The depends on the purpose for which the Sydney and Brisbane teams are said to exist: development or elite.
There has only been one, to my knowledge, direct comparison between the JGC teams from single team states and Schools teams and that occurred about a year ago when WA U17 played a Sydney school of no great rugby repute and somewhat depleted and were down 14-0 at halftime but went on to win 16-14.
I suggest that this supports the view its a development comp. In which case there should me no reduction in the numbers of teams in QLD and NSW.
However, selection needs to take place early enough to get league players interested and involved before they get offered their respective junior league rep pathways.
Having selection trial weeks after season's end when a lot of U17s will have played 40 or 50 games is unnecessary.
At the start of the 'comp' I shared Oldschool's opinion that there were too many Sydney teams to be competitive and that the talent was spread a little thin (especially when you factor in the impact that Harold Matts has on the composition of the teams). After seeing the development of the kids, especially the ones that would most likely have missed out if there were one fewer teams, I've completely changed my view - there are an extra bunch of kids that have become fitter, more skilled and who have had the opportunity to tour with their mates and that has to be a good thing for rugby.
Having said that, I think it's difficult to not end up with people getting competitive when you are running a competition, issuing bonus points and running finals. It's also must be tougher for some of the teams when they aren't associated with any club structure and, therefore, have no home ground, no fixed infrastructure, and limited identity. I'm hoping that in 5 years time when my youngest is eligible these teething problems have been ironed out and each of the teams has a relatively even playing field in terms of well-developed programs, all the gear they need to train well without adding stress to the coaching staff and some form of belonging to a part of a bigger whole. I'm sure it helps with recruitment and retention in Melbourne, the ACT and WA that each of these teams has a direct link with a Super Rugby franchise - that is made more difficult in NSW and QLD due to the number of teams and perhaps a clear association with an NRC team is a smarter bet in that space.
I take my hat off to the coaches throughout the program. Watched some great rugby and, given the program still being in its infancy think they've done a stellar job. I hope next year they get some better resourcing, that the back-office planning of the program is improved so that they aren't waiting until mid-program for bits of kit they need or to find out details of travel plans etc.
I really hope that the program continues as I think it provides a great platform for kids outside the school rugby programs to shine - particularly important in an age where sporting scholarships that may have previously been available are such a hotbed of debate.