New under 20's comp in 2008

[The Colonel]

great news for kiwi footy.

Creates a clearer path for the Kiwi juniors instead of packing their bags and heading over the ditch...... between Premier League and the new u 20's comp it may keep a few more available for the Warriors. We'll keep Poaneki, Te Whata et al though.....

 

[Big-Steve]

All they are doing it expanding the current jersey flegg competition.

They are not expanding the U20s comp. They are dropping Norths Balmain and Wests. Then adding NRL teams out of NSW. They are forcing the rationalized NRL structure on the NSW structure. If they were expanding they would leave Norths, Wests and Balmain in.

For the Bears people -

North Sydney will not be allowed to run an U20s rep team for it's district. However they will for remain in the U16s and U18s comps. Premier League (unless the league do what the NSW clubs want and televise it or at least promote it) will have a lower profile i.e. they will not play before NRL games therefore the media will not see them and will not talk about them.

This makes a bad situation even worse for clubs such as Newtown and Norths a lower profile will mean less interest and less crowds and therefore less money.

At the moment the most likely scenario is that the Bears juniors feed into the Souths U20 team (along with Souths juniors) and that the Bears remain the Feeder/reserve team for Souths. So Norths will feed into Souths who will feed into Norths who will feed into Souths! But none of this is confirmed or agreed to.

 

[yosh64]

This thread has had a fair few good points, but none better than this:



This concept was custom made for rugby union to poach our best young players. I see what they are trying to do, but it isnt going to be in our best interests I dont think.

Cmon! It provides a clear path to a career that earns more than probably their mates. You get signed by clubs early and if your good enough they dont let you go. Union would have to take a risk on kids that dont play union cause once they get into toyota cup at 17 im sure they dont learn the skills of union. And a player would have to take the risk of going to another sport that they dont really know just for more money (and thats if union pays juniors $55,000 a year - surely having a sponsor and broadcast revenue allows more money to be given to juniors than what unions pockets could provide)

And what if they do take a toyota cup kid. That just means that if you wanna play union become a league player and they will have to pay overs for you. Better chance of being employed if you play for toyota cup as you have job offers from league teams and the ARU.

They will poach im sure, but they cant afford to take senior players as well as juniors. And this will find new stars that can take the place of poached stars anyway.

 

[brendothejet]

I still don't like the idea. The beauty of Premier League is that older more experienced first graders associate with the youngsters and mentor them. What they seem to think is going to make the step up easier will in my opinion make it harder.

Mate the players will be associating more than ever. The juniors will be with the teams on every away trip, every game day, watching and learning as the big boys go through the routines of preparing for the big one. They will not just be hanging out for a week with 1 or 2 blokes coming back from injury but will developing a relationship with the senior players on and off field.

This point follows into my next re: union poaching.

These kids will all be on contracts, contracts that they will not be released from the same way a 32 year old league player is. union wont be offering Lote Tuqiri money to them as it simply doesn't have it. The knowledge that they are only one step away from grade is enough to keep them around.

As it stands our junior representitive football is far better structured, of a higher standard and covered more than union's equivalent. We should never be lowering our standards to fit in with their laziness and inability to develop any juniors.

I commend the NRL for putting a great emphasis on the education and training side of life. I would be a shame to see these kids sucked into professional sport without adequate support.

People who are on here poo pooing this need to wake up. A national juniors competition, sponsored by one of the world's biggest automotive companies, with FOX sports looking for coverage is something the AFL and Rugby Union could only dream off.

The NRL has spent 10 years with its back to the wall beating the wolves off. Finally they can begin to put their foot forward again.

 

[yosh64]

Mate the players will be associating more than ever. The juniors will be with the teams on every away trip, every game day, watching and learning as the big boys go through the routines of preparing for the big one. They will not just be hanging out for a week with 1 or 2 blokes coming back from injury but will developing a relationship with the senior players on and off field.

This point follows into my next re: union poaching.

These kids will all be on contracts, contracts that they will not be released from the same way a 32 year old league player is. union wont be offering Lote Tuqiri money to them as it simply doesn't have it. The knowledge that they are only one step away from grade is enough to keep them around.

