Academy Watch

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briztoon said:
Think I’ve only ever spoken to one parent, and he was fully aware where his kid was at.

Most people I’ve interacted with, talk much more in general, or talk from the QAFL side of the discussion, and based on their interactions with academy.
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Watching the Swans do a job on the Tigers they commented about how many academy boys were in the Swans side and excelling. Most development comes not from academies but from clubs. Success leaves clues. One has to ask the question; What are the boys clubs doing to aid in their development? Having talent play above age? Stay in their age group? Play colts early or seniors when they are still colts?
 
After Today's game, the club needs to do everything to improve their academy program. We have a huge advantage in scouting and training players who could become the next elite player of the competition, and get them drafted for a discount. Building and improving the academy should be the club's biggest priority. More so than winning a premiership, because a good academy will keep us in contention for years to come
 
youneverknow22 said:
After Today's game, the club needs to do everything to improve their academy program. We have a huge advantage in scouting and training players who could become the next elite player of the competition, and get them drafted for a discount. Building and improving the academy should be the club's biggest priority. More so than winning a premiership, because a good academy will keep us in contention for years to come
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... Why win a premiership when you can just be in contention for winning a premiership right?
More serious tho, am hoping with the new personnel ho came on board last year or year before that we will start reaping the benefits. because at the moment, we are completly under utilising this huge advantage.
 

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I believe the academy system is not ideal. More emphasis should be put on kids developing at their clubs and representative teams picked from there. Kids develop at different rates, to label an academy kid at 12 is not good for them and not right. 16 is when the talent hits the road.
 
acuguy said:
I believe the academy system is not ideal. More emphasis should be put on kids developing at their clubs and representative teams picked from there. Kids develop at different rates, to label an academy kid at 12 is not good for them and not right. 16 is when the talent hits the road.
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I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise if that's more the new model. When we have about 100 18-19yo boys in the academy, there's no way it can be run the same way. It does look as though we casting the net wider and I can't think that the clubs won't have more of a role. Hopefully.

Good to hear from you.
 
The Flying Belgian said:
I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise if that's more the new model. When we have about 100 18-19yo boys in the academy, there's no way it can be run the same way. It does look as though we casting the net wider and I can't think that the clubs won't have more of a role. Hopefully.

Good to hear from you.
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Obviously theres no consensus with the clubs on developing youth. One club has 12 u19s in their 1st, another just 1. Both have the same number of u19s in the academy. Will have to wait till 2nd round to see how many coaches are taking a risk on youthful talent, or sticking with the tried and trusted 'bland'.
 
Sorry for the intrusion, but as a parent and also as someone fairly heavily involved in QAFL footy I can provide some small insight into the academy and what the clubs think.

