Can anyone validate this comment ?

[blackberryman]

Taken from:

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqnews/giant-headache-for-kids/2009/04/10/1239223049608.html


"Some development officers complain the age of Polynesian players is difficult to validate. "There is a suspicion their age does not begin from birth but from baptism," one said in reference to Pacific Islanders' close attachment to their church."


This would make a lot of sense, as they are massive for their age. And how come that they don't dominate in NRL like they do in childhood ?

 

[Canard]

Taken from:

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqnews/giant-headache-for-kids/2009/04/10/1239223049608.html


"Some development officers complain the age of Polynesian players is difficult to validate. "There is a suspicion their age does not begin from birth but from baptism," one said in reference to Pacific Islanders' close attachment to their church."


This would make a lot of sense, as they are massive for their age. And how come that they don't dominate in NRL like they do in childhood ?

Big kids of all races have dominated junior league and turned into nothing at senior level for generations though.

So I don't think that proves anything.

 

[playdaball]

That statement is CRAP !

 

[innsaneink]

Its a common theory around junior league fields, the odd instance may well prove to be true, but overall i think its rubish, islander kids a generally bigger on a whole than caucasians.
My sons mate is from a samoan mum/italian dad, his brother 4 years younger from the same mum and a dad of samoan heritage also, is bigger than his bro

 

[beave]

I played for a team in the Canterbury district in Sydney from under 12's til under 16's.

Our 2 best players in the early days (12's-14's) were of Lebanese heritage. They came from another club and were the favourites of the coach. These lads would score a couple of tries each every game, they stood out above us ridiculously. Everything they did was just that much better than the rest of us. In the change rooms at fulltime, it was hilarious seeing us, pre-pubescent skinny kids compared to these 2 other "boys" who had full facial hair, hair on their chest and built like young men. As the years went by, their "shining" ability became less and less obvious as we all started to mature and grow and catch up to the other 2.

I moved away but kept in contact with my best mate who played with me and he became a copper. He rings me up a few years ago and goes

"oi remember those 2 (no names) that used to carve up when we were kids???"

my reply "oh $hit yeah, why?"

mate" I arrested both of them last week, they were both born in 1976, they were f$%king 4 years older than us!!!!!!!!!!"

Kids playing in the wrong age groups has been happening for years. I have no idea how they can police it fairly.

 

[APRIL BELLE]

This mainly refers to boys born outside Australia and there have been nos of incidents where it has been established that junior players have been playing as many as 3 years younger than their real age. Who knows how many there have been that we don't know about. But you are right bapitism papers does not prove age and this what a lot of kids are using as proof of age.

There has been one incident where a kid was playing rugby league with baptism papers from a Pacific Island and someone who knew the family dobbed him in as being born in Australia. What happened was he was born in Australia in 1988 went back to his parents home country for a visit in 1991, got baptised there and then used those papers to play rugby league.

If NRL clubs got smart they would ask every junior player they sign to have xray scans. Not only to prove everyone's age but to see how much growing the kid has left in him. They already do this with kids who are considering being jockeys.

The relativity of the bones that grow towards the growth plates determines how much more a kid will grow. If those particulars bones have already been fused then they know the kid won't grow any more.

 

[beave]

Jesus!!!!

I would make birth certificates the ONLY valid form of ID to prove one's age.

X-rays?????????

 

[adamkungl]

I've heard this around junior league circles for years. Is there much that can be done about it?

 

[Tommy Anderson]

Birth Certificates are easy to forge.
What is stopping someone playing under there younger brothers name??

 

[ozbash]

That statement is CRAP !

Totally agree.

 

[miccle]

My deadsh*t Storm-supporting uncle has been spouting this for a while there. He's convinced Karmichael Hunt is 26 :lol::lol:

 

[Meth]

Stanley Gene-

Stanley Gene's age has always been a mystery. According to villagers he was born during a full moon several months after a successful kau kau (sweet potato) crop harvest in Goroka, but just before a plague of taro beetle decimated almost all of the region's taro crop. However, what this equates to in the Gregorian calendar has always been debated among scientists and tribal elders. Scientists from PNG’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) have attempted to trace back the various taro beetle plagues that have hit the Goroka region over the past sixty years to more accurately calculate Gene's age, but the results to date have proven inconclusive or possibly even contradictory to initial village reports [3]. Although no record of taro beetle destruction could be found before 1984, scientists and researchers were able to conclude that taro leaf blight caused by the fungus Phytophthora colocasiae struck regions near Goroka in 1958, 1962 and 1970 [4]. With this, it is possible that the taro crop decimation stated by villagers was actually caused by this fungus and not the taro beetle as originally believed. If this is true then it is highly probable that Gene was born in either 1962 or 1970, making him either 46 or 38 years old as at 2008. Following the 2008 Rugby League World Cup the PNG National Parliament instructed the National Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Family and Church Affairs to continue research into Gene's age as a matter of national importance.
Outside of this officially sanctioned government research, it is generally accepted that Gene was born after the end of World War II, with most estimations stating he is between 32 and 58 years old [5]. Gene himself states that he is 34 but has not been unable to provide a birth certificate or any other proof of his date of birth. The latest rumour from Brian Noble says that Gene is actually 42

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Gene

 

[shiznit]

heres a study which was done to see if the standard BMI index was suitable for both european and Polynesian people.

from: http://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstract.bme/10578208/Body_size_and_composition_in_Polynesians

OBJECTIVES: To compare the relationship between body size and body composition in New Zealanders of Polynesian and European descent and to develop specific regression equations for fat mass for Polynesians.

