Luppylad wrote:
Just a question do you watch or have you seen the academy play on a regular basis
I’ve watched it for 30 years and your point is.
Back story. I actually trialed for Featherstone colts around 1980. I got nowhere but that team was brilliant and I think they won it that year or certainly challenged. I got a trial because I knew a couple of the other lads, otherwise, I don’t think I’d have got a look in as Fev was and still is super clannish.
Anyway, I digress. Brilliant though that TEAM was not one ever played in the first team for Fev or anyone else as far as I know.
I wondered for years why and then it dawned. All had come through teams like Jubilee etc and had been playing together for years, they were a team long before they played for Fev and this made all the difference at age limit RL.
The problem was none were individually good enough to play against seasoned pros. It’s that simple. For the rest of the ’80s, the Fev youth team didn’t do that much but produced Newlove, Pearson, Bastion, and a fair few others. It’s how it goes.
I know how age limit RL works, I know how it rightly missed and IMO wrongly missed my son but I don’t blame anyone, it’s incredibly difficult to spot real talent and more importantly desire at those ages with the occasional exception, ie Paul Scunthorpe or Shaun Edwards and for me Tom Johnstone. Ditto, it’s easy to miss, ie Gareth Ellis.
Hope that helps.