Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
^^^ Just don't like being wrong, or having incorrect advice/information attributed to me!
I hear there is a " new " junior rugby landscape in discussion with ARU and Juniors with many rep events eg Regionals, city v country etc being considered obsolete. About time some new ideas thrashed out and considered. Hopefully all parties can work for the good of Rugby and everyone get on the same page!!
Eureka.
I've tried to stimulate some debate on this via the Arbib Report thread, the Australian JRU thread, and the Sydney Juniors thread to name a few.
Unless there is a decent clean out of many of the current administrators I can see the same old masonic secret mens business WIIFM (what's in it for me) continuing to shag it up with only cosmetic changes being made to the way things have always been done. I would love to be proven wrong.
Well keep your fingers crossed as this is the most positive thing to start for a while. There have been very positive dialogues between someJunior organisations and the ARU.hope all the others get on board or get out!!!
Your observations are quite correct. In the Sunday Under 16 age group the number of player attending games is very low, the reason is that the clubs were relying on GPS boys who registered with the club to play but so far only a handful bothered toshow upasthey know they willbe picked for the state championships without playing any club games The ones that have either hope to move to a new district club so they are seen to be competiveI receive the ref appointments weekly - we see what games we have been assigned to and see what other games are available. It appears the older age groups team numbers are down - also the weekly ref 'chat-on-the-grapevine' appears to concur my perception; refs are also disussing the teams that are fielding low numbers on the paddok, as well forfeits they are experiencing.
Your observations are quite correct. In the Sunday Under 16 age group the number of player attending games is very low, the reason is that the clubs were relying on GPS boys who registered with the club to play but so far only a handful bothered to show up as they know they will be picked for the state championships without playing any club games The ones that have either hope to move to a new district club so they are seen to be competive
^^^ For several years now, a lot of the boys in the State Champs from city district teams have not played any Under 16 Village club games.
There is a loophole in the eligibility criteria that allows this to happen.
The District club coaches and parents are happy to exploit the loophole because it is all about winning. Having "top notch" GPS/CAS/ISA players in their squads (regardless of whether they are actually playing in the very competition that they are representing) increases their chances of winning games. The parents of the ghost players are happy because their kids get two chances to impress selectors for National U16's.