We're ahead 34-10 at half time. I only tuned in during the second quarter and I can't find a team list, so there's not a lot I can say. Apparently it was 31-2 at quarter time, so maybe the Giants had the breeze in that quarter?
We're ahead 34-10 at half time. I only tuned in during the second quarter and I can't find a team list, so there's not a lot I can say. Apparently it was 31-2 at quarter time, so maybe the Giants had the breeze in that quarter?
Ended up winning the U16 game 93-24, after leading 54-18 at three quarter time. Generally our ball movement was a fair bit sharper than the Giants and our defensive pressure a bit more likely to cause turnovers.
Without a team sheet, there's not a lot that I can say about individual performances, although, we did seem to have a fair amount of talent on the forward line.
In the U19 game, we hung on to win 61-55, after a late surge from the Giants. Unfortunately, I didn't see much of the first half, as the coverage started with a screen saying "we'll be back soon" but that coverage never came back. After periodically checking whether the coverage had come back, I noticed there were a few people viewing something labelled, U22 Series Match Day 2: Swans Academy v AFL Canberra. It was there that I found today's game, a few minutes before half time. Grrr!!
Anyway, perhaps the player that impressed me most today was Cochran. After playing pretty well everywhere last season, it seems that they've decided to give him an extended run as a key defender. He got in the way of plenty of attacks and was pretty clean with his ball use going the other way. Not sure if I really want to start talking him up as a draft prospect just yet, but he should have plenty of chances to push his case. Especially if he gets to line up against some highly rated forwards when the Talent League starts.
Lots of other guys did some good things: Rider, Harrison, Andreacchio, Jans, Hawkins, Ryan, Carmichael, Chamberlain and King. The last three mentioned already looking like they've got a good chance to be picked up in 2025. But of course, that's a long way away.
Its the girls' turn on Sunday - U16 at 11am, U19 at 1pm, both v Giants. Then the Sydney U22 game v Canberra. Streamed via ALF NSW/ACT facebook. (apologies if not the right place to post).
Yes, it is the right place to post.Originally Posted by ootf
I found out after the event, that the u18 academy team played the Lions on the weekend and the Suns the previous weekend. It seems that the academy games are taking place this season, without anyone in the Swans media department really noticing. Oh well, we start our Talent League program next weekend, so the game times for our matches are on the Talent League app. All matches are streamed via the app. Hopefully with commentary.
Anyway, this is a link for the Suns match.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/nZt...ibextid=oFDknk
Don't know if I want to give too many spoilers away, to anyone who might want to watch the replay, so I'll just say that it was a competitive match, with some good performances.
Rider and Chamberlain were both dangerous in the forward line. Although from a draft perspective, Rider's draft year was last year, while Chamberlain's is next year. Which makes Chamberlain the more interesting prospect. He's growing into genuine KPF size, he has plenty of pace off the mark, strong hands, is a good set shot and can hit team mates with kicks under pressure. Probably wouldn’t write Rider off, though. He performed very well as a medium forward last season, but injury curtailed his season when appeared to be pushing for a rookie list spot. He's an excellent kick for goal, who's capable of the occasional freakish thing. So, hopefully he gets a chance at VFL level to push his case.
Perhaps our best prospect in this year's cohort is Joel Cochran. I thought he did really well in this game, with plenty of intercept marks and some nice ball usage.
Our other likely type from the cohort, is in and under onballer, Joe Harrison. I thought he was pretty good in this game, until he copped a nasty injury late, due to what looked like a flying knee to the back of the head in a marking contest. Hope he's alright, but he didn't play in the Lions game. Also in the midfield, it looks like giant ruck, Caleb May, is back for an overage academy season. I thought he was a bit unlucky not to get rookie listed last year, as he does get plenty of taps to advantage and does have some ball skills. However, I was a touch disappointed with his recent games. In that, I suspect that he was told, that the areas he needs to work on to get drafted are pace and mobility, but unfortunately, he now seems a bit slower. Though he didn't play in the earlier academy games, so perhaps he's coming back from an injury?