1. Primarily clubs are frustrated that they are not trusted with the development of a player. Most QAFL clubs these days have experienced coaches, elite programs, physio, S&C, EP's etc. Our current senior coach basically set up the northern academies and has very interesting insights into how they operate.
2. The academy is dropping the ball in the opinion of the clubs, not when it comes to what club supporters on a forum like this think, but moreso in relation to matters unrelated to the kids that get drafted and have successful AFL careers. I don't have recent numbers in front of me, but we collectively did some analysis a few years back and the drop out rate for academy kids not drafted was over 80%. Basically, 80% of undrafted academy kids had given the game away by the time they were 20 - for grassroots clubs who develop these kids before losing them to the academies, this is a devastating figure and should concern anyone interested in our local competition and the role it plays in the footy eco system.
3. The new regime has improved to a point, but hard to say. We do hear from them every week, which is a nice change - but we don't have much idea whats happening with the players unless we talk to the players themselves.
4. They bounce around too much. This is bad for 2 reasons, one of them leads to point 2 above. Realistically only a 5-10 (best case) are draftable every year, but they are in the academy and not part of the fabric or culture of their club. Many people that go undrafted can still have a wondeful 200+ game QAFL career that is hugely fulfilling. they will make lifelong friends, learn important life lessons and be part of a great team culture wherever they may end up, they lose this feeling in their academy years and the result is that they are lost to footy, because they don't get all the 'good 'stuff from footy as they are essentially competing with their peers, instead of truly being their teammates, and the end result of their 3 year involvement in the academy is disappointment at the outcome. Further, its actually not great for their footy in my view. I use one kid as a case in point. We identified him, got him back involved in footy and into the academy. He spent 3 seasons with the academy and the Lions and no other club wanted him, but he was a 204cm developing ruck who in 2019 at one point played for 5 different teams in a 6 week period, and over a 9 week period he never played for the same 2 teams in consecutive weeks. So as a ruckman, he had 3-6 different midfield faces looking back at him, probably rarely trained with them an in some cases only met them when he arrived at the ground. Fast-forward to 2020, no NEAFL, no academy and he gets to settle in one place (at his club). He has a slow start, then plays 10 outstanding games and the Tigers take him 2nd round in the draft. He is now absolutely thriving in their VFL practice games and will likely debut in 2021. Had COVID not happened, he may have given the game away before he was 21, but getting a 10 game stretch in the one place, developing an understanding with his midfield teammates, which resulted in some great footy now sees him on the Richmond list and going beautifully. I don't believe this is a cooincidence at all.

The academy absolutely has its place, but I feel they should simply pick a QLD u18 side that plays in the carnival, have them train with the academy once a week in the pre-season before then identifying an 'elite squad' to continue that during the season while the rest filter back to try and get a senior QAFL game or play Ressies/Colts. Identify those thriving at QAFL level and put extra work into them, maybe reward them with a Lions Reserves game - but generally just let them play club footy. I think the outcome from that would be the same or more kids drafted, but we would stop losing that 80% I referred to above.

cheers
 
Thommo 42 said:
Sorry for the intrusion, but as a parent and also as someone fairly heavily involved in QAFL footy I can provide some small insight into the academy and what the clubs think.

1. Primarily clubs are frustrated that they are not trusted with the development of a player. Most QAFL clubs these days have experienced coaches, elite programs, physio, S&C, EP's etc. Our current senior coach basically set up the northern academies and has very interesting insights into how they operate.
2. The academy is dropping the ball in the opinion of the clubs, not when it comes to what club supporters on a forum like this think, but moreso in relation to matters unrelated to the kids that get drafted and have successful AFL careers. I don't have recent numbers in front of me, but we collectively did some analysis a few years back and the drop out rate for academy kids not drafted was over 80%. Basically, 80% of undrafted academy kids had given the game away by the time they were 20 - for grassroots clubs who develop these kids before losing them to the academies, this is a devastating figure and should concern anyone interested in our local competition and the role it plays in the footy eco system.
3. The new regime has improved to a point, but hard to say. We do hear from them every week, which is a nice change - but we don't have much idea whats happening with the players unless we talk to the players themselves.
4. They bounce around too much. This is bad for 2 reasons, one of them leads to point 2 above. Realistically only a 5-10 (best case) are draftable every year, but they are in the academy and not part of the fabric or culture of their club. Many people that go undrafted can still have a wondeful 200+ game QAFL career that is hugely fulfilling. they will make lifelong friends, learn important life lessons and be part of a great team culture wherever they may end up, they lose this feeling in their academy years and the result is that they are lost to footy, because they don't get all the 'good 'stuff from footy as they are essentially competing with their peers, instead of truly being their teammates, and the end result of their 3 year involvement in the academy is disappointment at the outcome. Further, its actually not great for their footy in my view. I use one kid as a case in point. We identified him, got him back involved in footy and into the academy. He spent 3 seasons with the academy and the Lions and no other club wanted him, but he was a 204cm developing ruck who in 2019 at one point played for 5 different teams in a 6 week period, and over a 9 week period he never played for the same 2 teams in consecutive weeks. So as a ruckman, he had 3-6 different midfield faces looking back at him, probably rarely trained with them an in some cases only met them when he arrived at the ground. Fast-forward to 2020, no NEAFL, no academy and he gets to settle in one place (at his club). He has a slow start, then plays 10 outstanding games and the Tigers take him 2nd round in the draft. He is now absolutely thriving in their VFL practice games and will likely debut in 2021. Had COVID not happened, he may have given the game away before he was 21, but getting a 10 game stretch in the one place, developing an understanding with his midfield teammates, which resulted in some great footy now sees him on the Richmond list and going beautifully. I don't believe this is a cooincidence at all.

