Silktails move to Jersey Flegg Cup

[yakstorm]

Interesting move by the Silktails to move from Ron Massey Cup to Jersey Flegg Cup in 2024.

The move will likely help the Bati long term, with clubs more likely to pick up an U21s player than anyone any older (although questionable if U21s is still too old) though it seems to end any plans of making the NSW Cup.

Fiji’s Kaiviti Silktails moving to the Jersey Flegg Cup from the Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup in line with their decision to focus on player development;

Source: https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2023/12/19/record-teams-announced-for-nswrl-2024-season/

 

[ALX25]

Sounds like a backwards step. Should be playing NSW Cup like the PNG Hunters do in QLD.

 

[Iamback]

Sounds like a backwards step. Should be playing NSW Cup like the PNG Hunters do in QLD.

Depends what the side wants. It is better for development this way

 

[Iamback]

Interesting move by the Silktails to move from Ron Massey Cup to Jersey Flegg Cup in 2024.

The move will likely help the Bati long term, with clubs more likely to pick up an U21s player than anyone any older (although questionable if U21s is still too old) though it seems to end any plans of making the NSW Cup.


Source: https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2023/12/19/record-teams-announced-for-nswrl-2024-season/

Hopefully they add other grades in the future.

having Storm, Warriors and now Fiji in this comp is great for the future

 

[Perth Red]

Problem is NSW cup is a genuine reserve grade and the standard is much higher. They would get flogged every week in it. Hunters can only afford to be in Qlnd cup due to big Govt handouts. Not sure Fiji is funded at that level?

 

[jim_57]

Problem is NSW cup is a genuine reserve grade and the standard is much higher. They would get flogged every week in it. Hunters can only afford to be in Qlnd cup due to big Govt handouts. Not sure Fiji is funded at that level?

Jersey Flegg should be more competitive after a few years and give a better return on developing professional players than Ron Massey. Ideally eventually they’d have an adult team again that players can advance to if they aren’t signed by other clubs but for now Jersey Flegg is a good choice.

Hunters could do with a junior team or 2 really. They’re only short seasons so a very small amount of the supposed government funding for the NRL bid could make it happen.

 

[Perth Red]

Jersey Flegg should be more competitive after a few years and give a better return on developing professional players than Ron Massey. Ideally eventually they’d have an adult team again that players can advance to if they aren’t signed by other clubs but for now Jersey Flegg is a good choice.

Hunters could do with a junior team or 2 really. They’re only short seasons so a very small amount of the supposed government funding for the NRL bid could make it happen.

It be surprising if there isnt a PNG jnr team added to the qlnd comp with all the govt money floating around. Mal Meninga cup (U19's as is now) would be the obvious comp for them to join. Its only11 rounds plus finals so they could be based in Qlnd and join the northern pool for it.

 

[rightleftin]

Jersey Flegg should be more competitive after a few years and give a better return on developing professional players than Ron Massey. Ideally eventually they’d have an adult team again that players can advance to if they aren’t signed by other clubs but for now Jersey Flegg is a good choice.

Hunters could do with a junior team or 2 really. They’re only short seasons so a very small amount of the supposed government funding for the NRL bid could make it happen.

I think they will be much more competitive in Flegg. Their problem in Ron Massey was that they lost every game played in Australia last year. Most of the Silktails that are too old for Flegg are training with the Roosters NSW Cup this summer.

 

[Perth Red]

I think they will be much more competitive in Flegg. Their problem in Ron Massey was that they lost every game played in Australia last year. Most of the Silktails that are too old for Flegg are training with the Roosters NSW Cup this summer.

Like we found in WA for SG Ball its no good just having these elite teams, you need standards to raise dramatically at all age groups so by the time the best kids get into these elite teams they are already at a high standard that matches jnrs in Qlnd and NSW. Thats the real challenge for new areas development.

That and keeping them! Any young kid with talent in WA was already getting offers to move East so the SG Ball side often was diminished by losing the better players to other NRL clubs. Not a problem for NRL player development but a problem for the team to field a competitive side.

 

[rightleftin]

Like we found in WA for SG Ball its no good just having these elite teams, you need standards to raise dramatically at all age groups so by the time the best kids get into these elite teams they are already at a high standard that matches jnrs in Qlnd and NSW. Thats the real challenge for new areas development.

That and keeping them! Any young kid with talent in WA was already getting offers to move East so the SG Ball side often was diminished by losing the better players to other NRL clubs. Not a problem for NRL player development but a problem for the team to field a competitive side.

Well the players in the Silktails team from last year had not been headhunted. Sure, some the guys that didnt make the Ron Massey team played in the Roosters Flegg team and in 2022 they played in the Roosters Sydney Shield team. The Silktails have been connected to the Roosters for 4 years and I am sure that the Roosters and Silktails will run their Flegg teams separately and the Roosters will only grab players if they want to use them in NSW Cup.

The reason Sydney teams look for outside players for their Matthews, Ball & Flegg is that in most Junior leagues, participation has been falling for 40 years, such that a number of districts only have 1 or 2 clubs in 17's, 19's and 21's. Penrith is the only district that runs its own competitions in the U13s to U21's age groups. All the other districts are in combined comps.