add Jameson Shultz and Maclean Jones to that nsw to qld list. Only so many spots though so can blame kids chasing a dream
Red my beef isn't so much with these kids chasing greener pastures it is more to do with why we aren't keeping these guys in Qld Rugby - I am well aware that we can't keep them all but I am just concerned about the pattern (leaking talent to the Waratahs) when the three I mentioned along with McLean & Schulltz - could be in the Reds set-up being mentored by Smith, Quade, Moore, Brad Thorn, etc and gaining experience playing Premier Rugby & NRC.
Surely if they were showed a bit of love and given a plan to reach Super Rugby standard in 3 years then I think you could keep some if not all of them but it seems that once they are finished with at U20s level the Reds set them free and they are on their own - not feeling the love - we could list a whole heap of players that have fallen into this category in the last 5/6 years and include guys like Greene, Butler & Placid who did get a shot at Super Rugby with the Reds but were quickly passed over.
Guys like Harry Parker or a David Faeo who play Aust U20s and possibly won't play higher than NRC are incredible valuable in rising the standard of rugby in Queensland by simply having 10 year QPR careers for their clubs. By losing guys to other Aust Franchises (or overseas) diminishes the standard of QPR and raising the standard of the local comps in Canberra, Perth and Melbourne.
I think one player that has really benefitted from a mentoring approach (from Brad Thorn) has been Izack Rhodda. It seems to me that Rhodda was a real project player for Thorne - and well done to both of them in this regard.
I am sure there are plenty more stories like Rhodda out there, but lets strive to keep talent in Queensland because by doing so it will push the Reds up the Super Rugby table.
We need to ensure that the talent in the Qld U20s over the last two years filters through to the Reds over the next 3/4 years rather than having the eyes picked out of these squads ('16 & '17) by other Australian Franchises promising these guys an easy passage into Super Rugby.
As it stands with the likely reduction of 5 Aust Franchises into 4 under the proposed Super Rugby agreement there will be a whole flood of players from the outgoing franchise into the remaining 4 franchise teams - so guys who are in the U20s this year might just have to show a bit of patience - we all know "patience" is not a virtue abundant amongst modern youth - so it is going to be tough few years ahead for this crop of U20s players but the cream will rise to the top - slower than it might have in the past!!!!
Mentoring will be the key in my honest opinion.
