One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on January 10, 2010, 07:17:02 PM
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AFL Talent Scouts flock to PNG National Talent Camp
Sunday, January 10 2010
Contributed by: Rod
Pic of recruiters: http://www.worldfootynews.com/images/articles/20100110093539697_2.JPG (http://www.worldfootynews.com/images/articles/20100110093539697_2.JPG)
After the staging of the Coca Cola National Talent Camp in Goroka from the 4th to the 6th of December 2009, the Coca Cola Binatangs Under 16 and Under 14 Touring teams have been selected for the 2010 AFL Queensland Championships.
The Coca Cola National Talent camp brings together 120 of the best AFL playing Kids in the country between the ages of 13 and 18 each year and the 2009 crop lived up to some high expectations.
A real testament of the Coca Cola backed Talent Path Program’s exceptional player development ability was the interest shown by AFL Club Recruitment officers who attended.
Even the 2009 AFL Premiers, the Geelong Cats showed faith in the Coca Cola Talent Path, sending its recruitment team up for the weekend event.
Other Club recruitment staff getting ‘hands on’ with the talent on show were the Richmond Tigers, the Essendon Bombers and the Brisbane Lions.
The Fremantle Dockers didn’t let distance dampen its search for talent calling in regularly through phone conferences with AFLPNG and AFLQ staff.
The two new Franchises coming into the AFL, the Gold Coast based team and the recently announced Greater Western Sydney have rallied behind the PNG and Pacific commitment, both sending their Academy staff to earmark PNG talent for their player pool.
Adding to player motivation was the announcement that 2010 will see the first crop of kids go through the AFLPNG Academy and onto further playing commitments through representation in the World and Pacific Under 17/18 teams who will begin playing in the Australian Under aged Championships.
The Coca Cola Talent Path has certainly pushed above its weight being the only real tangible player path in PNG that allows access to the world’s elite competition in any Code. Certainly the likes of David Meli (Essendon Bombers), Peter Labi (Carlton Blues), Donald Barry (Brisbane Lions), Amua Pirika (Brisbane Lions) and Stanis Susuve (Gold Coast FC), are only the tip of the iceberg here in PNG and the Coca Cola backed Talent Path and identification program is surely unveiling a sleeping giant in PNG and the Pacific for the AFL.
Given the organization that is gone into such a tournament, it is surprising that the AFLPNG could have ever committed to the AFL Oceania U 16 Championships (Fiji) held the week after this tournament in PNG. Certainly finance and volunteers are generally in short supply in international footy and with the likelihood that teams could not be confirmed until a week before the tournament in Fiji, their attendance may have never been likely in the first place.
The Coca Cola Binatangs Under 16 Tour will be in April 2010 and the Coca Cola Under 14 Squad will begin its Tour in June 2010.
COCA COLA U14 BINATANGS 2010
Eremen Ken, Frank Atase, Harry Kombouo, Roy Hara, Nathan Milmu, Chris Yawising, Elijah Kanau, Kintumbing Bussum, Beluka Stanis, Terence Wakon (Northern), Kingsford Goimbe, Wilfred Dorogori, Eddie Kusup, Wyborn Kondra (Southern), Aula Kobale, Godfre Philip, Ben Tiriang (Highlands) Eddie Gavuri, Jack Tony, Michael Bube, Ryan Mondo, Terence Dome, Manwell Kalka, Francis Livia, Alan Kua (Islands) Hiripi Jawijah, Megero Erico, Jackson Anbert, Jones Meli, Ulrich Uluk (Emergencies)
COCA COLA U16 BINATANGS 2010
Gideon Simon, Lionel Ongke, Ezra Gotuna, Junior Rau, Moses Miamez, Armstrong Mexico, Eric kua, Cromwell Inyapa (Highlands), Nathan Malbag, Scott Johnson, Kwara Augere, Willie Au, Joshua Kavapo, Nane Rai ( Northern), Theo Gavuri, Victor Buloi, Ezra Katau, Ernest Waha, Douglas Kaiwa (Islands) Max Lavai, Jeconiah Peni, Noel Maguna, Eddie Meli, Hayden Denton, Junior Francis (Southern) Solomon Pup, Isaac Bakani, Peter Misikaram, Kennedy Lavatu, Himson Lavu, Tonny Ronnie (Emergencies)
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20100110093539697
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Mal Michael was probably the most well-known player from PNG. I can't think of any others?
