true. theres quite a high drop out around this age and the better players are usually in union before then. i know we have struggled to field a full U18s team at times this year, and indeed both season i played U18s
That surprises me in some ways, and in other ways doesn't surprise me at all.
The unfortunate reality from my point of view (and I don't know much about the inner workings of the WARL); is that it appears their development of the sport through-out the age-groups is quite deficient. There are so many ways to retain quality players in the sport. You only need to look at the methods employed by Rugby Union in Perth to notice a dramatic difference - though - in the WARL's defense, RugbyWA has a much greater financial security and human resource at their disposal. Additionally, it's widely noted that teenagers often stop playing sport into young adulthood - for whatever reason - there seems to be a high 'drop out' rate, irrespective of sport. The key is to prevent transferrence to other sports, and to provide current players with a clear pathway available to reach higher levels of competition.
I've had a few discussions with various people within the league and am attempting to produce a proposal to present to the WARL to improve their developmental pathways; especially now with a state team that needs further depth and support from the local league that supports it.
What kind of issues do you think need to be raised? (Any of you....)?