Eagle News #6

[Columbo]

Holden... I dont think CD glossed over the recruiting issues as he has agreed some of the recruits havent worked out, but im sure we aren't the first and won't be the last club to have recruits that dont make it or dont adapt to the league.

Its certainaly disappointing to loose Biagi and Mackie, as for Twomey do we know if he has officially left the club?
Gogoll may yet be a useful player for us along with James McEntee in the backline. Its unfortunate that Jarrad Wright missed the first 10 games with injury as his performance last week in the reserves was solid and he should be a valuable addition to the midfield in a week or two. Malanovski was servicable on Sunday and Couch has also showed some signs in the reserves in the last couple of weeks after his injury setback.

As for Joe Pedler, saying he has left the club in the lurch i dont think is fair to Joe who over the past 9 or 10 years has been a fantastic club man and as a result decided for his own reasons to retire prior to the season on his terms and give younger players like Matty Broadbent and Nathan Daniel an opportunity, maybe it is a sign that SANFL is becomming a younger man's game.

[Jackal]

the views regarding the Eagles recruiting are mostly correct. CD did gloss over it a bit but recruiting is difficult and we were a bit unlucky this year. Our club has a bit different view to recruiting...we generally prefer to develop our juniors which we are good at and we do not enter bidding wars do entice recruits to our club. Most times our 'high profile recruits' are in their early 20's and can offer the club at least 4 or 5 years service.
We have got the mix wrong and have tended to recruit too many 'average or tier two' type players and not enough 'high performance or tier one players'. Ideally 2 good players and 4 or 5 average players to bolster the stocks are enough to keep the list going strongly.
Eagles recruits this year have delivered what they are...mostly B graders who are economical to sign and mostly come to us. We did have a crack at some quality midfielders but they fell through...why. Quick summary:- Biagi...simply not good enough for B grade, whoever made this decision needs a performance review, Twomey...one of many and gone (no loss), Jarred Wright...good to see him come home but not the crack midfielder we need, Gogoll...as per Biagi but an ok reserves player (adds nothing to our list), McEntee...probably a good recruit, he has been ok, Malinovski...not a top 3 team midfielder but ok, Couch...work in progress, needs a year over here, plus a few other young blokes who are developing and Daniel Roberts was a return to the club and has been ok.
The club was proud that we had 13 recruits, we had one of them playing on Sunday and he is well short of the mark at the moment, at best we may have 2 in our strongest team.
Given the early notice the club had with Lomas (we really miss), Cooper, Inkster,Lindsay and several other players it is only natural the club has slipped. We are paying the price for achieving weak results with recruiting and at the same time some of our much vaunted juniors have gone missing in action during the tough games.

[Mickyj]

the views regarding the Eagles recruiting are mostly correct. CD did gloss over it a bit but recruiting is difficult and we were a bit unlucky this year. Our club has a bit different view to recruiting...we generally prefer to develop our juniors which we are good at and we do not enter bidding wars do entice recruits to our club. Most times our 'high profile recruits' are in their early 20's and can offer the club at least 4 or 5 years service.
We have got the mix wrong and have tended to recruit too many 'average or tier two' type players and not enough 'high performance or tier one players'. Ideally 2 good players and 4 or 5 average players to bolster the stocks are enough to keep the list going strongly.
Eagles recruits this year have delivered what they are...mostly B graders who are economical to sign and mostly come to us. We did have a crack at some quality midfielders but they fell through...why. Quick summary:- Biagi...simply not good enough for B grade, whoever made this decision needs a performance review, Twomey...one of many and gone (no loss), Jarred Wright...good to see him come home but not the crack midfielder we need, Gogoll...as per Biagi but an ok reserves player (adds nothing to our list), McEntee...probably a good recruit, he has been ok, Malinovski...not a top 3 team midfielder but ok, Couch...work in progress, needs a year over here, plus a few other young blokes who are developing and Daniel Roberts was a return to the club and has been ok.
The club was proud that we had 13 recruits, we had one of them playing on Sunday and he is well short of the mark at the moment, at best we may have 2 in our strongest team.
Given the early notice the club had with Lomas (we really miss), Cooper, Inkster,Lindsay and several other players it is only natural the club has slipped. We are paying the price for achieving weak results with recruiting and at the same time some of our much vaunted juniors have gone missing in action during the tough games.

