The Kings Ransom
Premiership Player
- Aug 30, 2021
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Haven't heard him complaining about tie wearers yet.
Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory
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The Kings Ransom
Premiership Player
- Aug 30, 2021
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- AFL Club
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Please,
I think he's got about 1000 other more important things to worry about than some 15 year old kid that may or may not be good enough for the AFL
Dimma made it pretty clear in his recent press conference/interviews that he did his due diligence on all facets of the club before signing and that he's aware of the young talent that's coming through our academy over the next few years. I'm sure at the very least he was told five of our academy players were selected in the U16 AA team this year.
Dimma: Do we have exclusive access to all five of them?
Suns: All but one who happens to be F/S eligible to the Dees.
Dimma: I see. I'll keep an eye on him.
- Mar 14, 2014
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White wants to play for Melbourne, a demon supporting friend spoke to his dad a few weeks back when they where at the Dees game.
If he wants to go there, fine.........cross him off the list.....only want players who want to be here.........meaning GC not Thailand...
And that may very well be true in July 2023 but that doesn't mean you just give up on trying to change his mind. Let's say, hypothetically, Kalani develops into the number 1 prospect of the 2025 draft class over the next two years. Do we just stand idly by and not even attempt to convince him to stay on the Gold Coast because he wanted to be a Dee at 16 years of age or do we fight tooth and nail to convince him to choose us when his draft year rolls around? If we want to be a serious club then I think the answer is pretty obvious. Now Kalani may not end up being that good but what we do know right now is he made the U16 AA team this year so the kid has the potential to be a first round pick and that means he's worth fighting for. We can only act on the information we have available to us right now and I think we can all agree that retaining as many highly talented locals as possible is in our best interests moving forward. The same goes for Dylan Patterson when NRL clubs start enquiring about him. You don't just let talented athletes walk away without even trying to change their mind.
Why does a 16yo kid want to join any particular footy Club......probably got a lot to do with what his parents would like to happen....you don't need to convince him.....you need to convince his parents.....leave the kid alone.
Jeff White used to be an assistant coach at our club so there is an existing relationship there but Jeff does seem very much on board with the Dees... Maybe a better example of what I'm trying to get across here is if we had retained academy access to Will Ashcroft last year and Brisbane made a strong pitch for him to join them. We wouldn't have just given up and a year out from his decision - we would have continued to try and convince him/his parents that joining us would be the better option for his career.
Sure, we may not have landed Will but you miss 100% of the shots you never take in life so I'd rather try and get declined in that situation than not try and never know if he would have been a Sun. We're in a fairly unique situation on the Gold Coast because academy members who are also potential F/S picks for other clubs is becoming fairly common and whether you want to admit it or not, it's something the club has to deal with. It happened in 2018 with Bailey Scott, it could have happened last year with Will Ashcroft, it'll happen next year with Boston Everitt and the following year with Kalani White.
The Kings Ransom
Premiership Player
- Aug 30, 2021
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And on my opinion, the best way to convince them is not to bother fussing over some parent and or child, but to win games of football, play finals, and build the crowd/supporter base.
Over the next period of time as the academy gets stronger we’re probably going to lose players interstate regardless. After they’ve developed there for a few years if they’re any good that’s the time to try entice them back like the Victorian clubs do
Exactly, ensure they have good memories of their time at the club and keep in touch. I’m sure a few over the years will want to come back
That's kind of the idea of the academy system.
It's all about getting QLD kids an easier pathway into the AFL. There will be a point where a fair portion of the kids drafted will be outside of Victoria and that's probably the time the AFL just start running our academy (like they do in VIC).
It's where Clarko doesn't understand the academy system. It's not about gifting clubs players, it's getting kids away from any other sport than AFL.
Where the academy system is at fault is when players who were never not going to play AFL get put into academies (eg. Jamara Ugle Hagan).
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The Kings Ransom
Premiership Player
- Aug 30, 2021
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On the main board there is a thread about QLD football and someone was telling about taking their child to a U11 AFL cup tournament in Mackay. 8 teams of children boys and girls, organised by the suns academy staff.
Here we are doing a great job at defining these pathways to elite AFL in Queensland and surprise, surprise we are seeing the fruits of that labour - exactly as it is designed to do.
The overall idea of the academy is to increase the player pool for the competition and strengthen AFL in QLD. The bidding on players is just a nice bonus.
Ideally what we want is a bunch of kids coming out of QLD to play AFL for any club, the end game would be not needing the academy bidding at all and having the inherent disadvantages of being a non VIC club negated because AFL is strong in QLD.
Ideally what we want is a bunch of kids coming out of QLD to play AFL for any club, the end game would be not needing the academy bidding at all and having the inherent disadvantages of being a non VIC club negated because AFL is strong in QLD.
I personally think a draftee should be given a 4 year term as normal - it cements them to a club for a reasonable term for BOTH parties to assess and then extend or move on. There is still a flight risk even with local kids given the lure of the big lights down south and Jake will be no exception. I'd give all four (including Will Graham) four years.