As it stands our junior representitive football is far better structured, of a higher standard and covered more than union's equivalent. We should never be lowering our standards to fit in with their laziness and inability to develop any juniors.

I commend the NRL for putting a great emphasis on the education and training side of life. I would be a shame to see these kids sucked into professional sport without adequate support.

People who are on here poo pooing this need to wake up. A national juniors competition, sponsored by one of the world's biggest automotive companies, with FOX sports looking for coverage is something the AFL and Rugby Union could only dream off.

The NRL has spent 10 years with its back to the wall beating the wolves off. Finally they can begin to put their foot forward again.

Amen!. My sentiments exactly.

 

[Ridders]

i'm a bit sketchy on the details of this comp so could anyone explain to me how this U20 comp affects or links with the premier league and the flegg comps.

 

[yosh64]

i'm a bit sketchy on the details of this comp so could anyone explain to me how this U20 comp affects or links with the premier league and the flegg comps.

Read through the thread if you like for more details.

Toyota Cup to be a shadow of the NRL in the sense that all the teams in the Cup will be the same teams as in the NRL (just with younger players). They will play before the NRL match. This was where PL would have played their match but this wont happen from next year. They will have to find other days to play their match.

In a small sense PL and U20 will both be 2nd tier comps. If a team wants to promote a rookie or someone under the age of 20 they will take someone from Toyota Cup. If they want an older/more experienced player they will take them from a team in PL.

It seems that the teams in PL will not be under the control of the NRL team and wont have a budget run by an NRL team (cause they dont want teams budgets to blow out looking after 3 teams - NRL, Toyota Cup, PL). But they will have a partnership with the team to use players when needed in the NRL team. Supposedly Parramatta are deciding between 5 locally based teams on which one they want to partner with.

The under 20's players will be contracted to their club (salary cap yet to be decided). If they dont make it into first grade by (21 i think) then they go to PL.

 

[mightybears]

They are not expanding the U20s comp. They are dropping Norths Balmain and Wests. Then adding NRL teams out of NSW. They are forcing the rationalized NRL structure on the NSW structure. If they were expanding they would leave Norths, Wests and Balmain in.

For the Bears people -

North Sydney will not be allowed to run an U20s rep team for it's district. However they will for remain in the U16s and U18s comps. Premier League (unless the league do what the NSW clubs want and televise it or at least promote it) will have a lower profile i.e. they will not play before NRL games therefore the media will not see them and will not talk about them.

This makes a bad situation even worse for clubs such as Newtown and Norths a lower profile will mean less interest and less crowds and therefore less money.

At the moment the most likely scenario is that the Bears juniors feed into the Souths U20 team (along with Souths juniors) and that the Bears remain the Feeder/reserve team for Souths. So Norths will feed into Souths who will feed into Norths who will feed into Souths! But none of this is confirmed or agreed to.

details are still a bit 'drafty' to me, but sounds like you have hit it on the head!
just great-can't wait for the next great leap forward in rugby league 'thinking'

 

[yosh64]

Highlighted some key points for the lazy people


NSWRL TO CREATE INDEPENDENT OPEN-AGED COMPETITION
Saturday 14 Apr 2007 23:33
by Matthew O'Neill (Press Release)


The New South Wales Rugby League will use the emergence of the National Under-20s competition (Toyota Cup) as an opportunity to create an independent open-aged competition focusing on returning top level Rugby League to suburban grounds.

In the months that the National Under-20s has been in planning, the NSWRL has canvassed a range of options for its competitions structure, ranging from new opportunities at the Under-16 and Under-18 level, and an open-aged competition that will recapture the spirit of traditional clubs battling it out on a weekly basis.

Clubs such as Wests, Balmain, Newtown, Auckland and Norths have indicated their desire to be involved in this standalone competition ? which will replace the VB Premier League ? and a majority of NSW National Rugby League clubs have indicated their involvement through a joint venture method or otherwise.