Jackal I am only going to argue with you re the JUNIORS not the other stuff you have written.Mainly because i think you have summed it up nicely.
The juniors have gone missing because they are playing in the state under18 side .
Keep an eye on Goldsworthy he looks very very good for a 16 yo

[wedgetail]

Not quite right holden 78. If you can remember back then, Cicca had gone to Geelong and then wanted to come back. We couldn't afford both under the salary cap so we took Cicca (who was a star in our premiership) and Clayton went to Port where they struggle to even get in the finals

[spell_check]

Not quite right holden 78. If you can remember back then, Cicca had gone to Geelong and then wanted to come back. We couldn't afford both under the salary cap so we took Cicca (who was a star in our premiership) and Clayton went to Port where they struggle to even get in the finals

Didn't Clayton become available for the 2005 season - he was delisted at the end of 2004 from the Kangaroos? Because Cicolella went to Geelong before the 2004 season and then came back. Because I know that it was the same season that Toia came.

[holden78]

Jackel your 100% spot on & thats the sort of hard edge assessments the coach & board have glossed over since the flag . Centrals dont do it & when we finally caught up to them in 06 they just redoubled their effort & get Callinan etc. What did we think the other 8 teams would stay put & we could lose Skippy , Westy etc. & still win it all ? The Bays realised what sort of professionalisiom it takes now to win it all & have acted accordingly . We need to match the $ recruiting or slip of the radar ala West ! Dont be so arrogant to think we will play finals every year . Wake up people .

[Mickyj]

Jackel your 100% spot on & thats the sort of hard edge assessments the coach & board have glossed over since the flag . Centrals dont do it & when we finally caught up to them in 06 they just redoubled their effort & get Callinan etc. What did we think the other 8 teams would stay put & we could lose Skippy , Westy etc. & still win it all ? The Bays realised what sort of professionalisiom it takes now to win it all & have acted accordingly . We need to match the $ recruiting or slip of the radar ala West ! Dont be so arrogant to think we will play finals every year . Wake up people .

Holden78 The people are awake .You need to awaken the Board mate .Perhaps you could nominate for a spot on the board and change things from within.Actions speak louder than words .

[Jackal]

Micky, yes perhaps a bit impatient with the juniors but with all the injuries and lately the State squad we have not had a lot from them even though in theory our juniors are as good as any.
There is certainly a lot af angst from the supporters on the recruiting topic but in simple terms other clubs are better at it than us.

[spell_check]

Micky, yes perhaps a bit impatient with the juniors but with all the injuries and lately the State squad we have not had a lot from them even though in theory our juniors are as good as any.
There is certainly a lot af angst from the supporters on the recruiting topic but in simple terms other clubs are better at it than us.

At the moment, yes, but between 2002 and 2006 there were a lot of good recruits. And the master stroke was the recruits for the 2006 season of Dabrowski, Grocke and Cooper. Perhaps these players who were recycled from other clubs and their success encouraged the club to do some more of the same. All I want to see next year is one or two big name recruits. You don't need to go overboard with them, just one or two - a "hard nut" midfielder and a backman. Then any other useful players around that can be afforded.

[Mickyj]

Micky, yes perhaps a bit impatient with the juniors but with all the injuries and lately the State squad we have not had a lot from them even though in theory our juniors are as good as any.
There is certainly a lot af angst from the supporters on the recruiting topic but in simple terms other clubs are better at it than us.

Once again I agree Jackal .The departure of the two biggest names is the main point most fans are agro over.That and the reported amount Biagi was on if in fact the amount was correct .
I still believe as a club we should be attending every kind of state game being played in the country.Yes I know the under 18's will be snapped up by the AFL but there are older players in the required age bracket playing everywhere in australia .I for one watched Troy Luff wonder if any sanfl club sniffed around him ?