It's realistic to assume Kalani will head to Melbourne and Boston will probably head to St Kilda - if they're good enough. I agree however that the guys at the Academy and friends etc should do as much as possible to establish a local bond and keep all fingers crossed. Dylan Patterson is a potential champ with no affiliations to any other AFL club and would be confident he'll pick Aussie Rules over NRL. It'll be interesting if Jonathan Brown's son heads to our Academy as he's another likely to choose Lions even if he does learn with us. All good for Queensland and AFL football in general. On a totally separate note - if Jake Rogers is uncertain about where he wants to play - Will Graham is a nice second option to have.
Clarkson still probably thinks Surfers Paradise is the place to holiday on the GC.
He's absolutely clueless.
They are all shitting themselves now because QLD is going to turn into a Football factory.
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Agree...change is fast approaching.....
Allies win 2023 AFL U18 Champs....good for QLD NSW TAS ACT and NT...
Suns Academy producing a long list of talent.....Budarick Davies among others.....now Walters Read Rogers etc and more to come in the foreseeable future
Gold Coast and Brisbane 1st and 4th 2023 VFL.....
Clarko needs to get his head around it....it's happening
4 Queenslanders have been named in the 2023 AFL National Championships U18 Girls All-Australian Team 
Congratulations to Gold Coast SUNS Academy young guns:
Kiara Bischa (Bond Uni)
Havana Harris (Burleigh)
Ava Usher (Burleigh)
Dakota Baron (Broadbeach)
An extra special shout-out to Havana who also took out the competition’s best and fairest award
Congratulations to Gold Coast SUNS Academy young guns:
Kiara Bischa (Bond Uni) Havana Harris (Burleigh) Ava Usher (Burleigh) Dakota Baron (Broadbeach)An extra special shout-out to Havana who also took out the competition’s best and fairest award
Top 15 picks yes (give them security of 4 years but don't overpay for potential - $$ should be based on performance triggers - games played, rising star nomination, b & f finishing).
Will Graham I would be more inclined to at least wait until half way through season 1 and see what's happening before extending.
Isn't Ava just 16?4 Queenslanders have been named in the 2023 AFL National Championships U18 Girls All-Australian Team
Congratulations to Gold Coast SUNS Academy young guns:
An extra special shout-out to Havana who also took out the competition’s best and fairest award
View attachment 1784998
Yes, she is. What a talent.
Height: 165cm D.O.B: 11-08-2007
The northern academies are great for the comp, which is the main thing. If you want a balanced view, don't talk to a club person b/c self interest will win out (that includes us!).
More draftable players is good for the AFL, the VFL, SANFL, WAFL, and the other support leagues like the QAFL. But history says that outside Melbourne, the sport needs direct investment into grassroots and junior football.
Country Vic, SA and WA need some help with development but not with getting kids started. But they do need money. The other areas? If you are not hands on from the get go then players are produced by luck alone. The northern academies are a bg part of the hands on bit.
In Queensland, players will now come though because of the pathway in place rather than in spite of the roadblocks that were there before.
Now the Tassie team needs to get to work and turn out more Tassie players.
Happy to ignore the clubs/supporters whinging about the talent from the academy this year.
They don't even know what they want. Do they want us drafting local academy kids or the best players from Victoria. If Walter was in last years draft then we take Walter and someone else drafts Humper. Win win you knobheads.
More draftable players is good for the AFL, the VFL, SANFL, WAFL, and the other support leagues like the QAFL. But history says that outside Melbourne, the sport needs direct investment into grassroots and junior football.
Country Vic, SA and WA need some help with development but not with getting kids started. But they do need money. The other areas? If you are not hands on from the get go then players are produced by luck alone. The northern academies are a bg part of the hands on bit.
In Queensland, players will now come though because of the pathway in place rather than in spite of the roadblocks that were there before.
Now the Tassie team needs to get to work and turn out more Tassie players.
Happy to ignore the clubs/supporters whinging about the talent from the academy this year.
They don't even know what they want. Do they want us drafting local academy kids or the best players from Victoria. If Walter was in last years draft then we take Walter and someone else drafts Humper. Win win you knobheads.
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On her Instagram she is always working hard. She’s going to be one of the best AFLw players of all time
Shoutout to our former assistant coach Matty 'Skinny' Lappin who has been coaching Usher (and his own daughter Sunny) at Hillcrest since primary school and has likely been a big part of her footy journey. She was a sports prodigy in her younger years when she won medals and made rep teams in swimming, basketball, surf life saving and of course footy. It seems the Lappin influence won out and we've got a future superstar on our hands as a result. This feels like a little taste of what's to come if we can continue to set up strong football programs at schools throughout the Gold Coast. We're getting there, we just have to keep investing at the grassroots level and we'll eventually reap the rewards at the top of the pyramid.
greenthumb196
Draftee
- Jul 25, 2023
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How much do you think the school programs do to develop the players compared to the academies? There seems to be a heap of school competitions and plenty of players around. My child is involved in the AIC competition up here and can’t believe the amount of players playing.
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