Academy Watch

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Who’s who coming through the Queensland ranks | AFL Queensland

www.aflq.com.au www.aflq.com.au

Brisbane

1. Jaspa Fletcher
Club: Sherwood
Son of Adrian. He plays inside, wing or forward. Possesses great game sense and decision making. Deadly around goals either distributing or kicking them himself.

2. Ben McCarthy
Club: Morningside
Growing into a natural leader. Plays predominantly at half-back. Reads the play well. Has great endurance. Captain of the successful 2021 St Laurence’s College First XVIII.

3. Matthew Hollier
Club: Mt Gravatt
Is an exciting talent. Rangy line breaking player with his penetrating kick and speed. Has very good composure in traffic.

4. Mitch Howson
Club: Morningside
Competitive key position player who is a strong mark, but equally adept at ground level. Coming of extended injuries and one player to watch.

For more, go to link..

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Billyclub said:

Who’s who coming through the Queensland ranks | AFL Queensland

www.aflq.com.au www.aflq.com.au

Brisbane

1. Jaspa Fletcher
Club: Sherwood
Son of Adrian. He plays inside, wing or forward. Possesses great game sense and decision making. Deadly around goals either distributing or kicking them himself.

2. Ben McCarthy
Club: Morningside
Growing into a natural leader. Plays predominantly at half-back. Reads the play well. Has great endurance. Captain of the successful 2021 St Laurence’s College First XVIII.

3. Matthew Hollier
Club: Mt Gravatt
Is an exciting talent. Rangy line breaking player with his penetrating kick and speed. Has very good composure in traffic.

4. Mitch Howson
Club: Morningside
Competitive key position player who is a strong mark, but equally adept at ground level. Coming of extended injuries and one player to watch.

For more, go to link..

.
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Two more Smiths, wow.
 
Johnny Bananas said:
Two more Smiths, wow.
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Top 1 and 2 are u17s this year. Both jumped from u16s last season to QAFL 1sts at their respective clubs from the very 1st game. Fletcher at least played 1 game of reserves before being promoted to 1sts. Probably due to optics, as his dad is the coach.

Obviously both are anointed by the academy 19 months out from the 2022 draft. They will be the Lionss 2 choices for the u17s futures game at the MCG this year. With QLD averaging about 4 draftees per season, these two are the Lions contribution.

At least now the other 20 x u17s team mates know who the witches hats are! Sure there will be a couple on the peripheral, who may play some VFL due to the age limits, but Lions have basically showed their hand for the 2022 draft.
 
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Billyclub said:
Top 1 and 2 are u17s this year. Both jumped from u16s last season to QAFL 1sts at their respective clubs from the very 1st game. Fletcher at least played 1 game of reserves before being promoted to 1sts. Probably due to optics, as his dad is the coach.

Obviously both are anointed by the academy 19 months out from the 2022 draft. They will be the Lionss 2 choices for the u17s futures game at the MCG this year. With QLD averaging about 4 draftees per season, these two are the Lions contribution.

At least now the other 20 x u17s team mates know who the witches hats are! Sure there will be a couple on the peripheral, who may play some VFL due to the age limits, but Lions have basically showed their hand for the 2022 draft.
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I’m struggling to connect the dots between QAFL senior selection and the Lions “anointing” the two boys as selections for next year’s draft.

With everything I read on the QAFL board, there’s no love lost between the QAFL clubs and the Lions academy, so I don’t see their selection in the senior teams as a direction from the Lions academy.
 
briztoon said:
I’m struggling to connect the dots between QAFL senior selection and the Lions “anointing” the two boys as selections for next year’s draft.

With everything I read on the QAFL board, there’s no love lost between the QAFL clubs and the Lions academy, so I don’t see their selection in the senior teams as a direction from the Lions academy.
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So the afore posted article is a coincidence? Connecting dots shouldnt be a struggle.
 