And this is the link to the Lions game (which starts about two and a half hours into the replay).
Lions Academy LIVE STREAM - 13th April 2024 - Doubleheader - YouTube
And while I didn't want to give too many spoilers for the other game, I feel like I should warn that this is a thrashing and possibly should only be viewed, if you're particularly keen to assess future draft prospects. While we were missing some important players, the Lions generally looked like they had spent more time in the gym, and we were often getting beat up around the contests. To make matters worse, the Lions were also moving the ball much more smoothly in the open. Whereas our ball movement seemed to become increasingly jittery.
Not sure if any of our side really stood out. Kaiden McNamara had some nice touches coming out of defence. Chamberlain occasionally looked dangerous, but had poor service. Ned Hawkins, who is an overager, was handy when moved from wing to inside, to give a bit more bulk. Cabor was pretty good. Underage prospects, Carmichael and King did a few nice things, but were generally outmuscled around the contests. And King did seem to get injured late in the match, when collected by a big lump of a lad, who appeared to run past the ball. So hopefully he's okay for the start of our Talent League campaign, as he is rated a serious prospect for the 2025 draft.
A couple of excellent posts deja. I do enjoy looking at these games and tracking the progress of the kids as best I can. However it is frustrating that there is such a lack of information about them. Hopefully this will change.
You obviously seem to have found the player list for the squad, something I have been searching for in vain. I would be most grateful if you could share.
I have watched the Brisbane game and I totally agree with your summary. It was as if we were playing against a higher age group. Not an easy watch .
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We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!
Ta. In regards to team lists, I'm largely just using the list that Liz provided earlier in this thread. Most of the core players are there. Although number 36 seems to be worn by whoever is rucking for the game. There's a couple more on the Bigfooty Swans pages; which identify some of the other players that go in and out. They're on the second or third last pages of their academy thread.
The Talent League app has a list of everyone who's likely to play for us, with their age and height. However, they're numbered alphabetically, rather than the numbers that they actually wear; so it's not much use for identification. Maybe that will change when they start playing? The list is accessed through the teams icon.
There was an academy game today, but it was livestreamed through KommunityTV, which is only available through some sort of News Corpse subscription, so I haven't seen it. However, the replay should be available on the Talent League app within a day or so.
This is the team list for the game. Next to each player's name I've added either an U for underage (born 2007), a D for draft this year (2006) or an O for overage (2005).
1. Nicholas Andreacchio, (D). 7. Lachlan Cabor, (O). 8. Wilson Baade, (U). 10. Lachlan Carmichael, (U). 11. Louis Jans, (U) 14. Kaiden McNamara, (U). 16. Colby Hill, (D). 17. Declan Fitzpatrick, (D). 18. Harry Cameron, (D). 19. Zachary Nandlal, (D). 20. Felix Rugge-Price, (D). 21. Ethan Hyams, (O). 22. Lucien Sennitt, (U). 24. Russell Royal, (D). 27. Khy Gibbs, (O). 28. Joel Cochran, (D). 29. Ned Hawkins, (O). 30. Noah Chamberlain, (U). 31. Thomas Hitchens, (D). 32. Cameron Este, (D). 33. Jeromos Mills-Vasas, (O). 34. Tom Ryan, (D). 35. Oscar Clifton, (U).
We were missing a few important players, in perhaps our two best midfielders Harrison and King, sharpshooter Rider and ruckman May.
There's a match currently taking place against the Eastern Ranges. We're doing well to be in front 30-2 at quarter time. This is the team.
