Even allowing for Tiger Tales’ reply to you,thanks for your post outlaying a better context on this matter,Sneaky!
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TT - moved to other clubs i imagine to play in a lot easier grade of Colts as a guess? Without knowing, i imagine Kingsway tried to hold onto them as best they could but at that age if 1 or 2 players move clubs, there close mates usually follow. A lot of the Colts that played last year i’m told were still playing Yr 11/12 as well to make up the numbers so they are still 18 years old this year - was a general comment that the side is probably younger as a group as most sides they play against. I would find it staggering if the Senior club was just letting this issue roll along without trying to find a solution as im sure it’s not beneficial to anyone involved to allow it to continue as it is. How they fix it will be interesting especially if you don’t have a Yr 11/12 team to recruit from but at least they now have a coach prepared to do the hard yards to try and turn it around.
Maybe it’s time to have some sort of grading in the colts to avoid all of this and before someone responds say how . Why doesn’t the PFL get a working group together to at least address this.
The majority have moved to the closest PFL club is another way to look at it. Others have gone to other A Grade clubs to continue to play in the same colts grade.
From last weekends colts team, Kingsway only had 3 players who are still eligible to play Yr11/12 footy, and that includes one who is on Perth Colts list so clearly has some talent.
There are 4 players that are in their 3rd colts season after finishing juniors so would turning 20 this year? The other 16 were either in their first or second season of colts footy, though lots had played an extra season in colts by doubling up whilst still juniors.
@Henry years ago the Ammo grades were all separate with no linked League. Ressies and Colts grades. Your League might have been in B grade, your Ressies in D Grade and colts in whichever grade they might have been.
Was a nightmare for clubs to manage players and support staff and a complete cluster for the League to fixture.
I don’t disagree with what you are saying but I think it is worth a serious discussion with the PFL. Another thing I think is worth discussing is a north and south colts competition.
All I am saying it’s worth a discussion as it’s important that all clubs hold onto their colt’s to progress into their seniors.
Colt sides that get smashed every week is not good football is all I am saying.
I’m a big fan of colts being on their own but it is very hard for clubs to find 4, 5 or 6 sets of support crew as it is and this would only make it worse for away games.
How many of the current Kingsway League team playing in the clubs colts or Y11/12’s team coming through?
They have got a colts coach now that has spent time in WAFL Talent programs, so hopefully he can either attract a few old players back to the club or even a few new ones.
I think everyone agrees that no matter how its worded or looked at, the current score lines aren’t good for anyone.
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Its not an outcome the PFL is ever going to support because the logistics are too difficult to manage for clubs and the PFL.
There are a few options the PFL might consider though.
Reduce the Colts Age.
Previously it was 19 and under when all kids graduated school as 17 year olds. The school age went up 6 months but the PFL, under pressure from a small number of clubs raised the Colts age 12 months to 20 and under.
Change the Colts age cut off to end June 30 to align with schools and junior ages cut offs, returning to the old system when all players were eligible to play 2 years of colts once they had finished school and junior footy.
Stop Players on Senior WAFL Squads playing PFL Colts
Having players who are in their second season on a WAFL senior list being able to come back and play PFL colts as a 20 year old is ridiculous.
If they are good enough to be on a WAFL Senior list make them play in the PFL senior grades when they get released back to their community club.
Stop Junior Players Doubling Up in PFL Colts
WAFL Colts and Rogers Cup players are not permitted to play Juniors or PFL games and WAFL/W on the same weekend, but Juniors players are permitted to play Juniors and PFL games on the same weekend. Lacks logic that the more trained and skilled player cannot play two games but the less trained or skilled player can double up?
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If you do all of those, many teams would fold. I don’t think you really understand what its like at grass roots level to get colts on the park.
If you do what you suggest the ones who make the 28 will fold and the bigger clubs just get bigger. It is not suitable for anyone and the reason the age was changed was due to the lack of numbers and I can categorically tell you it was more than a small number that asked for it all due to the lack of colts numbers.
The drop off rate from year 10 to year 11/12 football is about 30% and the rate to colts is 70% which adds to the issue and a massive reason the age went up.
And how many of those clubs that thought raising the age to 20 would solve their colts number issues still have issues getting colts numbers.
Theres a drop out from Yr 10 to Yr11/12 footy for several reasons including study commitments but a big influence is younger players don’t want to compete against the older kids.
There is a huge drop off from juniors to colts again due to study and also work but so many 17 year old players don’t want to play against 20 year men in colts.
I do not agree with the competing against older kids at all. The study and work is definitely a part of it but the older kids would be less than 1% where that is an issue.
I’ve coached colts aged football for nearly 20 years and never had one kid come and tell me they are leaving due to not wanting to play against 20 year olds.
Most kids who sign up play, but how many 17 year old kids didn’t even sign up to play colts because they didn’t want to play against 20 year old men? and there’s a number of kids who will say study or work is an issue when its the age difference
Same thing is happening to an even larger degree with girls coming out of juniors straight into Senior PFL Womens.
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It seems that the drive to Baldivis was not worth it.
1381 days and counting…
Heard rumours that all is not right at Kingsway, player payments at the forefront. Some players have heard what others are getting paid and aren’t happy at all.
Until a high grade club is convicted and punished for paying players, then all we have here are baseless accusations.
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it seems a few on this site seem to only go for the same A grade club because their lower grades aren’t travelling as well.
Do you call out a certain university club that pillaged about half a south freo squad a few years back?
Did you raise any questions when half a dozen players went over to the 2025 premiers when they could all easily command 4 figures a week in the bush?
Why stop at A grade?
No one called out a certain southern suburbs B grade team who have pulled in a number of players from South east corridor clubs for a tilt in 2025.
Theres clubs in c3, c4 and c5 that are absolutely flying and seem to be doing it with fundamentally different squads that have been poached from other areas, anyone asking any questions about them.
Certainly wouldnt say the accusations are baseless.. and no one is saying there’s only one club doing it. Some are a lot more obvious and known than others though
News from PFL tribunal is that Leigh Kitchin from North Beach got 2 weeks reduced to 1 week for braking an opponents jaw with an elbow to the head. The elbow to the head was classified as careless and low impact. The other guy is apparently out for about 6 weeks, how could that be low impact ??
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Obviously an outcomes based decision there,…
Couple weeks old now and the vision is all over instagram.
Disgraceful decision when sling tackles causing concussion get 4
Oh Professor you’ve failed to do your research yet again.
If the player broke his jaw from the contact with Kitchin, why did he not leave the field immediately? And why did his teammates not remonstrate at all and why did the umpires not even pay a free kick?
The truth is the player who was unfortunately injured played another 3 or 4 minutes, and was involved in another 3 or 4 contests. Leaving the ground holding his jaw immediately after he tried to tackle a NB player (not Kitchin) on the boundary near the interchange gate. Again no free kick paid to the Uni player for illegal contact and no team mates remonstrating.
Being tertiary educated, you should understand one persons opinion on social media from multiple fake accounts pretending to be a popular AFL insta account or an AFL reporters X account is not a reliable source of truth. Embarrassingly its rumoured the fake accounts were created by a a former Uni and current Claremont player.
If anyone wants look for themselves it’s the last Q from about the 15 min mark.