Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Under 18 Academy Championships and National Championships

  1. #1

    Under 18 Academy Championships and National Championships

    I thought I would start a thread on these championships as they start this Saturday at Blacktown.

    These champs play a big part in determining which kids get rookied and drafted.

    I will post the schedule.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Round 1, Saturday April 14, 1.30pm
    U18 Sydney Swans Academy v U18 Brisbane Lions Academy
    Blacktown International Sports Park, Sydney

    Round 2, Saturday April 21, 1pm
    U18 Sydney Swans Academy v U18 Giants Academy
    Blacktown International Sports Park, Sydney

    Round 3, Saturday April 28, 5pm
    U18 Sydney Swans Academy v NT Thunder U18
    Alice Springs
    Players will leave Sydney at approximately 9am on Friday April 27 and return on Sunday April 29

    Round 4, Saturday May 5, 9.30am
    U18 Sydney Swans Academy v Tasmania U18
    Glenorchy
    Players will leave Sydney on Friday May 4

    Round 5, Saturday May 12, 10am
    U18 Sydney Swans Academy v U18 Gold Coast Academy
    Blacktown International Sports Park, Sydney

    U18 National Championships - Allies
    Players will be selected from the Academy Series for the combined Allies team to play in the Division One U18 National AFL Championships. Those games will be on June 10 v Vic Country; June 17 v Vic Metro; June 29 v SA; July 4 v WA.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I understand that the swans team will be an interesting mix, with some good overagers, a weaker under 18 group, except for Blakey, and a very strong under 17 group.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I understand that the swans team will be an interesting mix, with some good overagers, a weaker under 18 group, except for Blakey, and a very strong under 17 group.

  2. #2
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    The timing of the Swans game on Saturday is annoying. I knew they were playing but had banked on the game starting a little earlier to give me time to drive home in time to watch the senior game on TV. It's a two hour drive for me to and from Blacktown (worst case, allowing for traffic), which means I needed the game to start around noon, or earlier.

    Do you know if the games are being streamed?

  3. #3
    Nothing at all on the swans site.

    Would it be too much to ask for a bit of a guide to the team, which kids are in the squad and what the program is.

    The current level of comms out of the club is appalling

  4. #4
    The game time has changed to 12.30 start.

  5. #5
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    The AFL has published a few comments on players likely to feature prominently in the Div 2 Academy series. For the Swans, Blakey, not unexpectedly, gets top billing but Crouch mentions a few other names to look out for.

    Talent managers rate the best Academy prospects - AFL.com.au

  6. #6
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    Finally there is some mention of the academy series on the Swans website (though most of this is a repeat of the article above but just focussing on the Swans players). I note that they haven't managed to give us any start times in that article, mind. It's a good thing we have Barracuda on our team.

    Academy: Series to get underway Saturday - sydneyswans.com.au

  7. #7
    Full listing of players on OS now. Brewer was the third kid I referred to. Blakey now almost 80 kg so the kid is bulking up

  8. #8
    Sorry what is OS?

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by barracuda View Post
    Sorry what is OS?
    Official Site.

    Wicks is a lad I thought looked very composed at the preseason trial, what are your thoughts on him barracuda? You seem to know a bit about the setup. What about the �Big Three� of Rayner, Brewer and Barling?

  10. #10
    Raynor is a tall key defender. Strong overhead mark. Member of the AIS.
    Brewer and barling I�m not so sure about.
    Wicks reminds me of Jake Lloyd. Similar size and build. Very composed, very high disposal efficiencies, very clean on both sides.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by barracuda View Post
    Raynor is a tall key defender. Strong overhead mark. Member of the AIS.
    Brewer and barling I�m not so sure about.
    Wicks reminds me of Jake Lloyd. Similar size and build. Very composed, very high disposal efficiencies, very clean on both sides.
    One thing I have noticed, and Carey and Roos unloaded on it the other day, is that despite full time professionalism that most players now are horribly one sided.

    Roos blames the modern culture where kids spend more time on their phones than kicking a footy. Is being two sided something the academy tries to teach/enforce or is it fighting a losing battle there

  12. #12
    I have read that Wicks has been at the academy for 8 years or so. His younger years would�ve been when roos ran the academy. As I recall Roos made them complete 400 kicks a week on both sides. He used to tell them that the Melbourne kids are kicking before, during and after school.
    The academy does make them do drills on both sides and does value two sided players.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO