Around five years ago the NRL launched what it believed to be a superb competition for junior players. The National Youth Competition. Five years on and in my opinion this competition is starting to hurt the game. Let's look at what is happening in the Under 20's.
So as the name suggests the competition is only open to players under the age of 20. Bingo, here's our first issue. It's a well-known fact that teenage males are yet to be completely mentally and physically developed. Because of this they are not switched on for the full 80 minutes. That's not entirely their fault due to genetics but some old hands guiding them wouldn't go astray.
At the moment the NYC games are used as the curtain raiser for the NRL. However the NYC is not the second tier competition. The NSW Cup is. When NYC players are being considered for NRL they are often moved to the NSW Cup to show their worth in a tougher competition. That's an admission that the NYC is not developing players the way it is supposed to.
Flash back to before 2008. We had Jersey Flegg (Under 23's), Reserve Grade and First Grade. It was a system used for 100 years and was successful. Nearly every rugby league legend came up through those grades and learnt their craft alongside seasoned players who were either coming back from injury or in the twilight of their careers.
Reserve Grade was the curtain raiser and was played at the same stadium as first grade, giving those players the chance to play in front of a decent crowd. These days the NSW Cup is often played in a park in front of 50 people. Hardly the ground for a second tier competition.
Here's why the old system worked. The Under 23's allowed young players to show what they could do but play against guys that were several years older than them. There's generally an experience and size difference between an 18 year old and 22 year old.
The reserve grade work two-fold. If you were a seasoned player who was coming back from injury or was in and out of first grade you still got to show your worth at the same ground as first grade. For younger players they got their chance to learn from seasoned players. One such youngster many years ago named Andrew Johns was given a football lesson by Cliff Lyons in reserve grade. According to Johns it made him a better player and he understood what it meant to play first grade.
The Under 20's these days is all about attack. For the most part defence is left at the door. There have been a number of draws where more than 20 points has been scored by each side. Hardly the defensive effort that will be expected of them in the NRL.
And that brings me to my final point. The concentration and defensive skill is so much higher in the NRL than the NYC. That's why I believe that we are seeing a lot of late comebacks. Why? Because the younger players relax and switch off when they have a decent lead because back in the NYC that's what they're used to. They're used to concentrating for say 60-65 min instead of 80 min.
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If you look at all the NYC grand final winners/runners up since the comp began, all those teams in the NRL have been in the semis or better within a couple of years of their Toyota cup team playing in the GF. It must be doing something right.
It sucks that the eels are shit in both the NYC and NRL
I used to love going to the game in the 70's & 80's & watching all three grades. One of the reasons I don't go anymore was the scrapping of reserve grade (another being golden point but that's another story).
But the scrapping of reserve grade was because of the Melbourne Storm. As they have no juniors the NRL has to pour billions of dollars to buy a squad. They didn't want to pour out more money for players to run around in a second tier comp & no one is going to travel to Melbourne for match payments.
IMO the transition from U20 to FG is just too big. Some have done it but they are in small numbers. I have watched a few U20 game & for the most part the skill level is mediocre & some times just embarrassing...not exactly what's going to draw the crowds in. You only have to look at the stands during the U20...they are virtually empty with most fans only turning up for FG.
So I agree they need to bring back both reserve grade & U23. If clubs can't afford to support this then they shouldn't be allowed into the comp...simple. All the Sydney clubs were doing it fine for 100 years.