DIEHARD
24-09-07, 03:35 PM
John Cartwright, Titans Coach
I KNOW the 2007 season is yet to run its course, but there is so much for Titans fans to look forward to in 2008.
The opening of Skilled Park will be a highlight. Fans went to this year's home games at Carrara because they love the game and are passionate Titans supporters.
They certainly didn't go for the facilities.
Next year at Robina fans may go for the love of the game, but they will come back because of the Skilled Park experience.
But, stadiums aside, one of the big attractions of 2008 will be the introduction of the under-20 competition.
A lot has been written about this competition and most of it has been critical, but that is not how I see it.
I believe, if clubs treat the under-20s as a serious feeder system to the top grade we will have one of the most exciting forms of rugby league.
Variations of second and third-tier competitions have been tried over the years.
I remember going to games when you would start the day with the under-19s and then progress through third grade, second grade and then to the highlight of the day, the first-grade game.
But with the many changes to competitions, clubs, the geography of the game etc, that format was no longer viable and we have seen numerous changes.
The critics of the under-20 concept see it causing the demise of the second tier in Sydney, what has been the Premier League.
From 2008 each NRL club will have an under-20 team.
On game day the under-20 team will always play the main curtain-raiser to the first-grade clash.
So in Sydney there will no longer be the Premier League, this tier will be taken up by the Jim Beam Cup.
The big change here is that this season each Sydney NRL club had a Premier League team, which was their reserve grade and that's from where they drew their players.
From next year players will come from either their under-20 team or selected feeder clubs in the Jim Beam Cup, such as Cabramatta, The Entrance, Wentworth-ville or Chester Hill.
As these NRL clubs will learn, this type of feeder club system has its drawbacks. This year we had three feeder clubs -- Burleigh, Seagulls and Ipswich.
Although all three were excellent to work with it is not ideal having your players involved with different clubs.
For starters they end up playing against each other and you have players involved in games at different venues all over the weekend.
So there are drawbacks to the new regime, but they are outweighed by the positives.
There is something special about being a fan and watching a player come up through the grades and eventually turn out for first grade. This is what will happen with the under-20s.
With the Jim Beam Cup in NSW and the Queensland Cup up here, players over 20 will also have a platform to showcase their talents.
More coaches, me included, have come to the realisation there are plenty of 21-24-year-olds who can still make it in the top grade and so it is ridiculous to ignore the competition in which these players are involved.
In fact, I believe the Queensland Cup is potentially the big winner.
There were plenty of Queenslanders involved in the Sydney Premier League in 2007 and I am sure a lot of these will come home rather than play Jim Beam Cup. * I AM tipping the Storm to topple the Eels on Sunday, but will not be surprised if I am wrong.
As I have said a couple of times this year the Storm are the most complete team in the competition, but finals are won by the team that 'turns up' on the day.
Two things should be worrying Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
Firstly, finals is all about momentum and the Eels have plenty. While Melbourne won the right to have a week off last weekend Parramatta gained more thrust.
Also the Storm move away from Olympic Park, where they have been so dominant.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/
I KNOW the 2007 season is yet to run its course, but there is so much for Titans fans to look forward to in 2008.
The opening of Skilled Park will be a highlight. Fans went to this year's home games at Carrara because they love the game and are passionate Titans supporters.
They certainly didn't go for the facilities.
Next year at Robina fans may go for the love of the game, but they will come back because of the Skilled Park experience.
But, stadiums aside, one of the big attractions of 2008 will be the introduction of the under-20 competition.
A lot has been written about this competition and most of it has been critical, but that is not how I see it.
I believe, if clubs treat the under-20s as a serious feeder system to the top grade we will have one of the most exciting forms of rugby league.
Variations of second and third-tier competitions have been tried over the years.
I remember going to games when you would start the day with the under-19s and then progress through third grade, second grade and then to the highlight of the day, the first-grade game.
But with the many changes to competitions, clubs, the geography of the game etc, that format was no longer viable and we have seen numerous changes.
The critics of the under-20 concept see it causing the demise of the second tier in Sydney, what has been the Premier League.
From 2008 each NRL club will have an under-20 team.
On game day the under-20 team will always play the main curtain-raiser to the first-grade clash.
So in Sydney there will no longer be the Premier League, this tier will be taken up by the Jim Beam Cup.
The big change here is that this season each Sydney NRL club had a Premier League team, which was their reserve grade and that's from where they drew their players.
From next year players will come from either their under-20 team or selected feeder clubs in the Jim Beam Cup, such as Cabramatta, The Entrance, Wentworth-ville or Chester Hill.
As these NRL clubs will learn, this type of feeder club system has its drawbacks. This year we had three feeder clubs -- Burleigh, Seagulls and Ipswich.
Although all three were excellent to work with it is not ideal having your players involved with different clubs.
For starters they end up playing against each other and you have players involved in games at different venues all over the weekend.
So there are drawbacks to the new regime, but they are outweighed by the positives.
There is something special about being a fan and watching a player come up through the grades and eventually turn out for first grade. This is what will happen with the under-20s.
With the Jim Beam Cup in NSW and the Queensland Cup up here, players over 20 will also have a platform to showcase their talents.
More coaches, me included, have come to the realisation there are plenty of 21-24-year-olds who can still make it in the top grade and so it is ridiculous to ignore the competition in which these players are involved.
In fact, I believe the Queensland Cup is potentially the big winner.
There were plenty of Queenslanders involved in the Sydney Premier League in 2007 and I am sure a lot of these will come home rather than play Jim Beam Cup. * I AM tipping the Storm to topple the Eels on Sunday, but will not be surprised if I am wrong.
As I have said a couple of times this year the Storm are the most complete team in the competition, but finals are won by the team that 'turns up' on the day.
Two things should be worrying Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
Firstly, finals is all about momentum and the Eels have plenty. While Melbourne won the right to have a week off last weekend Parramatta gained more thrust.
Also the Storm move away from Olympic Park, where they have been so dominant.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/