2nds Official Swans Academy Thread (Player News and Discussion)

[mtooler]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-21/early-draft-analysis

Saying Dunkley will make a decision towards years end on whether he'll come to the Swans.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I am really looking forward to getting Mills but also really worried about what is going to happen with Dunkley.

Why are you worried mate? we have no control over Dunkley unlike Mills.

 

[TheMase]

Love the 'experts' on the AFL board trying to suggest the academies don't need to exist. Seriously, some people have absolutely no clue about the state of junior footy and the huge gap to the other states. It is much bigger than just players, it is them being coached by people who are parents and a lot of cases have had very little to do with the game across their lives.

The hope is that the kids who don't make it (the great great great majority, if nearly almost all of them) filter back into the junior ranks and becoming those parents with an AFL background and nurturing kids from 5/6 onwards eventually, hopefully, no longer requiring the academies.

I love how they are quick to point out advantages (Cola, academies) we have over other teams but quickly try and brush over / make light of the massive disadvantages that are also present. Genuinely pissing me off.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

Love the 'experts' on the AFL board trying to suggest the academies don't need to exist. Seriously, some people have absolutely no clue about the state of junior footy and the huge gap to the other states. It is much bigger than just players, it is them being coached by people who are parents and a lot of cases have had very little to do with the game across their lives.

The hope is that the kids who don't make it (the great great great majority, if nearly almost all of them) filter back into the junior ranks and becoming those parents with an AFL background and nurturing kids from 5/6 onwards eventually, hopefully, no longer requiring the academies.

I love how they are quick to point out advantages (Cola, academies) we have over other teams but quickly try and brush over / make light of the massive disadvantages that are also present. Genuinely pissing me off.

Just take a look at the article on AFL.com

Poor Heeney he is the face of the academy faux outrage.

 

[Membling]

The 'problem' is so easy to fix. Give other clubs academies in the NSW/Qld region. Less sooking, more money.

 

[Millky95]

The 'problem' is so easy to fix. Give other clubs academies in the NSW/Qld region. Less sooking, more money.

I have been thinking the same thing. I don't see why it hasn't been done yet.

 

[Membling]

I have been thinking the same thing. I don't see why it hasn't been done yet.

Because AFL HQ are a bit slow on it?

But seriously, probably the difficulty in splitting the zones up. Can't see why the teams can't keep the traditional areas/home areas and lottery the rest off

 

[hairy biker]

The 'problem' is so easy to fix. Give other clubs academies in the NSW/Qld region. Less sooking, more money.

I disagree. In my view, there should be no club involvement.

The academies should be fully funded and operated by the AFL and the kids involved should, if they turn out to be good enough, go into the draft and be available to all clubs,

The AFL seems to have had the view both through the NSW scholarship scheme and now the academies that there should be incentive for clubs to involve themselves in those states.
The AFL is a multi-million dollar enterprise, it should have both the dollars and the expertise to run the academies.

Zoning is inherently unfair and opening up the current scheme for clubs to directly fund the academies clearly favours the rich clubs.

Sydney and the other 3 NSW/QLD clubs have put money and effort into the academy scheme and therefore any changes should be phased in or the clubs should be financially compensated for their efforts to date.

 

[RUNVS]

The 'problem' is so easy to fix. Give other clubs academies in the NSW/Qld region. Less sooking, more money.

The problem is what teams get the areas that already have a strong AFL background like Albury and Wagga Wagga? Right now GWS have it but you can bet Eddie would campaign for Collingwood to get those areas.

 

[Membling]

I disagree. In my view, there should be no club involvement.

The academies should be fully funded and operated by the AFL and the kids involved should, if they turn out to be good enough, go into the draft and be available to all clubs,

The AFL seems to have had the view both through the NSW scholarship scheme and now the academies that there should be incentive for clubs to involve themselves in those states.
The AFL is a multi-million dollar enterprise, it should have both the dollars and the expertise to run the academies.

Zoning is inherently unfair and opening up the current scheme for clubs to directly fund the academies clearly favours the rich clubs.

Sydney and the other 3 NSW/QLD clubs have put money and effort into the academy scheme and therefore any changes should be phased in or the clubs should be financially compensated for their efforts to date.

I know where you are coming from but the AFL funded attempt to get grass roots in non traditional states have been abject failures.

