Brandon Jack in Sydney Uni�s list of players submitted today. He will wear #16. Bird #3 and Edwards #13
Sydney Uni NEAFL provides a nice transition into life after football for many Swans players as they get a free degree and no doubt help with finding a job. If the new AFL Reserves Comp is established I'd expect the NEAFL to be disbanded and this option would be lost to the delisted players. I guess they could go interstate but the Sydney Uni option to a player leaving the AFL system is rather unique I think
I think the disbanding of the neafl could be a devastating blow to afl in the north eastern states. Particularly Sydney. Where do all the kids who don�t get drafted but are better than perms go! Interstate. Neafl is actually building a name for itself Australia wide as a legitimate second tier comp
I doubt very much that the Neafl would be disbanded although the standard would drop somewhat. The advantage is our Ressies will get a quality game every week and would play before the main game which would be a huge bonus for Ressies watchers.
I think getting rid of the NEAFL will have zero negative impact on the Swans and the game in NSW.
An AFL reserves comp would be much better development environment for our ressies, the only decent games are against the other AFL teams anyway.
As for pathway for developing players. Any decent players will get a gig either as rookie or Ressies topup like they do now via the NDS.
And in terms of the local game I thibk that most Sydney clubs with the exception of Sydney Uni will welcome the neafl being disbanded. There�s plenty of discussion there on the nswafl page here so I don�t need to add to that.
It would be a blow to players dropping down from afl level who want to stay in Sydney though. I guess it�s just a matter of if the afl wish to continue to fund the comp because it�s a huge cost for non afl teams and heavily subsidized.
Just my personal opinion of course.
Wow! Here's some really great content from the Swans' website about the U19 development squad. Not only does it give some insight into the programme these boys follow, it also includes names the players in the squad and gives us a brief rundown of their position, attributes, playing history etc. Given that reserves watchers will see these guys running around in the NEAFL side this year, it's great to know a bit about them.
Academy players step up to train with Swans - sydneyswans.com.au
Reinhardt is the player I noticed a bit last Saturday against UNSW but whose surname I couldn't remember. He's still a bit skinny but he looked confident playing at that level. Rogers and Carroll are two that I remember as being pretty good in last year's U18 championships, especially the game against the Gold Coast academy at Blacktown.
One name missing from the list that I'd have expected to see there is Jack Hardman, given he was one of the few academy prospects mentioned as a draft potential last year. Does anyone know what he's up to? Given his age (31/12 birthday) it's possible he's remained in the main academy programme, rather than graduating to the U19 squad? Or maybe he's moved interstate to further his ambitions?
Ludwig
Date with destiny
See the post above re academy
Great read on the Swans website about u19 players that will play for the NEAFL side this year. Good article to bookmark for when they do play as the thumbnails give good insight into each player.
I think hardman has taken the year away from footy.
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