SUBJECTS: 189 Maori (93 males, 96 females), 185 Samoans (88 males, 97 females) and 241 Europeans (89 males, 152 females) aged 20-70 y.

MEASUREMENTS: Height, weight, four skinfold thicknesses, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

RESULTS: At higher body mass index levels, Polynesians (Maori and Samoans combined) had a significantly higher ratio of lean mass:fat mass compared with Europeans. Four multiple regression equations incorporating resistance and reactance, height and weight, sum of four skinfolds or sum of two skinfolds were developed in two-thirds of the Polynesian participants using DXA fat mass as the dependent variable. In the remaining one-third of participants, the mean difference between fat mass predicted by these equations (r2 range 0.89-0.93) and DXA fat mass ranged from -0. 06 to +0.25 kg (s.d. -3.67 to +3.71 kg).

CONCLUSION: At higher BMI levels, Polynesians were significantly leaner than Europeans, implying the need for separate BMI definitions of overweight and obesity for Polynesians. The regression equations using BIA, height and weight or skinfold thicknesses were good predictors of body composition in Polynesians.

the conclusion was that using the standard BMI index Polynesian people can be classed as obese when in fact they are not they are just naturally bigger. so a separate BMI index was created.

it doesnt say anything about them being bigger at a younger age... but it does show that they are bigger naturally...

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Francis Meli was born in April 1979, but when he started his career for the Warriors in 1999, his date of birth was listed as being August 1980.

Meli apparently played for Auckland under-18s against Australian Schoolboys in 1998. Therefore, he was still getting away with his "fake" age at a very high level of competition.

 

[APRIL BELLE]

My deadsh*t Storm-supporting uncle has been spouting this for a while there. He's convinced Karmichael Hunt is 26 :lol::lol:

It is going to be very interesting to see how old Hunt is or says he is when he retires.

 

[maple_69]

I don't think its the fact that they grow and develop faster than caucasian kids. I think in general they're just large human beings at every stage of the life cycle. Why they dominate in the juniors. Well kids are still developing sound tackling techniques to deal with big lumps and may not be as committed or hard nosed and willing to put the body on the line.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

I don't think its the fact that they grow and develop faster than caucasian kids. I think in general they're just large human beings at every stage of the life cycle. Why they dominate in the juniors. Well kids are still developing sound tackling techniques to deal with big lumps and may not be as committed or hard nosed and willing to put the body on the line.

I agree.

Aussie kids are now experiencing what I did back in the late 80s-early 90s. I went to a predmoninatly polynesian/maori populated school and got trampled on many an occasion playing footy....but I eventually learned how to bring them down. These kids just need to harden up.

 

[TheBourbonBeast]

Back in my day it was the PNG boys who run amok and everyone questioned their age.

Weight limited juniors comps could make a comeback. Its not a bad idea, was the norm up until the 70's. Teaches forwards ball skills!

 

[Simo]

I think everyone has experienced this somewhere who has played junior league, I know I have and there were a couple of teams who were notorious for it.

But there is always the odd big white kid to who fades away once everyone matures in the mid to late teens.

As for why they dont dominate later (with 50% of toyota cup islanders and 30% NRL islanders, who says they dont dominate later?), when everyone else matures and reaches the age of weights and strength training, a smaller better football player will outpeform a larger player who only relies on size which isnt the case in junior league games.

A champion team will beat a team of champions is a common saying that kind of relates.

 

[Danish]

This happens in all sports. Hell I played rep inline hockey (think ice hockey without the ice) and we had players booted out of our U13s team when it was found they were actually 16 (I think the fact they were 6'2" and growing a beard gave them away).

I think that there is undoubtedly a problem with determining the correct DOB of polynesian kids born outside of Australia, as their birth records are not that sound. Kind of like Australia's were pretty average 50 odd years ago (my grandfather filled in my mum's birth certificate.... he dated it 2 years into the future and no one picked it up until it was time to get her baptised).

For the most part I think it is usually a simply mix up, but for the few kids who's parents actually go to such lengths to change their kid's age, I simply ask WHY??? If my future children are ever that sh*t at a sport I'll simply move them on to something they are good at rather than try and cheat.