The advent of the new open-aged competition, the expansion of the junior representatives and the niche-filling Jim Beam Cup competition will see the NSWRL provide opportunities for every level of footballer;

* The best Under-16s Harold Matthews and Under-18s SG Ball teams to compete with their Queensland counterparts for "National champion" status from 2008 onwards, with the added incentive of potential selection in Australian U16 and U18 sides to play New Zealand each year.

* The open-aged competition to provide the best players outside NRL level, playing at local and traditional venues which will often be vacated due to NRL away games.

* A semi-professional Jim Beam Cup competition that gives players an opportunity to play at the best of their abilities without the requirement of full-time commitment.

"We've been given a chance to streamline our competitions and further improve the pathways we already have for kids wanting to progress through to elite level football," NSWRL General Manager Geoff Carr said.

"We had feedback from many clubs that a credible open-aged competition is very important, and with the Toyota Cup, in most cases, providing the only fixture prior to an NRL clash, there is a real opportunity to develop this competition through playing stand-alone fixtures and double-headers.

"If games are programmed correctly, we can take advantage of situations where, for instance, Wests Tigers might be playing away, so a Wests versus Balmain clash could be scheduled at Leichhardt Oval - to provide credible suburban football to Sydney rugby league fans.

"The Jim Beam Cup was never intended to breach the gap between an Under-20s and open-aged competition ? it is a unique competition with a $150,000 salary cap that is designed to ensure teams are not stacked."

In conclusion, the NSWRL will now allow a period of time for clubs to complete negotiations for joint ventures, before finalising its competition structures.
News sent by: www.nswrl.com.au

 

[Lockyer4President!]

"We've been given a chance to streamline our competitions and further improve the pathways we already have for kids wanting to progress through to elite level football," NSWRL General Manager Geoff Carr said.

Very good news.

 

[griff]

It's a bit arse about though. The NRL needed to work with the NSWRL, QRL, NZRL, WARL and CRL to provide a coherent streamlined structure for all junior and open age football in Australia. As it is now, all they have done is graft an under 20s comp onto the NRL, and are waiting to see how it shakes out before cobbling together some kind of new Reserve Grade/Premier League/JB Cup style competition.

The concern is now that if you haven't made it by age 20, you never will because you won't have a competition with the status to ever impress any NRL scouts.

Players are getting younger and younger in the NRL, and we are suffering a bit for the absence of the older and wiser players.

The under 20s comp is great, but it should have been done in conjunction with the introduction of a NSW state league on the model of the Qld Cup and a re-organisation of the CRL comps.

 

[KalgoorlieRed]

Sounds like a ridiculous idea!

 

[Cheesie-the-Pirate]

Sounds like a ridiculous idea!

Explain.

 

[yosh64]

It's a bit arse about though. The NRL needed to work with the NSWRL, QRL, NZRL, WARL and CRL to provide a coherent streamlined structure for all junior and open age football in Australia. As it is now, all they have done is graft an under 20s comp onto the NRL, and are waiting to see how it shakes out before cobbling together some kind of new Reserve Grade/Premier League/JB Cup style competition.

The concern is now that if you haven't made it by age 20, you never will because you won't have a competition with the status to ever impress any NRL scouts.

Players are getting younger and younger in the NRL, and we are suffering a bit for the absence of the older and wiser players.

The under 20s comp is great, but it should have been done in conjunction with the introduction of a NSW state league on the model of the Qld Cup and a re-organisation of the CRL comps.

Some good points.

All the different factions of league need to come under the same administration. Will save on costs, provide greater management skills and allow the game to work together to develop it. Id have liked to see a plan for all age levels and areas, cause the country league needs some sound leadership and help. But its at least an improvement on the past.

I share your concerns about someone over the age of 20, but im sure that the NRL will need older players and if you've got some skill in the 2nd tier comps you will get a chance. NRL teams always use PL to drop a player and get him confident again or to ease players in after an injury and since they will be partnered with a PL tea, i, sure scouts will attend matches and training sessions.

And i agree with your last point.

Why is it people on these forums can see what needs to happen but the people in power dont???!!