Honestly I didn't necessarily see anything there either. The write ups for all 5 were very positive. Reading between the lines Hollier and Howson are coming from further back but the Lions think highly of them.

Lions could well be pushing for Fletcher and McCarthy to get QAFL games but that might just be to help them with their development. It would not necessarily mean they are the locks for us to take next year. There is a long way to go and kids develop at different rates especially the talls. Plenty can happen between now and then.

Now the Lions might well be focused on Fletcher and McCarthy for next year, I don't know, but I think it is a pretty long bow to draw to imply that merely from QAFL selection.
 
Quigley said:
Honestly I didn't necessarily see anything there either. The write ups for all 5 were very positive. Reading between the lines Hollier and Howson are coming from further back but the Lions think highly of them.

Lions could well be pushing for Fletcher and McCarthy to get QAFL games but that might just be to help them with their development. It would not necessarily mean they are the locks for us to take next year. There is a long way to go and kids develop at different rates especially the talls. Plenty can happen between now and then.

Now the Lions might well be focused on Fletcher and McCarthy for next year, I don't know, but I think it is a pretty long bow to draw to imply that merely from QAFL selection.
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Its been mentioned there has been much more communication from the academy with clubs this year (which was said is an improvement. Once per week was stated by one club.).

Of course, they may not be talking about academy talent at all...

Also, the function of the academies is not to just produce talent for themselves, its to produce talent for the AFL full stop. If they aren't producing talent, they aren't doing their jobs.

In recent years the NSW academies have outperformed the QLD ones. However they is a new group leading the Lions academy beginning this season. It will be interesting to see how the 'new' model performs (compared to recent years) over the next few seasons at the Lions.
 
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Quigley said:
The aim of the academy I think is also to improve the talent running around in the Qld competitions.
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Opportunity has always been the best way to unearth, develop, talent. Which requires more games, more kids, better/higher levels of competition, more often.

For example; A QLD kid (Suns, Lions) gets perhas 5 games at TAC cup level vs the other QLD academy, and 2 or 3 games vs Victorian sides like Sandringham, etc. Vic kids get perhaps 18 games vs that level of competition. A QLD kid might take the full 4-5 games to find his feet, then its over. He lives or dies on those few games. The same kid, in Vic would get 18 chances. He gets 14 more games to impress. Who has the best chance to improve and impress? Also in front of the most scouts, more often?

Sure the QLD kid can go back to QAFL and hope someone is watching. But the Vic kid is still in front of dozens of scouts every week, all season. Opportunity. QLD kids lack it.

Perhaps a solution could be some high quality pre season matches from within the northern academies (QLD) Perhaps 6 x u19s teams made from the QLD academies to play an u17-u19 series every pre season at night. 3 teams from each the Suns and Lions academies (6 teams) 9-12 games at night from Feb to April. (NT boys play in daytime heat, so can we can expect our boys to handle playing under lights at night).

The boys in the academy are getting flogged all through summer anyway, they may as well be playing games in place of a training session. It would let coaching staff get to know the kids better, expose the kids to a better standard of footy, leading into academy selection and the /TAC series of games.

You may say 'too much footy'. But all one is doing is replacing a torturous 2 hour saturday morning session with a 1 and a half hour game on friday or saturday nights under lights. I know what the boys would rather do..

Sun coast could play out of Brendale, while GC sides could play out of Ormeau. Bris out of Coorparoo, to cut down travel. When Sun C play GC, meet in the middle in Coorparoo.

More opportunity. Somehow it needs to be created for the QLD academy boys.
 
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Something else i believe should happen for the academy itself.

Reading posters comments, and listening to parents, the general public at AFLBJ and QAFL games, there is not a lot of respect for the academy, its choices of players, and the talent of these kids. These opinions are also expressed by committee members of various QAFL clubs, who may say 1 thing to the academy, but in private say something completely different.