Nothing may come from this but still good to see at least now we seem to have the resources to be able to send scouts like other clubs do to check these OS camps out to see what they offer.
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AFL Clubs Sign another 6 of PNG’s Finest
Saturday, February 27 2010
Contributed by: Rod
AFLPNG’s Coca Cola Talent Path model has again delivered with six new signings to AFL Clubs under the international recruitment drive.
Richmond, Essendon, and the Brisbane Lions did not let the opportunity slip when attending PNG’s Coca Cola Talent Camp late in 2009, signing players to International Scholarships.
Gideon Simon (Western Highlands) and Nathan Malabag (Morobe) have been snapped up by the Richmond Tigers, Ezra Kautu (West New Britain) has been signed by the Brisbane Lions and Victor Rame (West New Britain) was taken by the Essendon Bombers (pictured below). Also recruited were Brendan Beno (Autonomous Region of Bougainville) who was wooed to the Lions, and Max Lavai (NCD) who was swooped on by the Bombers.
Beno and Kautu had actually been signed a few weeks earlier, but it was not widely publicised.
(http://www.worldfootynews.com/images/articles/20100226153157305_1.jpg)
(1) Gideon Simon (Western Highlands) and (2) Nathan Malabag (Morobe) who have been snapped up by the Richmond Tigers, (3) Ezra Kautu (West New Britain) who has been signed by the Brisbane Lions and (4) Victor Rame (West New Britain) taken by the Essendon Bombers.
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20100226153157305
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Well I might meet him soon, may be going there for work.... ;)
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cool.
next we need an african
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I actually lived in PNG for 2 years....I did the first 2 years of high school up there in 86/87.
To say they are obsessed with Rugby League is a massive under statement.Guys like Wally Lewis, Peter Stirling and Wayne Pearse were house hold names when I was up there.All the locals walked around in NSWRL jumpers.
I dont know what its like now but Aussie Rules was a very very minor sport back then.
All I had for 2 years was the "Winners" on the ABC via satellite.
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I wonder mat with the comp. going national since the 80s and more tv/press coverage Australia-wide, Aussie Rules is now seen on tv in PNG?
Good on the Club for looking outside the square. This is something we wouldn't consider (and most likely couldn't afford) 3-5 years ago.
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hopefully the fella shaking the lads hand is 6" 5 :pray
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hopefully the fella shaking the lads hand is 6" 5 :pray
haha doubt it
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I actually lived in PNG for 2 years....I did the first 2 years of high school up there in 86/87.
To say they are obsessed with Rugby League is a massive under statement.Guys like Wally Lewis, Peter Stirling and Wayne Pebehind were house hold names when I was up there.All the locals walked around in NSWRL jumpers.
There's been people killed in PNG over fights on State of Origin nights... Kind of strange that they split along Qld-NSW lines.
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how old are these guys, they look well into their 20s.
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hopefully the fella shaking the lads hand is 6" 5 :pray
Across the shoulders maybe... be about 5'7" upright though.
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how old are these guys, they look well into their 20s.
how the heck could you tell that, Id guess between 17-20 :o
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how old are these guys, they look well into their 20s.
how the heck could you tell that, Id guess between 17-20 :o
just having a guess ;D
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The point is PNG is basicly a third world nation.
Rugby League has been their national sport for decades.....however they still struggle to produce players of NRL standard.
I doubt that they could produce anyone of VFL standard let alone AFL.
I know Mal Micheal was born there but he left when he was 3 plus his dad was a Victorian.
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I doubt that they could produce anyone of VFL standard let alone AFL.
Very true Mat, but the AFL development is generally better than NRL clubs and certainly more focused.
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AFLPNG Under 15 squad selected for Oceania Cup in Tonga
Wednesday, November 10 2010
Contributed by: Rod
PNG is gearing up for the Oceania Cup to be held in Tonga during December. Coached by Pint Kar the boys are already focused training several times a week. Competing against NZ, Nauru, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, PNG’s Head Coach is quietly confident that they will be very competitive throughout.
