Well done all the players and the coaching staff.

In my opinion, the under 18 age limit of the Colts competition is severely limiting the flow of Colts players up into the senior competition.  There are two factors: first, the HSC and, second, the players' physical development. 

As to the first factor, most Colts players are in their HSC year when they are turning 18 and graduating from Colts.  Understandably, many of them drop sport to concentrate on their studies for this year.  Once they have left the game and are then joining new tertiary institutions or joining the workforce, it appears they lose their connection with their club and are lost to the game.

The second factor is that most eighteen year olds graduating from Colts are not as physically or mentally mature as the players in the senior competition.  While outstanding athletes can make the transition, it is clear that many are simply intimidated by the size and strength of senior players and decide to sit out for a few years until they can match it physically with the senior players.  Again, once the player falls out of the system and out of the team that was supporting him, the reality is that he does not re-join when he is older and better equiped for senior football.

It would be relatively simple to get some hard data on the problem.  Gridiron NSW has access to the rosters of registered players for both the Colts and Division 1 for at least the last 5 years.  I suggest that a simple study should be conducted to determine the percentage of registered Colts players who have gone on to register as a player in Division 1.  I would be willing to undertake the task if the information was provided to me by Gridiron NSW. 

This "graduation rate" information could then be compared against the same information from the era when the Colts competion had an under 21 age limit.  Although the league may not have the registered player rosters from this era, this calculation could certainly be performed at my Club from team rosters and, I would suggest, by other clubs which were around at the time.  Although I have not actually done the exercise, I have no doubt that there was a vastly higher "graduation rate" at my Club when the Colts competition had an under 21 age limit than the rate since the under 18 age limit was introduced.  Our current senior team is underpinned by a core of players who came through our Colts program from the u21 era; whereas, it is quite rare to get even a player or two from a graduating Colts class of 10 or 12 to come up to play in seniors in the current era. 

The Seahawks would seem to be a case in point.  Five or so years back, they had a very strong junior program, winning the Colts competition for 4 straight years, with big numbers on their Colts squads.  I do not pretend to have any inside knowledge of the Seahawks, but they do not seemed to have reaped the rewards in their Division 1 team from all that hard work and all those good Colts players.  Where have the players gone?  My guess is that, for the reasons outlined above, most of them just drifted away from the game. 

This is my major concern.  Every team is expending a huge amount of effort in running Colts programs with very little return to the Division 1 teams.  I fear that the Mustangs may get very little senior player return on their investment in Colts. 

I appreciate that there are other issues involved: particularly, the fact that the age limit for the Gridiron Australia Junior Nationals is under 18.  However, an under 18 team could still be selected and trained for the Nationals notwithstanding that the Gridiron NSW Colts competition had a higher age limit. 

I realise this is really a Colts issue, but as the Mustangs are hoping to rise again on the back of their Colts team, I though it was worthwhile raising it in this forum as a point of discussion. 

Also, isn't it about time you stopped living in the past and removed your claims about winning a "record five straight championships" on the website.  That record was busted two years ago.  Just saying.