Actually making grass roots in these states is well served by showing a clear pathway to aligned clubs, in a similar vein to NRL clubs as it is familiar culturally to the NSW and Qld kids. As the expansion becomes successful, AFL could phase out the academy set ups, continue the running of them and merge them under one heading ala the TAC.

In terms of funding x amount of AFL dollars given to clubs and a cap on club spending can alleviate the rich/poor divide. Penalties for breaches can be relinquishing rights to the academy members for however many years in relation to over spend.

As a 'reward' for leg work, expansion teams have first dibs on the traditional areas.

The problem is what teams get the areas that already have a strong AFL background like Albury and Wagga Wagga? Right now GWS have it but you can bet Eddie would campaign for Collingwood to get those areas.

Areas such as Albury and wagga wagga could be gifted to the expansion clubs. Kinda a reward for the leg work. Zones could be traded similar to the draft. Not sure how the zoning will work but as I am not paid to restructure, not really important.

 

[TheMase]

I disagree. In my view, there should be no club involvement.

The academies should be fully funded and operated by the AFL and the kids involved should, if they turn out to be good enough, go into the draft and be available to all clubs,

The AFL seems to have had the view both through the NSW scholarship scheme and now the academies that there should be incentive for clubs to involve themselves in those states.
The AFL is a multi-million dollar enterprise, it should have both the dollars and the expertise to run the academies.

Because it won't work. The AFL have tried numerous things and they have all failed. This is the only thing they have done that has really begun to bare fruit but even then, there is a very very long way to go.

The AFL doesn't carry the expertise of elite training, the professional clubs do.

 

[robbieando]

AFL running things didn't work and the holistic "every club gets to have a go" didn't work because only the rich clubs (Collingwood, Hawthorn and Adelaide) and those with self interest (us) put the time and money into it, the others didn't and thus that approach failed and thus we ended up with the academies which have worked because it provides the pathway that has been missing with the previous setups while improving junior football standards in both NSW and QLD.

Why merge the ideas behind two failed systems in NSW (AFL funded and run with imput from all clubs with normal draft access) over something that works?

 

[RUNVS]

Should NSW and Queensland clubs retain their rights to academy players?
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-25/is-academy-system-unfair

YES: I can already hear the chorus of fans from the other 14 clubs screaming, "we want the same". It's natural to have your own club's interests at heart – we all do - but if you consider the below points, I'm sure you'll see the value in the four Queensland and NSW clubs continuing to run their own academies and having primary access to those players. The only reason this is even an issue is because of Isaac Heeney. No one blinked twice when the Brisbane Lions selected Jonathan Freeman 12 months earlier under the same system, but now because the Swans landed a future gun for unders, all hell has broken loose. It's a vexed issue, but northern clubs lose players to the 'go home factor' far more often than any other clubs. While they've done well to spread the AFL message in the past 25 years, participation numbers in Queensland and New South Wales are still relatively low. The two states simply don't produce enough AFL talent at the moment, meaning their predominantly interstate lists are more open to being raided. The Swans, Giants, Lions and Suns aren't able to fill their teams with locals (like the Eagles, Crows or most Victorians clubs), so having academies to firstly lure talent to the sport, and then nurture it to an AFL standard, is a great way of levelling this out. Heeney wouldn't even be playing the game if it wasn't for the Swans' academy. Not only do rugby league and rugby get more media attention, they also get the majority of young sporting talent up north. The advent of the academies has slowly started to swing that player balance and provide the AFL with a greater pool of quality from two more states. The more players the academies produce, the more regularly other clubs will outbid their northern rivals to access this pool. Perhaps the system could be reviewed in years to come, but for the time being, having Queenslanders play in Queensland and New South Welshmen play for New South Wales is great for the code. - Michael Whiting

NO: Let me get this straight up front – this is not a dig at the Sydney Swans, Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast or the Brisbane Lions. All four clubs have done exceptional work spreading the AFL gospel in their expansion states. Just two weeks ago, Swans recruit Isaac Heeney said if not for the quality coaching he had received at the Swans academy he would be playing another sport. That's a great result for the AFL given the growing number of Australian sporting codes jostling to get their hands on the nation's best talent. But the integrity of the draft demands that the four northern clubs are stopped from getting the type of windfall the Swans netted last year when they claimed Heeney, who many rated in last year's top three draftees, at the bargain price of pick No 18. Yes, the draft is already compromised by father-son picks and free agency compensation picks, and the past five drafts have been skewed by the start-up concessions awarded to the Suns and Giants. But that's no reason to allow another draft loophole to remain, especially one that can only ever be exploited by four clubs. Just as the AFL has moved to protect the integrity of the salary cap by removing the cost-of-living allowance awarded to NSW clubs and just as it removed the Lions' extra salary cap space after their 2001-03 premierships, the League should scrap the club-based academy system. The academies must continue, but should be run independently by AFL NSW/ACT and AFL Queensland. With the right people at the helm, there is no reason why the AFL can't continue to convert elite young sportsmen like Heeney to Australian football. - Nick Bowen