“We have a strong presence of academy players who are well-drilled and well-trained so we are confident of success come December. The PNG Talent pathway has created many opportunities for these kids to play football across the world, and they are all benefiting from it in many ways outside of football”.
Two of the boys, Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak will undergo training with the rest of the team before leaving to travel to Melbourne to train with the Richmond Tigers. Gideon was excited about the prospect of heading down to Australia. “I’m looking forward to traveling to Melbourne, meeting the Tigers and going through all the tests and training drills that will be set”.
Simon and Malbak started their footy careers at very young ages and both have developed at the AFL academy in Port Moresby into players with extreme potential.
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20101109190155853
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Looks like we might be going to rookie a Tongan kid along with the two PNG kids we have already on international scholarships.
Recruiters edge closer to South Pacific talent
afl.com.au
By Jennifer Witham
Thu 30 Dec, 2010
THE RECRUITING value of the South Pacific has further increased with a combine held in Tonga this month providing some startling results.
A total of 55 local youngsters tested at the event, with 40 representing their respective countries at the Youth AFL Oceania Championships in the same week.
AFL national and international talent manager Kevin Sheehan said the results from the day, which featured similar testing to the annual NAB AFL Draft Combine, were surprisingly impressive.
"There's no doubt more will get signed by clubs [on international scholarships]," he told afl.com.au.
"Over half of the kids who tested were spot on - right and left, hands and feet.
"They were just beautifully prepared skill-wise, which was a major surprise to us [given] the level they had got to without the same sorts of resources the kids in Australia have got."
Among those tested was Peni Mahina, the younger cousin of Greater Western Sydney recruit Israel Folau.
Mahina scored 25 out of a possible 30 in the Nathan Buckley-designed kicking test, which equalled Western Bulldogs father-son selection Tom Liberatore's effort in Canberra.
He also led the attendees with 12.11 in the beep test.
West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui, who was an ambassador for the tour with Folau and Gold Coast's NRL convert Karmichael Hunt, saw his vertical jump record of 78cm threatened by Fijian Wilson Kacivi (75cm).
Papua New Guinean Scott Johnson ran the 20m sprint in 2.99 seconds, which would have fallen just outside the top 10 in the national combine. Gold Coast youngster Joel Wilkinson won that test in 2.75 seconds.
Nauru native Yoshi Kepae returned a perfect score in Matthew Lloyd's handball test - something that even draftees Josh Caddy and Dyson Heppell couldn't match with their results of 28 topping the class of 2010.
Recruiters from Geelong, the Brisbane Lions, Richmond and Hawthorn all travelled to Tonga for the event.
Papua New Guineans Max Lavai (Essendon) and Gideon Simon (Richmond), and New Zealanders Rhys Panui-Leth, Kurt Heatherley and Shem Tatupu (Hawthorn) have already been signed to international scholarships.
Seven teams from Pacific countries took part in the championships, which were played over six days and won by Papua New Guinea.
The AFL's indigenous under-16 squad the Flying Boomerangs played exhibition matches against the Oceania under-16 and the South Pacific under-18 sides.
"There are 12 million people living in South Pacific and over 30,000 are now playing," Sheehan said.
"The fact these boys can mix and match with the best of our indigenous kids is a sign kids will come through and play AFL from that region."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/106561/default.aspx
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PNG Junior Program sets the Benchmark High
worldfootynews.com
Sunday, January 30 2011
Contributed by: Rod
With PNG the AFL Oceania Youth Cup holders AFLPNG are certainly not sitting back and resting on their laurels. With the appointment of the new Director of the AFLPNG Academy Moses Kar, a expanded intake of students awarded scholarships to the De La Salle Football Academy and two of their stars at the Youth Cup spending a week training with AFL Club Richmond football remains very much to the forefront.
The relationship between AFLPNG and De La Salle Secondary School has strengthened with AFLPNG awarding scholarships to 27 students for 2011. Building on 2010 whereby 17 boys attended De La Salle on AFLPNG scholarships, De La Salle has supported the development of the game by allowing AFL to be an integral part of the boys' curriculum.
