Agree with your post - interestingly down at GPS I would say their colts program and attracting top high school players has been hit and miss over the last 15 years. I think they have only nabbed maybe 3-4 premierships across all colts team since 2006.
They do, however, easily field 3, sometimes 4 teams each year, so that’s 60 odd Colts running around. From that maybe half go on to play grades, so 20-30 players a year injected into the men’s teams. It really shows with depths across the grades. For a while from 2006-2012 I think GPS were consistently winning premierships from Reggie’s down to 5ths.
Despite the extra year now allowed in Colts GPS has only fielded 2 Colts teams this year (along with Sunnybank), and both GPS colts teams are in 6th place on their respective ladders with 3 games and a bye left of their season. I've never seen that happen with either club with both lack of numbers and ladder placing.