A select group of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy’s brightest stars donned either the red or white jumper in Friday night’s #swansintra – and turned heads doing it.
With the likes of Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh, Luke Parker and Lance Franklin on the sidelines some big shoes needed to be filled and it was Jared Crouch’s up-and-comers who answered the call.
Thirteen players from the academy’s NDS (NEAFL Development Squad), were selected for the Swan v Swan encounter played in front of sizeable crowd who braved the sweltering conditions at Marrickville’s Henson Park.
Right across the park, the ‘top-ups’ held their own against their AFL-listed counterparts with Liam Maze, Joe Stapleton and Angus Baker among those to impress in the Club’s first competitive hitout of the season.
“The boys were given an amazing opportunity,” Crouch, head coach of the academy, said on Monday.
“Each of them performed at the standard required which was great to see from my perspective.”
The teams were as follows:
Red Team
48. Will Gowers
49. Jack Mapleson
50. Harry Carr
51. Jared Deep
55. Max Lower
59. Joe Stapleton
60. Hamish MacDonald
White Team
1. Jake Brown
2. Jarrod Osborne
11. Angus Baker
16. Sam Barkley
18. Liam Maze
36. Cooper Lee
Friday night’s showcase continued a big month for the QBE Sydney Swans Academy.
As reported last week, the academy’s 2017 program kicked off as players in the under 15s began training. The under 13s and under 11s start in the next fortnight.
More than 600 players, aged between 11-19 years old, will be involved in the program throughout the year.
The launch follows news that an academy series will replace the division two fixture in this year’s Under 18 National Championship.
Traditionally, the National Championships has been split into two divisions – Vic Metro, Vic Country, Western Australia and South Australia in Division 1 and Queensland, NSW-ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory in Division 2.
The rapid growth of the northern academies has prompted the AFL to this year change the second-tier competition to a five-round fixture between the four academy clubs, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
A squad of the best performers from the academy series will make up the newly-formed Allies side which will then compete in the Division 1 competition.
The QBE Sydney Swans Academy opens their account against the GWS on March 25.