The Academy scholarship recipients come from throughout PNG and have made incredible improvements within their first year. The Academy has achieved great success in both the Oceania Cup held in Tonga and the Australian U/16 Championships representing South Pacific. They also performed admirably against the indigenous Flying Boomerangs in December last year.
In December 2010, PNG claimed the Oceania Youth Cup in Tonga, defeating host Tonga by 44 points in the Final. The 25 strong team was made up of 17 Academy boys who live, study and train together. Coach of the side Walter Yangomina praised the growth of the game in PNG.
“The establishment of the AFLPNG Academy must take a lot of credit for the win in Tonga. It has fast tracked the development of those kids in the system, they have been together for nearly 12 months and they are playing brilliant team football. Theo Gavuri from the Academy won the best player of the tournament which is a credit to him."
Newly appointed Director of the AFLPNG Academy Moses Kar knows that the boys are keen to focus on training hard and improving their football ability, however he acknowledges that Academic success is a priority. “First and foremost, the boys must dedicate their time to their studies. After they have completed their studies for the day we allow them to play football."
De La Salle Secondary accommodates the students on campus at Bomana. The boys all share a dorm that is provided with showers and toilet facilities, a common area and a kitchen. There is a football oval located within the grounds where the boys train every day. “The facilities are perfect for what we want in our program. There are adequate ovals, sporting facilities and equipment and the sleeping quarters are fine for the students. We are hoping to increase the number of scholarships awarded in the future, and in doing so continually upgrade our accommodation and sporting facilities."
The selection process for the AFLPNG academy begins at school football throughout the provinces. The best kids are selected to represent their region at the Regional Championships. From the Regional Championships kids are selected to play at the Coca-Cola National Championships whereby more kids are selected for the AFLPNG Talent Camp, and International Junior Representation. After impressing at these levels, students are selected for the AFLPNG Academy.
Once at the school the scholarship recipients must meet the academic standards set by De La Salle Secondary to continue at the AFLPNG Academy. If students are not meeting the required standards their progress through the system will be difficult despite their football ability. The footballers selected for 2011 are Major Alphonse, Bruno Arnold, Samson Augerea, Isaac Bakani, Brendan Beno, Junior Frances, Albert Gabi, Theo Gavuri, Ezra Gotuno, Scott Johnson , Douglas Kaiwa, Freddy Kalandi , Harry Kambuou, Ezra Kautu, Rau Kobale, Max Lavai , John Jim Lavatu, Junior Lavu, Alois Luba Alois, Michael Macca, Noel Maguna, Nathan Malbak, Eddie Meli, Ori Nilmo, Nane Rai, Gideon Simon, Jason Soong
AFLPNG Academy students Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak have just spent the last week of January in Melbourne, Australia for a week of training and testing with AFL club Richmond Tigers.
Simon and Malbak, both 16, were noticed by Richmond recruitment officer Matthew Clarke at the 2009 AFLPNG Talent Camp held in Goroka. Since then their development has been closely monitored by the Richmond Football Club. At the AFL Oceania Youth Cup Simon and Malbak again impressed Richmond recruiting officer Matthew Clarke who offered the boys an opportunity to travel to Melbourne to be assessed by the football club.
Gideon Simon, a midfielder originating from Mount Hagen, is excited about what lies ahead for him, “It is a great opportunity for me to impress the Richmond Football Club, I have been working really hard improving my kicking and I hope to learn even more from my experience in Australia."
Nathan Malbak, a half back flanker born in Lae, was also looking at making the most of the opportunities in front of him. “I am really happy to get this chance. I hope to learn a lot from the experience. The AFLPNG Academy has allowed Gideon and I the opportunity to play and develop our football, so I look forward to playing football in Australia."
http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20110129102133546
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Eye of the Tiger on PNG
Jon Pierik
February 6, 2011
Young pair seen as stars of the future.