[holden78]

If Biagi was on top money , lets hope it doesnt deter the Eagles re future top recruits . Its the way to go , but the homework & preparation was obviously rushed & or underdone ! Centrals chased Callinan for years before signing him . Next year is key to setting up future tilts at a flag , especially with AFL new teams taking approx. 80 odd players . Money spent on quality now will be a sound investment ( 3 year deals ! ) . Imagine the scramble for recruits in 2010 & 2011 preseason ! We as a club normally get it pretty right , Port rd. is ahead of schedule & the Board have said the focus needs to be on the football department , so how about some forward thinking & ACTION ( say 1 to 4 year plan ) . Now , there are a lot of question marks over many of our established players re next year . The list we know ie. Cicca , Colville , Passa , Mckenzie ( body ) , Schwarz ( contract ) and then what sort of a side would we have without our AFL players like Mcgregor , Hentschel , Stewart , Petrenko , Jacky & maybe Salter . No real certainties for next year with any of them . Ron , despite his contract couldnt be 100% certain starter if everyones being honest with themselves . Have the club taken their eye off the ball because chairman Les is putting in place plans for a smooth transition into retirement . May I suggest what we really need is a fired up leader now more than ever , complacency in sport is death ! Chairman Les dont go ! Another flag awaits if we sieze the moment !

[cd]

Eagles Gala Ball & Auction

Check out our website http://www.wwtfc.com.au for some of the items that will be available at this years Auction. If you have not organised a ticket, it is not too late. Please contact Nadia at the Club on 8347 2444 for information.

[Mickyj]

No Coaches comments this week ?

[cd]

We have had and still are experiencing some technology difficulties at the club BUT the coaches comments are on the website - also our position re underage football is posted there but it is taking a long time for the links to work - apologies folks.

[cd]

COACHES' COMMENTS

LEAGUE

Aside from the win, there were a couple of things that were pleasing to see added to our game from the previous week. We had seen a bit of control lost against Norwood and it was good to see that return, especially from our senior players. This was needed late in the game too when we found ourselves 22 points down, but none of the players lost their belief and that proved significant.

The other thing that was back was a desire to win the contested ball and that was also significant. Three of our last quarter goals were from forwards tackling and it proved to be a big difference in the end. We have been working on several things in our game and while we still have a way to go with it all, there were also signs that these areas are on the up too.

It was pleasing to see Nathan Daniel in his second game look more at home as was Jarrhan Jacky in his best game for the Club. Trent Hentschel is getting more mobile each game, as is Gavin Colville. How long Trent stays with us is out of our hands but we hope to have Leigh Treeby and James McEntee available this week. A couple of other boys who missed last week’s game, Mark Passador, Cody Hicks and Sam Fairclough, probably will still be unavailable, but Justin Cicolella is ready to play again.

A couple of results have meant we are still in the hunt. We are all well aware of the standard needed to compete at the end of the year, but with each match we are only looking to improve our game. We can’t afford to be thinking any further than the next game; and that is Sturt at home. They have been a pace setter this year and will offer us tough competition this week. We have to go in with the same intent we had against South Adelaide and be strong in our endeavour to get our game right.

Ron Fuller

Reserves

A much improved performance from the Reserves group this week, with the outcome being a comfortable win. Most pleasing was the way we responded when challenged in the third quarter and that we played four quarters of consistent footy.

Every player contributed to the win with a number of players pushing strongly for a League berth. Two seasoned campaigners in Adam Klun and Jarrad Wright continued to build fitness and form and set good examples for our younger players. The defence was well led by Ben Arbon, Craig Gogoll and Denis Redden and with Jonathon Lee giving are on-ballers first look at the footy we placed immense pressure on South Adelaide. Matthew Goldsworthy, Brendan Papps and Leighton McMahon were very good in on-ball roles and Christian Grocke provided a strong contest at full forward and finished with five goals.

This week we face a great challenge in top of the table Sturt, which will give us a good indication of our improvement from earlier in the year.

Andrew Rogers

[Mickyj]

COACHES' COMMENTS

LEAGUE

Aside from the win, there were a couple of things that were pleasing to see added to our game from the previous week. We had seen a bit of control lost against Norwood and it was good to see that return, especially from our senior players. This was needed late in the game too when we found ourselves 22 points down, but none of the players lost their belief and that proved significant.

The other thing that was back was a desire to win the contested ball and that was also significant. Three of our last quarter goals were from forwards tackling and it proved to be a big difference in the end. We have been working on several things in our game and while we still have a way to go with it all, there were also signs that these areas are on the up too.

