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Guys, I can't see what Folau will do for the Tahs. The Tahs have an ability to take 1st class players and put them together to form a loosing team. Spending good money to buy/convert yet more 1st class players isn't going to do anything. They have to address the route cause, thier management...

George, I will have to take you up on your offer to provide the Illawarra JGS name. I can get the U17s but the younger ones ellude me. I haven't been able to nail the Reece Hewatt to Nudgee rumour, he has been offered a scholarship but don't know if he has/will accept. The Illawarra JGS...

George, Thanks for your offer. However my audiance isn't the Illawarra Stakeholder but the boys themselves. League is strong here and we loose a lot of players (particularly centers and wings) due to the perception that you get a fairer go with "our game". The statistical error won't be a...

This a very useful breakdown George, I can use this down in the Illawarra to help overcome the Private school preception issue as: Holy Spirit Bellambi got 3 in (Gareth Thomas, Kieran Bonin and Tristan Green, some of you have been following these guys). Berkley sports high got at least 2 (Tommy...

These are the law chnages I would like to see made, not to change the way the game is played but to reflect, more honestly, the way the laws are enforced. It is a come problem across many walks of life that the law lags behind current practices and expectations: Law 14.2 (a) Lying on or around...

The Illawarra Academy of Sport is an excellent academy run out of the Univesity of Wollongong and has developed many good players many who have been recruited into the GPS and CAS. I'm sure the same happens in Newcastle and Armidale etc. Southern districts keeps a very close eye on the lads in...

Whilst I feel some small amount of flexibility is needed/OK remember there are a lot of boys who are very disappointed that they didn't get into the JGS. I know one here in the Illawarra who I feel should have got in and is very disappointed (that's life, I think the selectors got the rest...

Inside Shoulder, You are absolutely right, none of this means anything unless we grow the game at the grass routes level. Surely this has to be the number one priority of the ARU.

A couple of years ago Illawarra had a very strong rep team in what this year was the U17s. Then they lost at least 6 of that team to the GPS amonst them Rory Davis and Corey Tullock and others. This year the Illawarra U17s had real trouble putting a team together at all. It was a real tribute to...

All, My son was selected into the JGS in Wollongong (so take my observations with a grain of salt), my observations from the introduction session: 24 selected, 10X U18-U17 and 14X U16-U15. Selectors were not swade by size as 2 that were selected are very skillful, but too small at this stage...

Passion, it was like the "cuff and collar team vs the Geebung polo club" the spectators were injured just by mearly looking on. At one point the Shamrocks were down to 12 players and down one man on the BBQ (who gave the ref some advise on how to cook snags). A Vikings player put a cheap late...

Given that this is a think tank I'd like to contribute my observations on some of the key strategic points that need to be kept in mind when considering how to grow rugby: Rugby is a complex and difficult sport to follow, most people do not want complex in their code of football. Hence...

Unfortunately this feeds into what I see as an unholy alliance which is at the heart of the problem for NSW rugby. It goes like this: GPS schools want rugby to be seen as an elite sport played by elite people at elite schools. AND the only way to succeed is to go to one of these schools (and...

I don't think the ARU should be doing any heavy lifting other than some encouragement and structure. The model I thought could be made to work, was what happened with the SS/Woll diocese team for the CCC trials. Southern Districts rugby club was heavily involved in the selection and training...

whatever, I don't know where they will get the time from BUT you don't learn to play rugby or put together a functioning team at the level they need by having a few practice runs. They need a number of good hard hit-outs at speed. You must have been at a different trial game to the one I...

My view is that the development work should go on at the Dioceses level. Each of the Dioceses should play min 5 games before the CCC trials so that the league players they are trying to convert can learn rugby, and to get the team structures and pattern working. Some will make it some won't...

Guys I heard a rummor last night that the IDRU wants to start a Colts comp next season (lots of people fell about laughing). Has anyone else heard this?

Hammo, All the Illawarra boys in the CCC team were in the Illawarra Academy of Sports program which is part of the Junior Gold program i.e. the train Nov to March (the academy games is the end). Tristan Green, the 2 Ford boys Brodie and Nathan, Liam Antrobus, Keiran Bonin. Keiran's mother is...

My view is that the private schools and Sydney Uni are resented because they have business models that work. So try to mimic the models that work. As I see it the private schools model revolves around 3 things: They market elite and exclusive i.e they provide the best and if you want the best...

Agreed Hugh, 70% of boys in NSW go to a CHS school and 20% to a CCC school. Any money/resources you have available must be targeted at 90% of your market AND the other 10% will look after itself anyway.