AS RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick perused his playing list through the week, deciding who would line-up against the Indigenous All Stars, a match belatedly cancelled because of poor weather, there was one player he really wanted to unveil.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that player is only about to start year 10 of schooling and is only at the club, let alone in the country, for a week.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak, a pair of 16-year-olds from Papua New Guinea now on the club's international rookie list, were invited to train with the Tigers last week.
So impressive had Simon been that Hardwick felt he was ready to mix it with some of the league's best.
The Tigers, like Brisbane and Essendon, have tapped into the fertile PNG market, one which had already spawned three-time Lions premiership full-back Mal Michael.
Under the shrewd eye of Tigers' recruiting manager Francis Jackson and recruiting officer Matt Clarke, the club believes it may have discovered two future senior players.
''Francis Jackson and I had a bit of a chat when I started here two years ago,'' Clarke said.
''We had Ray Hall, the former Richmond player, who was actually in PNG on a youth and ambassador program. I rang Ray and he said: 'I am about to coach an under-16 PNG team that will go and play in the Queensland championships'. So I said: 'I am coming over'.
''I flew over, helped him put the team together. I saw Gideon for the first time in a training session and he just stood out to me as a natural talent. I followed him to Brisbane and watched him play, then talked about the International scholarship program which these two boys are on now. Gideon reminded me very much of David Rodan. He is going to be that sort of size. He is quick and kicks the ball well.
''I saw Nathan at the talent camp in 2009 they have in PNG. I saw him play in a game, his reading of the play, his marking at half-back and half-forward, was really impressive.''
Simon, from the PNG highlands, and Malbak, from the coast, have much in common. They live in modest village conditions, their fathers are policemen and mothers attend to the family, while their passion and thirst for football has ensured they have a great work ethic.
Naturally, they have immersed themselves in AFL life this week. ''It's been a very good week. A lot of training and we have learnt a lot things. The coaches have been good,'' Simon said.
The Tigers will remain in contact with the pair when they head home this week and resume schooling with the De La Salle Brothers.
''The more they learn about how Damien wants to play the game, even at this early stage, the better for them,'' Clarke said.
Next year the Tigers could have the pair schooled at De La Salle in Melbourne on an exchange program and possibly play with Coburg in the VFL.
''All the players have been very open to us,'' said Malbak, who was given a spare pair of boots owned by Ben Cousins to wear at training.
''We feel it's our home and we want to stay.''
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/eye-of-the-tiger-on-png-20110205-1ahr7.html
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Absolutely love the fact that the club are trying things. :thumbsup
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will be a tremendous fillup for the tigers if any of the young boys from PNG are able to make the grade in the AFL
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Saw them down at training. Geez they're short.
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Built like rodan?
short and stocky, fast with strong core and low center of gravity?
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Built like rodan?
short and stocky, fast with strong core and low center of gravity?
Pretty much. You have to be pretty darn good to make it in the AFL at that size.
Nice story but they'll be right up against it to become quality footballers IMO.
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Tigers on the prowl in PNG
By Tony Greenberg
2:44 PM Thu 17 Feb, 2011
Richmond is casting its recruiting net over Papua New Guinea.
The Tigers have put two Papua New Guinean teenagers - Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak - on their international rookie list, and are keen to add more in the future.
Richmond’s recruiting manager, Francis Jackson, and recruiting officer, Matt Clarke, have been heavily involved in setting up the Tigers’ foray into the promising PNG football market.
“When I started at the Club two years ago, Francis had just been in Queensland watching the Queensland under-18 championships, for them to pick their side to go to the nationals. He came back talking about a couple of PNG kids that he’d seen, who had a bit of potential,” Clarke said.
“Anyway, we had a bit of a talk about football in PNG, and then I contacted Ray Hall (former Richmond player), who was over there on a youth ambassador program. He said he was about to coach an under-16 PNG team that was going to play in the Queensland championships, and I told him I’d come over and assist.
“I went to Brisbane, watched them play, and helped out as much as I could. And, that’s where I first saw Gideon, at those championships . . .
“So, I came back and said to Frank that I reckon there’s something well worth pursuing there. I spoke to Craig Cameron (Richmond’s General Manager of Football), who asked where I rated the PNG boys talent-wise, and I told him I think they’re better than the NSW kids. He agreed that it was worthwhile going ahead with a recruiting program there.
