I read this on another forum and I think it says it all best: It is written by a guy who generally make good commonsense on 'that other forum'.
"I am going to add my two bobs worth here.
1: The Qld/Bris GPS comp has grown to be the pre-eminent schoolboy competition in Australia - no exceptions.
2: The quality of the players that come out of the GPS competition are supreme.
3: Had it not been for the strength of the Bris GPS comp I doubt Qld would be so superior at schoolboy nationals. This talent has been nurtured and trained in extreme conditions delivering players far superior to what they would have been had it not been for the 'system'.
Now, if those kiddies had stayed at their state schools and played club rugby, do we really think they would have developed into the players they are now - probably not (yes I answered my own question). Sure, the club scene 'may' have been stronger but what development to the clubs do in comparison to the GPS training. I believe very little in comparison.
Personally, I believe that the GPS system actually creates more top tier rugby players by actually targeting some kiddies that may have played league and converted them to rugby as well as giving additional development to kiddies who would otherwise have attended state schools and suffered the ignomy of club competition. Yes some slip through the cracks like Karmichel Hunt but generally they stay because they if they are good enough they are in the system. If they return to league they were never going to be a rugby player anyway.
At any given point in time there are only a certain (x) number of top tier players. Is it not better for those players to get the best competition and training available? And really, GPS is not stealing too manyplayers from the TAS or CAS systems. It's really the state schools and hence club rugby that loses as the GPS play Saturdays. And all this bunkum about not playing club. It is well known that the Brisbane GPS players do or have played club up until 16's so please, don't go that route. In tha arena, TSS based players would be the only losers as in Bris club rugger is played on Sunday while on the coast it is saturdays.
Sure, school is for learning however if you are good enough and can do the study (which is a prerequisite at most GPS schools, Nudgee may be different) then why not mix it with the best. There are plenty of examples of scholarship players losing their grant thru poor academic performance. And there are plenty of champion rugby players who owe their development in the formative years to the pressure cooker which is GPS rugby.
At the end of the day, it is about developing rugby players. If we don't want to develop then why have state academies. All the Bris GPS is in reality is an academy for the Qld (and the other state poaching bastards) academies. Nothing more, nothing less, and as Playercoach so eloquently said, if you can't handle the heat get the heck out of the kitchen. It's hot in there and only the best need apply.
End of rant."
Now I will add my two bobs worth.
Brisbane is dramatically different to Sydney in regard to junior rugby.
In Sydney, you have the individual districts (Eastwood, woods wood woods, Randwick, Gordon etc) who each have ether own very strong junior competitions.
In Brisbane, there is one competition and it is nowhere near the size and strength of the Sydney junior competitions.
Also, subbies like you have in Sydney are but a shadow in Brisbane.
Then there is the Gold Coast. While the GC Breakers play in the Bris Premier Comp, the GC Junior rugby is basically a shambles – or rather was and is gradually getting better. The problem is the GC is like the NW of Sydney in population and players so it can be compared to a division of Sydney.
The rest of Brisbane is not so secular and operates under the one single umbrella, BJRU which if that competed against the combined Sydney JRU would be butchered. There seems to be very little regional development here as opposed to Sydney.
Hence we have the school based competitions. They are by far the best quality there is to offer up here in the sunny state. By natural development, the GPS has become this behemoth that is now arguably the best in the country. The bulk of Qld schools players are GPS. This has come at a price.
While GPS in all likelihood doesn’t poach from other school systems it does try to get it’s hands on any state school player (with potential) or anyone else wavering.
Having said that, there are many parents (myself included) who sent their kids to a GPS school for any number of reasons. Our’s was a better education and sport development. Fortunately we hit the jackpot in both cases and we are very happy. But the point is - we would be there at a GPS school scholarship or not. We didn’t have it originally but because junior has been so wonderful and beneficial to the school in scoring points when most needed we now have one – albeit a minor one. It is reward for effort in our case. Junior went there in grade 2 so that can’t be classified as an import in any sense.
Oh – and please let’s not hear from all those Qld people who haven’t experience both systems bemoaning my comments as factually unsound..
They are different, very, very different. If you have not experienced the Sydney Junior Rugby system (or for that matter Sydney Shute Shield) then (no offence intended) you have no clue – it is bigger, better and far better managed.
In Qld, GPS rules to the extent that QLD junior players, nurtured by the GPS, AIC and TAS competitions have become the best in the country.
