Hi WB,
In principle, Rugby (professional organisations) should not develop League (long-term contracted) players.
Where do we draw the line? Anything outside of the School Representative pathways ie. Gen Blue should be for those with post school rugby aspirations.
My additional question is, who is "we"? as in "Over the next couple of years, if we invest in the likes of Katoa etc, will they be available for selection to play Aust Junior Wallabies and would they make the diff of 69-12 smaller." Because this is where we differ. "We" for me is professional rugby ie. Rugby Australia or the Waratahs (in NSW). Schools are different. They exist to prepare their students for opportunities after school, be it through academia, music, debating, or sport etc. All of these programs are funded by the school. School pathway sport also is funded by the schools; GPS, NSW Schools etc. Rugby Australia pulled their small amount of funding from the Australian Schools tournament years ago, so why should they be able to dictate selections be it boys who have aspirations for the Wallabies v Kangaroos?
Fate may have also stepped into this process regardless. The Gen Blue/Australian Schools dates now clash with the Australian Schools League dates, meaning post GPS/CAS/ISA games those boys who went League Nationals made themselves unavailable for Gen Blue/NSW Schools Selections.