorian]

COATES TALENT LEAGUE FIXTURE

U18 BOYS
Sun 26 March v Calder Cannons at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn - 2:30pm
Sun 2 April v Eastern Ranges at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn - 12pm
Sun 16 April v Northern Knights at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn - 2:30pm
Sat 29 April v Northern Territory Thunder at Heritage Bank Stadium, Carrara - 11:30am
Sun 21 May v Greater Western Victoria Rebels at Ikon Park, Carlton - 2:30pm

U18 GIRLS
Sun 21 May v Greater Western Victoria Rebels at Ikon Park, Carlton - 11:30am
Sun 28 May v Western Jets at Brighton Homes Arena, Springfield - 2:00pm
Sun 4 June v Oakleigh Chargers at Latrobe University Oval, Bundoora - 12:30pm

 

[Ben Drever]

Good to see Walter looking to keep his value down in his draft year.

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Good to see Walter looking to keep his value down in his draft year.

 

[Scotty_222]

Mark Pitura from Richmond, the son of John Pitura?

Correct

 

[GC2015]

Good hit out for our U18’s, comfortably beating the Lions this morning in hot and humid conditions, with not much of a breeze.
“A” team played 3 x 20 mins, then 2 x 20 mins for the fringe players.
Was too far away from the scoreboard to quote the exact score, but Suns kicked 8 in the first 3 quarters to the Lions 4. Suns should have kicked at least 2-3 more from set shots, with probably around 8-9 behinds.

First quarter was tight, but the Suns speed on the ball slowly overwhelmed the Lions as the game wore on. A number of times Read tapped down to Rogers, Lake, Eckersley and co, who burst out of the midfield and speared the ball straight onto a leading forward’s chest. The Lion’s didn’t seem to have an answer, but battled on bravely.

Jake Rogers is the REAL deal. He had his own pill through the middle and racked up possessions with ease. Reminds me a lot of Touk. Hit his targets by hand and foot and shook off would be tacklers with ease. Laid a number of big tackles on larger opponents and kicked a nice goal when he floated forward. Absolute standout BOG for mine.

Walter had a quiet outing only slotting a behind or two. Crashed a number of packs and is definitely a physically imposing presence. However, the pairing of Walter and Dawson in the forward line looks potent, with Dawson kicking 2 majors and clunking 5 or 6 marks inside 50. He probably should have finished with 3-4. Looks like we have the crash and bash Casboult type KPF in Walter and the agile leading KPF in Dawson. Joe Kennedy (Matthew Kennedy’s son) popped up for 3 goals, crumbing well off Dawson and Walter.

Read was strong in the ruck, and was only chopped out by Dawson for maybe 5 mins a quarter. He is agile and has a great tank for his height, but needs to put on serious weight to transition to the top level. Looks to be easily over 200cm. Can see him sitting behind Moyle and honing his craft while his body matures.

Our backline lacked a bit of height with Zanker-Close out injured. The Lion’s had two tall KPF’s and the plan seemed to be to bomb it in to them. Worked once or twice, but the backline generally held up well. There is no real tall timber (over 195cm) back there, which may be an issue going forward.

U16’s Addinsall and Uwland (brother of Bodhi) both showed they were comfortable at this level. Addinsall was good out of the midfield and Uwland was composed coming out of defence. Murray played in the forward line, but looked a bit lost. Got in the way of the KPF’s a few times and failed to hit the scoreboard. They may be looking for a spot to play him, as he has been pushed out of the mids at this level.

The quality dropped markedly once the “A” teams came off after 3 quarters, but the Suns were well on top in that contest too.

All in all, a solid start to the U18 season. With the likes of Lombard and Zanker-Close yet to return, and the possible inclusions of Nancarrow and Everett, this team will be extremely competitive in the Northern Academies Series and Coates Hire Talent League this season.

GC Goals: Kennedy 3, Dawson 2, Rogers, Gulbin, Number 3. (Sorry, no team sheet)

Thanks mate! You've given us more information than we could have hoped for so I sincerely say thank you. Can't help but get excited after reading that! I must say Rogers looked exceptional when I saw him training and he really did look like a young Zorko to me. Imagine having an 18 year old Zorko in your academy without the off field problems and that's why some of us are so excited about Rogers. I get the feeling that Walter is fairly inconsistent when it comes to his performances; his best is absolutely elite but he also seems to go missing sometimes. It seems Taine Dawson is an overager so perhaps that's a factor behind his performance but still encouraging to see we have multiple avenues to goal. Addinsall and Uwland being up to the U18 level is exciting and I fully expect both to dominate in the U16s national championships this year. Hopefully Murray also finds his place.

As expected, our boys defeated Brisbane relatively easily and it looks like their next game is against the Surfers Paradise Demons seniors this Friday night at the Austworld Oval again. Surfers finished 10th on the QAFL ladder last year so we're not talking about a real heavyweight of the competition but it's still a men's team so that could be challenging for our academy. Are you planning on attending that game as well, mate?

If it’s possible, wouldn’t mind an update on who you reckon the top Lions performers are from a draft perspective. Not asking for anything detailed, just if anyone stands out.