“From there, we checked out the international scholarship rules, and then we put some pressure on the AFL to set up a football academy in PNG.
“They got the academy up and going at the start of last year and had 16 boys in it . . . they picked them from a talent camp they hold each December. They rank the best 50 kids and then, like a draft lottery, if AFL clubs want to get involved, they go into a ballot . . .
“Because most of the other clubs hadn’t worried about it, we had two early picks, and we chose Gideon first and then Nathan.
“Gideon just reminded me so much of David Rodan . . . power, speed, clean with his hands, impressive kicking skills, and a really nice kid, with a strong family background. I was really keen to sign him.
“And I’d seen Nathan playing across half-back, as well as up forward in one game, where he kicked four goals. He marked the ball really well, made good decisions . . . he floated in and out of the game, and didn’t have the same sort of intensity that Gideon has, but he just had really nice hands.”
Having started the recruiting ball rolling in PNG by signing the promising teenage pair, the Tigers then travelled to Tonga to monitor their performance in the Oceania under-16 championships just before Christmas.
“PNG absolutely brained them in the championships, and Gideon smashed them,” Clarke said.
“Graeme Hadley, who is Brisbane’s recruiting manager, came up to me and said, ‘I watched Gideon at the start of the week and though, gee, he’s a good player. And, now, I’ve watched him for a whole week, and I reckon he could play AFL footy’.” That’s how impressed he was with him.”
Gideon Simon then quickly caught the eye of the Tigers, when he trained with the playing squad at Punt Road for a week recently, along with Nathan Malbak . . .
“We were training at Bulleen, in the week leading up to the Indigenous All Stars game, and the players were going through a couple of handball drills - one-on-one stuff,” Clarke said.
‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) was watching him and looking at me. Then he said, ‘Mate, he’s killing them . . . can I play him Friday night (against the All Stars)’? I said that technically we could - he is a listed player - but he’s only 16!
“The boys absolutely loved their time here and our blokes were really good interacting with them, too.
“They coped with the training extremely well, particularly for 16-year-old boys.
“Dave Newett (the Club’s development coach) spent a good deal of time with them, working on their kicking, and Terry Condon (rehabilitation and conditioning) did a screening of their bodies, which showed that they’re in the top five among our whole group in terms of not having any structural issues with their bodies . . .”
The pair will be returning to Australia mid-year to represent South Pacific in the national under-16 championships and they’ll also spend time at Punt Road. Next year, they may do their schooling at De La Salle College in Malvern on an exchange program and play VFL football with the Tigers.
In the meantime, Richmond will press ahead with its PNG recruiting plan . . .
“It’s exciting . . . PNG is only two and a half hours from Brisbane, and there are a lot of PNG kids playing in the QAFL system,” Clarke said.
“They require a lot less coaching because there’s been an Aussie Rules culture in PNG for 40-50 years.
“Hawthorn are going really hard in New Zealand in terms of their international scholarship program . . . New Zealand’s got a population of 4.4 million, while PNG’s got 5.8 million people and a really strong Aussie Rules competition all over . . .
“I was back at the PNG talent camp last December and saw another couple of kids I didn’t mind, so we’ll keep pushing it.
“The two boys we’ve picked already are on minimum two-year contracts, so we’ll see how they go after that. If they’re going okay, we can re-contract them.
“We can have up to eight international rookies, so we might add another one or two from the academy next year.”
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/107988/default.aspx
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A lot of similar stuff in there to the last article but the bottom section has some new stuff about the boys time at Punt Road and our PNG recruiting.
Liked these bits
“We were training at Bulleen, in the week leading up to the Indigenous All Stars game, and the players were going through a couple of handball drills - one-on-one stuff,” Clarke said.
‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) was watching him and looking at me. Then he said, ‘Mate, he’s killing them . . . can I play him Friday night (against the All Stars)’? I said that technically we could - he is a listed player - but he’s only 16!
;D
In the meantime, Richmond will press ahead with its PNG recruiting plan . . .