It was pleasing to see Nathan Daniel in his second game look more at home as was Jarrhan Jacky in his best game for the Club. Trent Hentschel is getting more mobile each game, as is Gavin Colville. How long Trent stays with us is out of our hands but we hope to have Leigh Treeby and James McEntee available this week. A couple of other boys who missed last week’s game, Mark Passador, Cody Hicks and Sam Fairclough, probably will still be unavailable, but Justin Cicolella is ready to play again.

A couple of results have meant we are still in the hunt. We are all well aware of the standard needed to compete at the end of the year, but with each match we are only looking to improve our game. We can’t afford to be thinking any further than the next game; and that is Sturt at home. They have been a pace setter this year and will offer us tough competition this week. We have to go in with the same intent we had against South Adelaide and be strong in our endeavour to get our game right.

Ron Fuller

Reserves

A much improved performance from the Reserves group this week, with the outcome being a comfortable win. Most pleasing was the way we responded when challenged in the third quarter and that we played four quarters of consistent footy.

Every player contributed to the win with a number of players pushing strongly for a League berth. Two seasoned campaigners in Adam Klun and Jarrad Wright continued to build fitness and form and set good examples for our younger players. The defence was well led by Ben Arbon, Craig Gogoll and Denis Redden and with Jonathon Lee giving are on-ballers first look at the footy we placed immense pressure on South Adelaide. Matthew Goldsworthy, Brendan Papps and Leighton McMahon were very good in on-ball roles and Christian Grocke provided a strong contest at full forward and finished with five goals.

This week we face a great challenge in top of the table Sturt, which will give us a good indication of our improvement from earlier in the year.

Andrew Rogers

Thanks Colin see ya there tomorrow

[cd]

Underage Competition
Currently the SANFL are undertaking a review of the Underage competition. The League has conducted this review over the past 12 months or so and recently requested all Club’s views.

The environment in football is constantly changing and at this level it has changed rapidly over the past 5 years. We have increasing enrolments into College education and thus more underage players are unavailable for Under 17’s in particular. The draft age has increased from 17 to 18 in the past 10 years pointing to Under 19’s being the talent identification age, and we have working families with high fuel costs causing difficulties committing for 2 to 4 years of travel from country areas. The competition must be an elite competition displaying the best talent at League Clubs, currently we are unable to do so in both grades when you have College Football occurring and injuries throughout the grades.

Our Club’s submission is that we are in favour of 1 full underage team with a modified Under 17’s team (playing 8 games)

Our Preference is for one Under 19 full season team.

Currently we have 15 of our best players playing in the College system not playing with us, consequently we do not have an elite competition particularly at Under 17’s level. The alternative of having an Under 18’s age group will still have our best College players playing for their College and not their League Club (in our case 13 of the 15 would still be playing College in an Under 18’s scenario). Players would have to play Reserves football after completing a College education if an Under 18’s is implemented, whereas an Under 19’s competition gives the opportunity for players to play at least 1 year of underage before Reserves football if they are not capable of playing at the higher level.

Under 19’s gives the opportunity for late developers such as Paul Stewart to play at that level prior to Senior football. Paul Stewart started the 2006 season as a final year Under 19 with 6 Under 19 games and completed the season with a League Premiership. If an under 18’s competition was in place he would not have played Reserves football at the commencement of the season and may never have been noticed or drafted. Brett Burton was in a similar situation in his last year of Under 19’s football.

We do not however support all underage players playing at the junior level until the Under 18 Championships are complete. Players should be able to play at the level that they are capable and get the most benefit, and that is the highest level available.

Any program adopted irrespective of number of teams and or age group can only be successful if it is fully funded, the Clubs will be unable to fully fund programs on their own. To achieve the Centres of Excellence the AFL and SANFL are suggesting, it will need a minimum of $25,000 per year per Club funded additional to the average $200,000 the SANFL Clubs are investing themselves.

Finally it is vital that we get the number of Junior teams and age group correct. Under 19’s is in our opinion the correct age group. The SANFL has for a long time supported the age group of Under 19’s when others were Under 18’s and the Draft was 17 years of age. The draft age has now increased from 17 to 18 and we have reliable information that the TAC Cup is looking to increase the number of Under 19’s playing at that level up to 6 players.

The Eagles are very strong of the opinion that the indicators are right for a change to one Under 19’s underage team with a modified shortened Under 17’s team playing 8 game


John Kantilaftas
Chief Executive Officer
Woodville West Torrens Football Club