Not sure exactly his local junior club it might have been South coogee and played Randwick Juniors
Brogan has had some injury issues which have held him back but anyone who has seen him play knows he is a talent and I believe the next Rob Horne
With the setbacks he had and too still make it too Aust schools is a great achievement
I witnessed an argument between Randwick officials at the Knox trials when a NSW schools selector said he didn't think Brogan deserved a shot at NSW schools as he hadn't played enough rugby. I just hope he plays 1st grade colts
I'm with Bruce in selecting players on trials rather than their rep. If Brogan is as good as you say Tahboy, then he will shine through. If their is a better player than him in the position... then he'll have to bite his time in 2nds.
I'm going to do some rambling due to the comment above about "Thats why people hate Uni" I thought I would try and justify why Colts leave their junior clubs to sign with Uni and I might be stating the obvious..but anyway this is what I always hear, it comes down to 2 things:
1) The education opportunites. Yes, we have all heard that Uni provides education "opportunities" for their shining star players... and uni admittance is at an all time high in Australia... so that will always be a good carrot.. but why can't other clubs affiliate with other University's to provide a similar opportunity? They can.. and some do (e.g. - Randwick with UNSW) but not to the extent of Uni.. at the moment. If clubs took some time to invest in relationships with close universitys (if there is one..i know some don't have one) then I believe we would see more players stick for longer with a club... i mean most degrees take around 4 years right?
2) Their Reputation. Uni is known by all players as being the most successful in recent years, I mean look at their record in colts... amazing... and as we know and have seen with the Reds, everyone likes a band wagon.. they have almost 30000 members now... pretty crazy for a team who almost paid people to watch them 3 years ago. Most players would take the opportunity to play for a successful institution in the 2nds or 3rds.. if it means they are winning. Obviously their competitive side comes into play as well and it is as much of a competition for a spot in 1sts (and even more in recent years) than playing against other clubs. But people like to be part of a winning side, it is very attractive... and when you know you are going to train with the best each week... bam.. who wouldn't want to.
I know what some people will say, that it is killing the competition and players should have more loyalty to their local clubs. But lets be real here... most kids will look at the opportunity that Uni provide, see all the super rugby players that are with the club and think "Where is my best chance to make it professionly?"... they won't pass an opportunity to go to uni. It is a selfish view and I applaud the ones who choose otherwise... but the grimm reality is that most colts have ambitions of making a living from rugby, so they want to give themselves the best chance at that. It is ridiculous how many Syd Uni players are in the Rebel and Waratah teams... and kids aren't silly, they see it too.
You find that the ones who choose Uni for the reason to progress and don't... normally leave Uni within 2-3 years and go back to their home teams. But it is hard for a youngster to decline an opportunity to be part of such a successful institution.
Yes, it is hurting other clubs, but instead of just hating on Uni, we have to find ways to catch up and I think the key is in Uni Scholarships as an incentive, rather than monitory incentives (if that occurs), if clubs start that... it just becomes an expectation of players.. which impacts on team moral and everything. If they provide assistence with education then the players will stick by them for at least their degree length and then you have to back your Club environment to make them want to be loyal to you.
Just my thoughts....
