Flying Boomerangs

[YvonneH]

I have just watch 'The Flying Boomerangs' on NITV. I think it was from a couple of years ago, as the boys were 16 years old.There was quite a lot of vision of Ben Davis (Abe's brother) on it. Also Callum Ah Chee (who I think has been drafted).
A shame Ben isn't part of our academy. I think this is covered in another thread.
From a personal observation and nothing to do with football, he has the most beautiful eyes.

[liz]

I have just watch 'The Flying Boomerangs' on NITV. I think it was from a couple of years ago, as the boys were 16 years old.There was quite a lot of vision of Ben Davis (Abe's brother) on it. Also Callum Ah Chee (who I think has been drafted).
A shame Ben isn't part of our academy. I think this is covered in another thread.
From a personal observation and nothing to do with football, he has the most beautiful eyes.

He is part of the academy (and is therefore benefiting from the development it offers). We just don't have priority access to him.

[Meg]

The Flying Boomerangs are the group that developed the indigenous war dance that Adam Goodes performed. (It was an imaginary boomerang he was hurling at the end, not a spear as the outraged always say.)

[YvonneH]

He is part of the academy (and is therefore benefiting from the development it offers). We just don't have priority access to him.

Can you please explain this situation to me Liz as I thought we had priority access to all academy players. Apparently I was wrong

[liz]

Can you please explain this situation to me Liz as I thought we had priority access to all academy players. Apparently I was wrong

It depends what you mean by "explain". I observe that the AFL has come out and ruled that because Davis is a year over age (ie he is, or turns, 19 this year) and didn't nominate for the draft in the first year he was eligible, he cannot be taken this year under the academy rules.

Can I explain the rationale behind this ruling? That's where it gets a bit more tricky. Apparently he didn't nominate last year because he was injured and didn't think he stood a chance of being selected. I note that, over the past two years, the Giants have drafted two players under the priority access rules who were a year over age (Steele and Himmelberg). In both cases they were injured in their final U18 year, which was probably a large factor in why they weren't drafted. Presumably they did both nominate for the draft despite their injuries, or the Swans would have called the AFL out on its inconsistency.

Does it make much sense that a club shouldn't have normal academy access if a player didn't nominate? You could just as well argue that the Giants had their opportunities to draft Steele and Himmelberg the previous years and chose not to, so why should they then have access the following year. It has more than a whiff of the AFL making up the rules on the run to appease the whingeing from the southern states.