“It’s exciting . . . PNG is only two and a half hours from Brisbane, and there are a lot of PNG kids playing in the QAFL system,” Clarke said.
“They require a lot less coaching because there’s been an Aussie Rules culture in PNG for 40-50 years.
“Hawthorn are going really hard in New Zealand in terms of their international scholarship program . . . New Zealand’s got a population of 4.4 million, while PNG’s got 5.8 million people and a really strong Aussie Rules competition all over . . .
Richmond, ahead of the curve? :cheers
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Tigers on the prowl in PNG
richmondfc.com.au
By Tony Greenberg
Thu 17 Feb, 2011
Richmond is casting its recruiting net over Papua New Guinea.
The Tigers have put two Papua New Guinean teenagers - Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak - on their international rookie list, and are keen to add more in the future.
Richmond’s recruiting manager, Francis Jackson, and recruiting officer, Matt Clarke, have been heavily involved in setting up the Tigers’ foray into the promising PNG football market.
“When I started at the Club two years ago, Francis had just been in Queensland watching the Queensland under-18 championships, for them to pick their side to go to the nationals. He came back talking about a couple of PNG kids that he’d seen, who had a bit of potential,” Clarke said.
“Anyway, we had a bit of a talk about football in PNG, and then I contacted Ray Hall (former Richmond player), who was over there on a youth ambassador program. He said he was about to coach an under-16 PNG team that was going to play in the Queensland championships, and I told him I’d come over and assist.
“I went to Brisbane, watched them play, and helped out as much as I could. And, that’s where I first saw Gideon, at those championships . . .
“So, I came back and said to Frank that I reckon there’s something well worth pursuing there. I spoke to Craig Cameron (Richmond’s General Manager of Football), who asked where I rated the PNG boys talent-wise, and I told him I think they’re better than the NSW kids. He agreed that it was worthwhile going ahead with a recruiting program there.
“From there, we checked out the international scholarship rules, and then we put some pressure on the AFL to set up a football academy in PNG.
“They got the academy up and going at the start of last year and had 16 boys in it . . . they picked them from a talent camp they hold each December. They rank the best 50 kids and then, like a draft lottery, if AFL clubs want to get involved, they go into a ballot . . .
“Because most of the other clubs hadn’t worried about it, we had two early picks, and we chose Gideon first and then Nathan.
“Gideon just reminded me so much of David Rodan . . . power, speed, clean with his hands, impressive kicking skills, and a really nice kid, with a strong family background. I was really keen to sign him.
“And I’d seen Nathan playing across half-back, as well as up forward in one game, where he kicked four goals. He marked the ball really well, made good decisions . . . he floated in and out of the game, and didn’t have the same sort of intensity that Gideon has, but he just had really nice hands.”
Having started the recruiting ball rolling in PNG by signing the promising teenage pair, the Tigers then travelled to Tonga to monitor their performance in the Oceania under-16 championships just before Christmas.
“PNG absolutely brained them in the championships, and Gideon smashed them,” Clarke said.
“Graeme Hadley, who is Brisbane’s recruiting manager, came up to me and said, ‘I watched Gideon at the start of the week and though, gee, he’s a good player. And, now, I’ve watched him for a whole week, and I reckon he could play AFL footy’.” That’s how impressed he was with him.”
Gideon Simon then quickly caught the eye of the Tigers, when he trained with the playing squad at Punt Road for a week recently, along with Nathan Malbak . . .
“We were training at Bulleen, in the week leading up to the Indigenous All Stars game, and the players were going through a couple of handball drills - one-on-one stuff,” Clarke said.
‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) was watching him and looking at me. Then he said, ‘Mate, he’s killing them . . . can I play him Friday night (against the All Stars)’? I said that technically we could - he is a listed player - but he’s only 16!
“The boys absolutely loved their time here and our blokes were really good interacting with them, too.
“They coped with the training extremely well, particularly for 16-year-old boys.
“Dave Newett (the Club’s development coach) spent a good deal of time with them, working on their kicking, and Terry Condon (rehabilitation and conditioning) did a screening of their bodies, which showed that they’re in the top five among our whole group in terms of not having any structural issues with their bodies . . .”
