Page 7 of 15 FirstFirst ... 34567891011 ... LastLast
Results 73 to 84 of 176

Thread: 2019 Swans academy and U18 discussion

  1. #73
    Veterans List dejavoodoo44's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Gold Coast
    Posts
    7,329
    Disappointing end to the season. A good effort, spoilt by poor umpiring. That number 23 was a shocker. He'll probably be promoted to the AFL fairly soon.

    Though all up, watching our short NAB League season, has reinforced my view that our academy is a worthwhile exercise. Throughout all the games, our youngsters were competing enthusiastically. I'm now looking forward to seeing how they go, when given a chance in the remainder of the NEAFL season. Especially the more talented younger ones, like Gulden, Ellem, Thorne and Campbell; who I thought was our best today.

  2. #74
    Long Term Injury List
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Ice Bath / Williamstown
    Posts
    286
    I attended the game today (not with my dad this time frown)and sat in the stand near a number of the families from both teams. There were quite a few scouts at the game, taking notes. One in particular, just if front of me was taking notes on only 10 players and left at half time. A number on the list were Swans players but I could only read his headings not his other writing (must have been short hand!)

    I hope there weren't any umpire scouts there as they wouldn't (shouldn't) have been happy with the inconsistent umpiring of identical situations. The last game I attended (Swans v Sandringham) the umpires were quite measured and let the game go.

    Campbell was definetely our best player today with Gulden, Thorne, McGrath, Geddes & Martin the rest of my best. I felt Ellem struggled to get into the game a bit today. When he did get the ball he certainly moved well for someone so big & tall, he just seemed to be a bit out with his read on the ball. I saw him having a bit of a winge on the bench at one stage late in the first quarter so he wasn't happy about something.

    A bit more on the umpiring; even a couple of the scouts, while quiet for most of the game, questioned a few of the calls. In particular the 50m penalty when our player was on the ground after a tackle. It appears he was penalised for being over the mark because he didn't (couldn't) get up!! Never seen that one before.

    While our boys have played well in this competition I think today showed how a team of kids who have lived and breathed footy from a young age can judge the bounce or flight of the ball just that bit better. Considering a number of our players didn't take the game up until their pre-teen/teen years they are starting from behind. In saying that the Academy is doing an amazing job, just a pity the Melbourne based clubs are such negative nellies about it.

    I will miss seeing the kids play down here. If you Sydney based supporters get a chance to watch them play I do recommend it. I guess I'm a bit like my dad, I really enjoy seeing the future of the club in action. A bit like last night's game.

  3. #75
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    Here is a bit of a round-up of the Swans academy NAB League foray, including results of the MVP awarded by the coaching panel.

    I reckon they got it spot on with Thorne. I thought he was somewhat anonymous during the first game, against Tasmania, but in each of the next four games he was in the most productive, effective and hard-working players in the team. Geddes was also a highly consistent player across the series.

    Campbell and Gulden's top five placings are an indictment on their talent given they played only four and three games, respectively, out of the five.

    I am especially glad to hear Kevin Sheehan say that they will think about expanding the academies' participation in the NAB League in future years. This year has been a good start, but I see no reason why they can't compete at that level across the entire season, an opportunity that has been granted to the Tasmanian team.

    Academy: Thorne takes the prize - sydneyswans.com.au

  4. #76
    Veterans List
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Crowland :-(
    Posts
    6,096
    Be interesting to see how the draft eligible players perform through the rest of the year, might be a few added in the ND & RD after we take Matt Rowell with the number one pick, a "classic Sydney drafting manoeuvre" :-)

  5. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by 707 View Post
    Be interesting to see how the draft eligible players perform through the rest of the year, might be a few added in the ND & RD after we take Matt Rowell with the number one pick, a "classic Sydney drafting manoeuvre" :-)
    To my knowledge there aren't too many academy players likely to get drafted this year. There was talk about Rayner but he seems to have fallen off the radar. Others will know better than me but it sounds like the 2020 draft might break the record for Swans Academy players drafted. It should be very interesting, especially if we finish up towards the bottom of the ladder again. We can't draft them all so some of the other clubs might reap the benefits of our investment.

  6. #78
    Was thinking the same about Rayner, wonder if he is running dead under intersections from the Swans.
    Everyone was all over him last year.

  7. #79
    Quote Originally Posted by Pmcc2911 View Post
    Was thinking the same about Rayner, wonder if he is running dead under intersections from the Swans.
    Everyone was all over him last year.
    Hes had a reasonable academy series so far and he is more key position style of player so unlikely to generate the interest that a midfielder might generate. Other than the absolute standout goalkicking tall forwards, key position players rarely get as much interest and Rayner generally plays in the back half. The 18s swans are a pretty even bunch and it would be hard to pick a stand out draft prospect in my view. Obviously the captain Thorne was good across all the games but there was half a dozen others or more that were mentioned across the series.

  8. #80
    Veteran Site Admin
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    16,393
    Potential first-round pick sheds kilos, Allies unveil U18 squad - AFL.com.au

    The Allies have named their initial squad of 50 for the U18 championships. Ten Swans academy players have made this first cut - not fantastic given the team's performances relative to all other academies other than Gold Coast's, but still an improvement on last year. I suspect reputations going into the NAB League series played as big a part in selection as actual team performance. However a handful of the Swans players not involved in the AFL-level academy have been selected, including Sam Thorne, Max Geddes, Ky McGrath and Samuel Gaden. I am pretty sure the other six (Campbell and Gulden as underagers and Ellem, Parks, Barling and Rayner as this-year-eligible-draftees) are all involved in the AFL squads.

  9. #81
    Just FYI - Swans 16’s academy will play game two of its three game series against GWS at Blacktown tomorrow 11am .

  10. #82
    Veterans List
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Crowland :-(
    Posts
    6,096
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Magoo View Post
    Just FYI - Swans 16’s academy will play game two of its three game series against GWS at Blacktown tomorrow 11am .
    Will you be reporting back Magoo?

  11. #83
    I will be there so will let you all know how it goes . At the moment Swans have five or six changes from game 1 while I understand that Gws have also made a few changes so should be interesting contest .

  12. #84
    Swans 16's Academy 13 7 85 defeated Giants 11 6 72.

    Well what can I say , down at three quarter time by 24 points the Swans stormed home with an 8 goal final quarter to beat the Giants (after kicking only five up to that point). It was obvious the Giants were keen to atone for their defeat in Game one and came out really hard and dominated the game early , swarming in numbers , spreading well and putting the swans under extreme pressure. Giants looked the better side for three quarters and it looked like this one was going to slip away when Giants kicked the first goal of the final term to take a 30 point lead but all of a sudden the Giants seemed to stop and the swans capitalised and started to play like a team. In the end 13 point winners and a great final quarter team effort. Even contribution across the board really (and lack of it in the first half).

    Swans now 2-0 up in the three game series.

    Final game is this Saturday , again at Blacktown . NSW squad is picked from this three game series.

Page 7 of 15 FirstFirst ... 34567891011 ... LastLast

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