Junior Reps 2026

RufusRex

RufusRex

SGI Jersey Flegg
it is really simple ...
Family
Place to live
Education
Football

in that order.


We are forced to compete with the likes of roosters now by placing kids in schools in their own patch ... crazy ...

This is not a football/coaching/football department problem now, public education has declined terribly in the past decade that the bigger private schools are starting to become a lot more appealing. We have done it with Rocco but we really need to be tight and i mean very tight with a decent set of schools in both areas but especially Sydney.
 
Mailroomsgi

Mailroomsgi

SGI NSW Cup
We had an opportunity to form a partnership with Bass Hill High which is a hotbed of talent. Always has very good young players going there and are competitive in the schoolboy cup every year

For some reason we didn’t take that opportunity. But yes your point about the private education is true. Dangling that carrot of a $70k boarding school education is enticing and parents would push them towards that
 
RedVHeartbeat

RedVHeartbeat

SGI NSW Cup

Trial Match - U18 Development - Sydney Roosters v St George Dragons​

I saw more promise than shown by our rep kids. Why is there no player identification?
 
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RedVHeartbeat

RedVHeartbeat

SGI NSW Cup
RedVHeartbeat said:
Jackson Haesler. (Ball)
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How disappointing that only Saints juniors Haesler and Ryder-Kingi made the original squad of 38. Then Haesler missed the final cut.

Some boys from the Saints U18s Development squad that gave the Chooks a ripper of a battle yesterday, could well be in next seasons Ball squad. Had the Saints not been robbed of a vital four pointer after a brilliant chip, chase, regather, offload by our busy half, we may have even won as the momentum at that stage was with the REDV. Other than #7, others to impress were #10, lock, both centres, #12 and one bench forward. Pain no team lists as want to know names of #7, #10, #3, specially.
 
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N

No Surrender

SGI Jersey Flegg
RedVHeartbeat said:
How disappointing that only Saints juniors Haesler and Ryder-Kingi made the original squad of 38. Then Haesler missed the final cut.

Some boys from the Saints U18s Development squad that gave the Chooks a ripper of a battle yesterday, could well be in next seasons Ball squad. Had the Saints not been robbed of a vital four pointer after a brilliant chip, chase, regather, offload by our busy half, we may have even won as the momentum at that stage was with the REDV. Other than #7, others to impress were #10, lock, both centres, #12 and one bench forward. Pain no team lists as want to know names of #7, #10, #3, specially.
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The reality is that the St George area demographics have changed dramatically over the past 30 years.

For instance approximately one third of the population of Hurstville is of Chinese/Hong Kong origin.

Polynesian players seem to make up a huge percentage of NRL players.

I understand that the Illawarra region has a large junior base. What percentage of Illawarra juniors are Polynesian ?

Roosters and Melbourne have thrived without junior bases.

It doesn’t matter where our junior squad players come from.

We need to professionally compete in the area of recruitment to succeed.
 
J

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
No Surrender said:
The reality is that the St George area demographics have changed dramatically over the past 30 years.

For instance approximately one third of the population of Hurstville is of Chinese/Hong Kong origin.

Polynesian players seem to make up a huge percentage of NRL players.

I understand that the Illawarra region has a large junior base. What percentage of Illawarra juniors are Polynesian ?

Roosters and Melbourne have thrived without junior bases.

It doesn’t matter where our junior squad players come from.

We need to professionally compete in the area of recruitment to succeed.
Click to expand...
Agree, In my opinion which means nothing, we would be better off going to 1 team and have it competitive. Of course the logistics of where they operate from, schools, family etc will all have to be worked out by the club. Its obvious that if we want constant success in these rep sides then we really do need to follow the lead of others. Its a package deal , it will cost money, .
 
Dave03

Dave03

SGI NSW Cup
It's about development at nrl level, you can have the best juniors the likes of fifita but it means jackshit without proper nrl development. Who is the last Dragons junior that our club has developed into a good nrl player? Closest one I can think of is Lomax when he played on the wing.
 
D

Dragon David

SGI Jersey Flegg
Dave03 said:
It's about development at nrl level, you can have the best juniors the likes of fifita but it means jackshit without proper nrl development. Who is the last Dragons junior that our club has developed into a good nrl player? Closest one I can think of is Lomax when he played on the wing.
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I thought that one of the aims of the club - with Tim Watsford as the CEO - would be to ensure that pathways and development would be of high priority for the club? Daniel Anderson has the role of Recruitment, Retention and Pathways Manager.
The 2026 focus is on building a sustainable, local-based roster, heavily reliant on integrating the St George Dragons' High Performance Unit, which manages development programs across all age groups. The club aims to create a direct pipeline for talent to the NRL, supported by the new Community and High Performance Centre.

I cannot recall a player who the club has developed into a good NRL player - Lomax starting his career in the Steelers SG Ball team in 2016 is one that you have posted Dave03. Maybe Trent Merrin, Mark Gasnier?
 
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