The academy and its u19s players could gain a lot more respect if they played vs a QAFL team early in the year. Perhaps as a curtain raiser to the annual stand alone 1st round QAFL game. The game would create a lot of footy public interest and ensure a bigger crowd on the day. The Lions u19s boys could take on the previous years Premiers, or any other club the 'Establishment' feels fit. I believe a few seasons ago an academy u18s side played vs Maroochydore (or Noosa) and did quite well, and actually won the game quite well? Admittedly it was vs a div1 side not a QAFL side, but the Lions are now u19s, not u18s.

Many believe (if what they whisper in public is their honest opinion) that the academy boys would get smashed. I think the u19s would go quite well, thereby earning the academy and its coaches/staff a bit more respect for the job they do, and for the players themselves.
 
Will someone please inform the Lions that the Tasmanians at the Lions academy are off their iodine and its having a direct affect on programs. Thank you.


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As long as the kids are picked on merit I don't care if they are green, orange, purple or heaven forfend white.

The Lions have limited resources in this area and I really don't think it should be up to them to pump those scarce resources into kids who are never going to be up to it. Now if they are overlooking kids because of skin colour then that is something different.

FWIW 2 of the last three academy draftees by the Lions have been indigenous. We have picked a couple of indigenous guys as top ups in the reserves. That is probably more an indication that we are picking based on merit which is as it should be.
 
Quigley said:
1* As long as the kids are picked on merit I don't care if they are green, orange, purple or heaven forfend white.

2* The Lions have limited resources in this area and I really don't think it should be up to them to pump those scarce resources into kids who are never going to be up to it. Now if they are overlooking kids because of skin colour then that is something different.

3* FWIW 2 of the last three academy draftees by the Lions have been indigenous. We have picked a couple of indigenous guys as top ups in the reserves. That is probably more an indication that we are picking based on merit which is as it should be.
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1 I totally agree.

2. Ive obviously witnessed something disagreeable.

3. That was the academy in times past. The academy has basically been re staffed this year. So it gets re evaluated.
 
Billyclub said:
1 I totally agree.

2. Ive obviously witnessed something disagreeable.

3. That was the academy in times past. The academy has basically been re staffed this year. So it gets re evaluated.
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I'm a bit lost with this latest conversation, sorry if I have the wrong end of the pineapple but are you saying the Lions Academy is now a racist organisation?
 
Billyclub said:
2. Ive obviously witnessed something disagreeable.
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Spit it out or give it a rest. Vague allegations that don't have to be proved aren't doing anyone any favours.
 
Billyclub said:
Careful what you wish for. In todays social climate, and in a RL centric state, im sure some mainstream media outlet could do quite the expose.
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Then we just have to take your word for it and let the speculation linger? How's that going to be helpful? Just keep the topic going with a tinfoil hat I suppose.

We got Keidean and Blake through academy fairly recently. I struggle to believe anything you're saying here. Your narrative could even be flipped to one angry parent having a go at Lions due to his or her kid missing out.
 
Billyclub said:
Careful what you wish for. In todays social climate, and in a RL centric state, im sure some mainstream media outlet could do quite the expose.
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What good do you think it's doing by bringing it up the way you have? These little games where people play these snide little knowing games on this site really give me the shirrits. Either raise it with the club directly or keep your mouth shut.
 
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The Flying Belgian said:
What good do you think it's doing by bringing it up the way you have? These little games where people play these snide little knowing games on this site really give me the shirrits. Either raise it with the club directly or keep your mouth shut.
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Agree. I have very low tolerance for racism and bigotry borne out of personal experience. So when this sort of nebulous, unproven, rumour mongering seems to happen on this thread I get really annoyed. No doubt disaffected parents come on here and scatter some crap without actually saying directly what it is they are discontented with. Somehow it is up to me to read between the lines. Now if there is some evidence that selection is based on something other than skill, ability or potential then come out and provide some evidence. Otherwise STFU.
 

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