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-25/is-academy-system-unfair

Oddly enough so far the yes the 4 expansion clubs should have the academies is winning 63% to 37%.

 

[robbieando]

Eddie hasn't sent out the mass email to vote No yet or had a go on his radio show being the long weekend.

 

[Kummerspeck]

Why merge the ideas behind two failed systems in NSW (AFL funded and run with imput from all clubs with normal draft access) over something that works?

This is the frustrating thing. Whenever you converse with anyone on here, you outline that those last two approaches produced 0 first or second rounders in over a decade, and ask what their solution is and they say the AFL should just run it.

The best suggestion is that the AFL should just take over the operation as it stands and open the players up to bidding. I'd be interested to see what the academy would be like once the Swans and Giants withdrew all the funding, staff, and held onto the exclusive use of training sites.

 

[Membling]

As outlined, the best way to develop junior talent in these states is to give the money to the clubs to use as they wish with academies.

After the junior ranks are self sustaining and of good quality (thinking at minimum 15-20 years) then the afl can take over the control system similar to the TAC cup then have a 'pure draft'

 

[Kummerspeck]

As outlined, the best way to develop junior talent in these states is to give the money to the clubs to use as they wish with academies.

After the junior ranks are self sustaining and of good quality (thinking at minimum 15-20 years) then the afl can take over the control system similar to the TAC cup then have a 'pure draft'

If they do that it will work out like last time. Squabbling over the potential elite picks and the rest ignored.

 

[Count Dooku]

More for Mills....Dunkley will be a challenge depending on willingness to trade future picks. Expensive but doable if the current AFL proposal is ratified by clubs.

 

[RW]

Given that the bidding process for father-son and academy selections is currently a popular topic for discussion and one that is likely to be the subject of debate for quite some time both on and off the boards, especially if the current AFL proposals are passed, I have created a new thread for anything and everything related to the academy/father-son bidding system here:

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threa...my-players-split-from-academy-thread.1086947/

We can keep this one for player-related discussion and news.

 

[robbieando]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...mire-john-blakey/story-fni5f22o-1227206945805

Norf aren't going to be happy with this

SYDNEY has stolen a march on North Melbourne by enrolling the sons of premiership stars John Longmire and John Blakey in its youth academy.

The three boys can be groomed for careers at the Swans, the club Longmire coaches with Blakey his assistant.

If they make the grade, the Sydney trio could graduate from the Swans academy onto its senior list — or choose to join North as father-son selections.

Nicholas Blakey (in the under-15s), Thomas Longmire (12) and Billy Longmire (10) flirted with North’s father-son academy in 2013, but haven’t been involved since. Nicholas Blakey is entrenched in Sydney’s academy and coach Michael O’Loughlin said “there was a lot to like”. He would also be eligible to Brisbane Lions under the father-son rule.

AFL laws stipulate players must have resided in a club’s zone for at least five years to join its academy, which the league and recruiters say is tightly policed.

 

[swansfan51]

To the Norf board!

 

[RUNVS]

Long way to go though as it would really mean Longmire would need to be the head coach at the Swans for the next 7 years and Blakey will need to be with the Swans for another 5 years.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Oh come on everyone needs a good LOL at North. Please be true!

 

[Blacky]

They mad

 

[robbieando]

Long way to go though as it would really mean Longmire would need to be the head coach at the Swans for the next 7 years and Blakey will need to be with the Swans for another 5 years.

Blakey son is 15, so only another 3 years and even I would doubt he'll be here that long. Longmire I think could last that long.

Still it's a fair bit of time and they might not even make the grade like Roos kid.

Also if they do end up at Norf it will because of our Academy, but hey let's get rid of it so they don't get 3 possible F/S picks. Idiots