Seems like the most notable player linked to your club happened to be wearing red and gold in this match. Joe Kennedy, son of Maxy Kennedy, is father-son eligible for Brisbane and is also a bottom ager in our academy. Since he kicked three goals on your U18 academy as a bottom ager in this game, I fully expect your club to sink the claws in and and do everything they can to steal another GC junior from us. Nothing new from your mob though.

 

[briztoon]

 

[Maybe Tomorrow]

Seems like the most notable player linked to your club happened to be wearing red and gold in this match. Joe Kennedy, son of Maxy Kennedy, is father-son eligible for Brisbane and is also a bottom ager in our academy. Since he kicked three goals on your U18 academy as a bottom ager in this game, I fully expect your club to sink the claws in and and do everything they can to steal another GC junior from us. Nothing new from your mob though.

Every club will try to pinch a promising young player if they can. They're not doing their job properly if they don't.

 

[The Kings Ransom]

Ultimately these dual eligibility kids will end up playing where they want to.

We’ve just got to make our club the most appealing option,

 

[Big Red Machine]

careful boi

 

[SUN OF A GUN]

As expected, our boys defeated Brisbane relatively easily and it looks like their next game is against the Surfers Paradise Demons seniors. Are you planning on attending that game as well, mate?

No, I have a work function on Friday night unfortunately.

Also, it looks like there is a game against an U19 Pacific Island touring team before our 18’s take on Surfers on Friday. Found the below info on Lions Academy FB page.


Assuming those not selected in the gave V Surfers will play in the curtain raiser V the Pacific Islands team.






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[Mister_Football]

I watched the 3rds practice game yesterday. rogers probably was BOG. Id like to see him take the first option more though. He tries to do a bit much on his own. eckersley played mid and was hard at it and busy but gets caught alot. Corbett playing a new role across halfback marshalled a very undersized defence well. A very tall 200+ athletic brisbane key forward wearing a very high jumper number looks a bit like a footballer. Walters hit packs hard. When he accelerates i cant help but shake my head in disbelief. GC dominated when it mattered.

 

[briztoon]

careful boi

Can I use the defence “he started it”, and that was my response because I didn’t want to engage in a discussion that his reply was unnecessary.

 

[briztoon]

I watched the 3rds practice game yesterday. rogers probably was BOG. Id like to see him take the first option more though. He tries to do a bit much on his own. eckersley played mid and was hard at it and busy but gets caught alot. Corbett playing a new role across halfback marshalled a very undersized defence well. A very tall 200+ athletic brisbane key forward wearing a very high jumper number looks a bit like a footballer. Walters hit packs hard. When he accelerates i cant help but shake my head in disbelief. GC dominated when it mattered.

That would most likely be Tom Gillet, next year’s draft.

 

[GC2015]

I watched the 3rds practice game yesterday. rogers probably was BOG. Id like to see him take the first option more though. He tries to do a bit much on his own. eckersley played mid and was hard at it and busy but gets caught alot. Corbett playing a new role across halfback marshalled a very undersized defence well. A very tall 200+ athletic brisbane key forward wearing a very high jumper number looks a bit like a footballer. Walters hit packs hard. When he accelerates i cant help but shake my head in disbelief. GC dominated when it mattered.

It's quite remarkable to see someone that size moving that quickly. When you see his acceleration it becomes really obvious why he seems to take a lot of uncontested chest marks on the lead like this:

 

[SUN OF A GUN]

That would most likely be Tom Gillet, next year’s draft.

No 75 who was the starting Ruck also went well against Read. Little nuggety Mid with a blond mullet went ok too.


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[briztoon]

No 75 who was the starting Ruck also went well against Read. Little nuggety Mid with a blond mullet went ok too.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Cheers. Without a team sheet, I wouldn’t have the faintest who either player is. Our club is notoriously bad for not telling us anything about our academy.

 

[Big Red Machine]

Can I use the defence “he started it”, and that was my response because I didn’t want to engage in a discussion that his reply was unnecessary.

If that's your response because you "don't want to engage in a discussion" then just simply don't engage in the discussion.

Simples

 

[Brad Jordan]

It's quite remarkable to see someone that size moving that quickly. When you see his acceleration it becomes really obvious why he seems to take a lot of uncontested chest marks on the lead like this:

In awe of the size of this lad. Looks like he's got the body of a 20-something-year-old.

 

[GC2015]

In awe of the size of this lad. Looks like he's got the body of a 20-something-year-old.

If he's even half the player some people are predicting him to be then it's going to be a fun decade watching our very own homegrown power forward kick lots and lots of goals for us. He could very well be our version of Jonathan Brown where he joins us just as our premiership window is opening and he just gets better and better as the years pass. To say I'm excited about Walter is an understatement if you can't tell.

 

[Brad Jordan]

If he's even half the player some people are predicting him to be then it's going to be a fun decade watching our very own homegrown power forward kick lots and lots of goals for us. He could very well be our version of Jonathan Brown where he joins us just as our premiership window is opening and he just gets better and better as the years pass. To say I'm excited about Walter is an understatement if you can't tell.

Just imagine after he's had a couple more peanut butter sandwiches and trains full time with the big boys for a couple years.

On Nokia 6.1 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[TheSunGod]

Speed, size and aggression is a dangerous combination. What’s his footy nous and skills like?

 

[MarcLocksCrustySock]

The true test of Walter being what we hope will be if he gets hit by a car but has no injuries or even a scratch but the car looks like this.