The academy absolutely has its place, but I feel they should simply pick a QLD u18 side that plays in the carnival, have them train with the academy once a week in the pre-season before then identifying an 'elite squad' to continue that during the season while the rest filter back to try and get a senior QAFL game or play Ressies/Colts. Identify those thriving at QAFL level and put extra work into them, maybe reward them with a Lions Reserves game - but generally just let them play club footy. I think the outcome from that would be the same or more kids drafted, but we would stop losing that 80% I referred to above.

cheers
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Great insight Thommo, thanks, do you know if the clubs feeling this way has been forcefully and clearly conveyed to the Lions hierarchy? Do the Lions just ignore club concerns?
 
Thommo 42 said:
Sorry for the intrusion, but as a parent and also as someone fairly heavily involved in QAFL footy I can provide some small insight into the academy and what the clubs think.

1. Primarily clubs are frustrated that they are not trusted with the development of a player. Most QAFL clubs these days have experienced coaches, elite programs, physio, S&C, EP's etc. Our current senior coach basically set up the northern academies and has very interesting insights into how they operate.
2. The academy is dropping the ball in the opinion of the clubs, not when it comes to what club supporters on a forum like this think, but moreso in relation to matters unrelated to the kids that get drafted and have successful AFL careers. I don't have recent numbers in front of me, but we collectively did some analysis a few years back and the drop out rate for academy kids not drafted was over 80%. Basically, 80% of undrafted academy kids had given the game away by the time they were 20 - for grassroots clubs who develop these kids before losing them to the academies, this is a devastating figure and should concern anyone interested in our local competition and the role it plays in the footy eco system.
3. The new regime has improved to a point, but hard to say. We do hear from them every week, which is a nice change - but we don't have much idea whats happening with the players unless we talk to the players themselves.
4. They bounce around too much. This is bad for 2 reasons, one of them leads to point 2 above. Realistically only a 5-10 (best case) are draftable every year, but they are in the academy and not part of the fabric or culture of their club. Many people that go undrafted can still have a wondeful 200+ game QAFL career that is hugely fulfilling. they will make lifelong friends, learn important life lessons and be part of a great team culture wherever they may end up, they lose this feeling in their academy years and the result is that they are lost to footy, because they don't get all the 'good 'stuff from footy as they are essentially competing with their peers, instead of truly being their teammates, and the end result of their 3 year involvement in the academy is disappointment at the outcome. Further, its actually not great for their footy in my view. I use one kid as a case in point. We identified him, got him back involved in footy and into the academy. He spent 3 seasons with the academy and the Lions and no other club wanted him, but he was a 204cm developing ruck who in 2019 at one point played for 5 different teams in a 6 week period, and over a 9 week period he never played for the same 2 teams in consecutive weeks. So as a ruckman, he had 3-6 different midfield faces looking back at him, probably rarely trained with them an in some cases only met them when he arrived at the ground. Fast-forward to 2020, no NEAFL, no academy and he gets to settle in one place (at his club). He has a slow start, then plays 10 outstanding games and the Tigers take him 2nd round in the draft. He is now absolutely thriving in their VFL practice games and will likely debut in 2021. Had COVID not happened, he may have given the game away before he was 21, but getting a 10 game stretch in the one place, developing an understanding with his midfield teammates, which resulted in some great footy now sees him on the Richmond list and going beautifully. I don't believe this is a cooincidence at all.

