The youth is absolutely one of the reasons we haven’t improved the last 2 seasons, but the youth direction was their decision making. In my view they made the team too young.
I mean Gus has at various points talked about becoming almost a totally junior based club. I think that’s a mistake.
Just a few thoughts how the team could’ve been older.
I have never heard Gus say that we should be all juniors. I have heard him say that he is basing the club's model on the Broncos where we have about 80% local juniors. He also made the point that juniors also means signing junior players from QLD and country areas if the Penrith region doesn't have what you need. He has done this repeatedly.
I 100% support this policy and lament the fact the club hasn't done this for the last 40 years. It is obvious you can't compete with one city clubs like Melbourne and Brisbane and the TPA's they offer, you can't compete with clubs with inner city lifestyle and beaches on offer. So here we are, using the biggest resource we have, our juniors.
If that is the strategy then it becomes about the execution. It is one thing having juniors, its another thing developing them properly so they turn into first graders. We have failed to do this well in the past.
The point should be made that we are early in the proper completion of this strategy because it takes a while to get the development paths working properly, and to fill the gaps in the roster at the junior level, of which there were many. A junior then takes 4 to 5 years to develop so you are in the wilderness until the production line is consistently producing talent and your first batch are now experienced first graders. In your first run, you won't have 80 %, that will take time. Once you reach the tipping point you can manage the age of the team much more effectively. I think we are close to that now. We are now at that point where we are seeing several years of juniors of the right quality, in the right positions that will fill the 80% of positions that our strategy aspires to. The first big group of juniors are now just past or close to the 50 game point (the number which NRL coaches believe a player is a proper first grader), but only just.
I take your point that the team was too young and it is a reason why I repeatedly argue that we
have lived up to our potential because people have oversold how good we are (please let's not argue this point again, lets all agree to disagree). Gus could have signed a few more experienced players but he has gone cold turkey to try and boost the number of juniors we have . Brennan has to take a huge wrap for that because he really helped start it off at u20 level. The benefit of this will be realised in the next few years, because we will have 80% local juniors (cheaper and more loyal than outsiders. I know the irony of this statement with the Moylan issue, but lets agree that1 or 2 cases doesn't make that statement invalid) and they will be experienced with more coming through to keep the supply topped up.
It is a balancing act and everybody will have a different opinion on what is the right balance. But the amazing thing is, we have made the semi finals two years running with a very young roster. Those juniors have got finals experience on their way to 50 games. Lets see what happens next.