The pair will be returning to Australia mid-year to represent South Pacific in the national under-16 championships and they’ll also spend time at Punt Road. Next year, they may do their schooling at De La Salle College in Malvern on an exchange program and play VFL football with the Tigers.
In the meantime, Richmond will press ahead with its PNG recruiting plan . . .
“It’s exciting . . . PNG is only two and a half hours from Brisbane, and there are a lot of PNG kids playing in the QAFL system,” Clarke said.
“They require a lot less coaching because there’s been an Aussie Rules culture in PNG for 40-50 years.
“Hawthorn are going really hard in New Zealand in terms of their international scholarship program . . . New Zealand’s got a population of 4.4 million, while PNG’s got 5.8 million people and a really strong Aussie Rules competition all over . . .
“I was back at the PNG talent camp last December and saw another couple of kids I didn’t mind, so we’ll keep pushing it.
“The two boys we’ve picked already are on minimum two-year contracts, so we’ll see how they go after that. If they’re going okay, we can re-contract them.
“We can have up to eight international rookies, so we might add another one or two from the academy next year.”
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/107988/default.aspx
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hey one-eyed there's this awesome website called OER, you should read it sometime :shh ;D
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hey one-eyed there's this awesome website called OER, you should read it sometime :shh ;D
:lol
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:lol
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hey one-eyed there's this awesome website called OER, you should read it sometime :shh ;D
:thatsgold :thatsgold
:eyebrow :eyebrow
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PNG rookies impress in Sydney
Richmond’s international rookies from Papua New Guinea had an impact at the under-16 National Championships in Blacktown, Sydney last week.
Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak represented the South Pacific team in the Division 2 competition, competing against Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and a combined world team, in the week-long tournament.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/119006/default.aspx
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Here's some video of our PNG international scholarship rookies...
Video:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/roar%20vision%20archive/tabid/11454/contentid/373472/default.aspx
PNG rookies impress in Sydney
richmondfc.com.au
by Adrian Ceddia
Wed 20 Jul, 2011
Richmond’s international rookies from Papua New Guinea had an impact at the under-16 National Championships in Blacktown, Sydney last week.
Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak represented the South Pacific team in the Division 2 competition, competing against Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and a combined world team, in the week-long tournament.
The South Pacific team consisted of players from PNG, Tonga, New Zealand, Samoa, Naura and the Solomon Islands.
Simon was named best on ground in the opening game, in which the South Pacific defeated Tasmania by two points. Playing as a midfielder/half-back, he collected 25 disposals, took five marks and laid five tackles.
Malbak also showed some good signs across half-back, finishing with 12 disposals, 10 of which were contested.
Simon, unfortunately, injured his hamstring at training before the second match, but fast-tracked his off-field leadership skills by taking a midfield coaching role for the rest of the championships.
Malbak continued his development in the next two games with some impressive work, including a goal in the final match against the world team on Saturday.
Simon will represent the senior PNG team in the AFL 2011 International Cup, to be played in Sydney and Melbourne from August 12-28.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/119006/default.aspx
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I can't seem to find their height / weight anywhere. Anybody else have luck?
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124cm
200kg
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124cm
200kg
:lol Pygmies ?
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Nauru native Yoshi Kepae returned a perfect score in Matthew Lloyd's handball test
That's even more impressive when you consider he had Mario and Bowser darting around in front of him as he aimed for the target ;D
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We haven't played in PNG yet, maybe they could sell a game up there! :o
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David Lake, who coaches Queensland state league side Mt Gravatt but helps the [PNG] Mozzies whenever he can, is certain one will play AFL before long. He thinks it will be Gideon Simon, from the Western Highlands, set to join Richmond on scholarship next year.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/meli-honours-his-fathers-legacy-20110824-1jabi.html#ixzz1VxwB89oK
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124cm
200kg
That would be about right too. I knew the chief of police in Lae, he was about 175cm and about 200cm across the shoulders, solid feckin muscle. Em I wantok bilong mi. Em I gut pela true na BIG pela true!
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124cm
200kg
:lol Pygmies ?
;D Chodes?
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:lol
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LOL !