The academy absolutely has its place, but I feel they should simply pick a QLD u18 side that plays in the carnival, have them train with the academy once a week in the pre-season before then identifying an 'elite squad' to continue that during the season while the rest filter back to try and get a senior QAFL game or play Ressies/Colts. Identify those thriving at QAFL level and put extra work into them, maybe reward them with a Lions Reserves game - but generally just let them play club footy. I think the outcome from that would be the same or more kids drafted, but we would stop losing that 80% I referred to above.

cheers
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Wow, thank you greatly for your insights. 5/6 teams is horribly unfair for a youngster. Most concerning is the 80% that give the game away. I always hopes that they would go back and develop in the QAFL or other leagues to make our game north of the border a stronger and a more respected league. You will always have kids give the game away but that’s a massive drop. Once again thank you for your insights and I suppose something really needs to be done ASAP. Mighty Lions?
 
jjami15 said:
Wow, thank you greatly for your insights. 5/6 teams is horribly unfair for a youngster. Most concerning is the 80% that give the game away. I always hopes that they would go back and develop in the QAFL or other leagues to make our game north of the border a stronger and a more respected league. You will always have kids give the game away but that’s a massive drop. Once again thank you for your insights and I suppose something really needs to be done ASAP. Mighty Lions?
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Might have been better to tag Lions_Insider_2, but they haven’t signed in to the forum since late January.
 
briztoon said:
Might have been better to tag Lions_Insider_2, but they haven’t signed in to the forum since late January.
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Would have been perfect if LI could see this. However, l am sure they know all of this, someone or the clubs would have told them. It's just whether the club is going to listen or not.
 
The fault of kids dropping out of footy after failing to make the draft may not lay at the feet of the Academy. Clubs have the opportunity to introduce boys into senior footy, experience seniors culture which is so different from Juniors, bond with the men and perhaps mentor roles will form? That isnt happening at many of the clubs. The clubs already have these boys who have a bright future at club level.

The boys need to know it isnt the end if they dont make the draft. By already being socially part of a footy group of mates, i believe there would be more chance of them being happy to continue with their club.

The main opportunity for this is during pre season trial matches. Promote some of the colts the club wants to look at in seniors, and get them into the group. A coach can pick his 'best' 18, have a look at another 4 seniors and still put 3-4 colts on the bench in trial matches. Reserve grade can do the same, or just run a couple in 1st and the rest through reserves? But introducing these kids to senior footy, mix with the men, become part of the culture, and get some experience on field as well may be one way to keep them in footy, and at your club?

Perhaps is some clubs that are too elitist in their promotion of Colts to senior footy, and fail to see that it is inclusion that will keep those boys around when the AFL dream is over?
 
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Until this year, 95% of the time that are not available during pre-season and you barely see them.

This year, they train twice a week, but one of the sessions is weights (which they feel obligated to go to instead of actual footy training). They are placed in Brisbane North or Brisbane South, so might live 10 minutes from Coorparoo, but because of their postcode have to train at Brendale or Burpengary, spending more time commuting than actually training.
 
Who’s who coming through the Queensland ranks

We spoke with Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS Academy teams to compile the list of the top talent coming through the Queensland ranks:
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.
5. Ravi Schofield
Club: Noosa
Speedy and agile player. He is very coachable and has a big upside. Skill attributes that will translate to multiple positions and roles in time. High endurance athlete and hard worker.




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

www.aflq.com.au www.aflq.com.au
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briztoon said:
What ages are the boys?

There’s a couple of names missing I expected to see.

Sam Winterbottom from Mt Gravatt and Kuot Thok from Grange.
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They're all level 3 Academy, although I'm not entirky sure that means they are all eligible for the draft
 
Johnny Bananas said:
Anyone know if Noah McFadyen is playing this year? Still hope he'll choose Australian rules over cricket.
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Played colts last weekend for Wilston Grange. If he stays playing at that level it will probably tell the story.
 

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