1. Nicholas Andreacchio, 7. Lachlan Cabor, 9. Joe Harrison (c), 10. Lachlan Carmichael, 11. Louis Jans, 12. Max Rider, 14. Kaiden McNamara, 15. Ned Hardman, 16. Colby Hill, 17. Declan Fitzpatrick, 18. Harry Cameron, 19. Zachary Nandlal, 20. Felix Rugge-Price, 21. Jack Roberts, 22. Lucien Sennitt, 24. Russell Royal, 29. Ned Hawkins (vc), 30. Noah Chamberlain, 31. Thomas Hitchens, 32. Cameron Este, 33. Jeromos Mills-Vasas, 34. Tom Ryan, 35. Oscar Clifton, 36. Harrison Podmore Taylor, EMG: Khy Gibbs, Harry Kyle
It ended up being an impressive 93-35 win. Which was probably tempered a bit by Eastern Ranges missing some of their better talent, with two players going around for the AFL Academy side and four overagers named for the Young Guns. Although we were missing Joel Cochran, who was named for the AFL Academy and perhaps our most highly rated prospect for the 2025 draft, Max King. However, we did have some important ins; Joe Harrison, Max Rider and Harrison Podmore Taylor. All of whom performed pretty well.
I was pleased to see Podmore Taylor, as I thought he was a raw but interesting prospect last season, but when he didn't make the Allies squad or get offered a VFL contract, I thought he may slipped off the radar. He's an athletic 200cm ruck, who spends a bit of time forward. From this game, I got the impression that his forward craft has improved, as he seemed to be reading the ball flight better and clunking marks that he was dropping last season. Hopefully he can make the Allies squad as an overager and improve his draftability from there.
I think Joe Harrison will make the Allies squad as an inside mid. He tends to get plenty of possessions and uses the ball pretty well. Some people seem to rate him as a almost certain to be drafted, but at the moment, I'd rate him more likely to be rookie listed. But if he has a big Allies season, like Cleary did last season, I'll be happy to change my mind.
Rider looked dangerous across half forward and probably kicked the goal of the match, when he roved a smothered shot and then snapped truly under pressure, from just inside the 50. I don't think he's able to play for the Allies as an overager this season, as he made the team last season, but I suspect he'll get a few VFL games, as he already performed well at that level last year, before an untimely injury.
Harrison returning allowed Lachlan Carmichael to drop out of midfield and return to his medium defender role. Since he excels at this role, he is rated as one of our better prospects for 2025. Yesterday he got plenty of the ball and used it wisely. Kaiden McNamara playing a similar role also impressed with his ball use, but didn't quite get as many possessions. He's also an underager.
Also getting plenty of possessions in the back half was Nicholas Andreacchio. At times he looked to be playing the Jake Lloyd, make yourself available for a possession in the back line role, while he also ran forward many times from defence, to make himself an option in the midfield. I've never really considered him to be a prospect in this year's draft before, but if he has a few more 37 possession games, then I might change my mind.
In the midfield, Ned Hawkins continues to do well, after moving from wing to inside mid. His bigger, overage body has been useful in the past few games. Another midfield role change in this game, was Noah Chamberlain moving from key forward to wing. While he didn't rack up a huge number of possessions, I was very impressed with his game. His genuine athleticism was more evident, and perhaps best showcased when he gave an Eastern small about seven or eight metres start and chased him down, before the small was able to get away a shot. But what impressed me most was his ball use. Playing in an unfamiliar position, he was able to rapidly process situations and hit targets that may not have been apparent to many players. I still rate him more as a KPF prospect, and if he grows another couple of centimetres from his current 192cm, I suspect we will have to match a high bid in the 2025 draft.
At the other end of the height range, Fitzpatrick and Nandlal both performed well in the midfield, but at 169cm and 171cm respectively, both might need a growth spurt before this year's draft.
And finally, in the forward line, Tom Ryan kicked three goals for the second game in a row. So far, I've had him in the category of not quite tall enough to be a ruck, not quite swift enough to be a KPF, but he's starting to win me over. In that he judges the ball flight well, takes strong marks and tends to kick straight. He's probably doing enough to win an Allies spot, so he may be able to boost his chances for this year's draft.
I thought it was an impressive performance, created by evenness across the ground, rather than individual standout performances. I know this same team was thrashed by the Lions' Academy side a week ago, so assessments on the draftability of players needs to be moderated by awareness that the opposition wasn't especially strong. I guess a small difference in physical readiness / size of a team can make a big difference in how they are able to perform together.
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