CasualObserver
Sydney Middleton (9)
What does PONI hope to achieve? Doesn't it just exacerbate the existing bias towards early developers?
Thanks for postingView attachment 19753
View attachment 19754
Schools 1 and 2.
Are we happy with these teams or are there any poor exclusions/selections???
1000% correctI think this is right, unfortunately Rugby is a niche within a niche in Australia. The decision to put the product behind the Foxtel paywall a few decades back meant the country lost touch with the teams outside the private school bubble.
That’s a bit simplistic, the majority of players are at private schools and they run the best comps. It’s hard to be the best unless you are competing against the best. Makes a further mockery of PONI, take last years best and protect them against competing against the challengers for this season…. Anti competitive .Given the private school bias through PONI, NSW Schoolboys and the pathways system, why would kids in the public system put themselves through the frustration?
My first thoughts on this were that, but on consideration it remains a terrible name (but that aside)What does PONI hope to achieve? Doesn't it just exacerbate the existing bias towards early developers?
Thanks for this - well understood. The one para I am curious how everyone feels is this "For the likes of Makasini, Rodwell, Bassingswaite. Because of their tight affiliation with league clubs, they will participate in no further REP rugby."From a bit of research I've done I want to clear up some stuff.
You make a good point - is there a Gen Blue U18 Academy 'training' team this year or do they go straight from the weekend's NSWSRU Selection Trials to PONI?All of this is understood, there must be a further element to this though where by players not named in PONI or NSW Schools teams and not injured must have been given a golden ticket straight into Gen Blue U18. Anyways, all reinforces that PONI and other forms of golden tickets are dumb policy…. Play and compete for a spot on equal terms, one in, all in. Play god damn it, play.