has C grade become the new under 18s

[dee man]

my first year involved with c grade this year and must admit that my thoughts on c division were totally wrong
went in thinking that c grade was mainly made up of players at the end of their careers and the never was meant to be players
was totally thrown to see not only the style and skill but the ages
i have been very impressed to this stage with the teams we have played
after talking to opposite coaches and committee after games i have gained the impression that the clubs are putting more of the under 18 into c grade to give them the experience of playing against men
to me it makes sense but the clubs are not actually telling me this is the policy
i believe it is and agree with it but what will this do to under 18 football
personally i disagree with the under 18 format and think they should put it back to under 17
if running a big club i would recommend to give the under 18 away and play them in c grade or even higher when they are ready

[Dogwatcher]

I've played one C grade game this year and was surprised by the relative youthfulness of the two sides that played.

[S Demon]

Apart from 3 old buggers in the side, our C grade is made up of mainly 19-26 year olds. I would certainly encourage an under 18 kid to play C grade more so now, than 5 years ago, when the chances of being belted by an old thug who couldn't get a kick were higher.

I would still encourage any young lad who's good enough, to play B's or A's for our club, however would happily have them in our side as well. As long as they didn't make us old blokes look any slower than we already are!

[woodublieve12]

personally i dont think so... yes there is some younger lads. but if the u/18's are playing seniors most of them play reserves. id rather a young lad play in the 2's then in the 3rds. because if there good enough to play seniors they will certainly be to good for c grade..

[SATCHEL]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

[Lightning McQueen]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

I'm all for that idea manbag.

[woodublieve12]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

I'm all for that idea manbag.

i like the prohibited rule... i think plympton have the same sort of rule.. if they dont they should.

[Bluedemon]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

same with our club.

[Lightning McQueen]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

same with our club.

Who's that?

[BenchedEagle]

We have only had 1 under 18 play in our Cs this year. We could prob have more but weve got too many blokes that would miss out on a game because some U18s were playing 2x every weekend.

C grade has certainly changed over the last couple years and now very youthful and the standard has improved. I havent played against a big old school C grade thug for quite a while now.

[SATCHEL]

We have only had 1 under 18 play in our Cs this year. We could prob have more but weve got too many blokes that would miss out on a game because some U18s were playing 2x every weekend.

C grade has certainly changed over the last couple years and now very youthful and the standard has improved. I havent played against a big old school C grade thug for quite a while now.

Thats because LM is coaching and Umpiring these days

[Lightning McQueen]

We have only had 1 under 18 play in our Cs this year. We could prob have more but weve got too many blokes that would miss out on a game because some U18s were playing 2x every weekend.

C grade has certainly changed over the last couple years and now very youthful and the standard has improved. I havent played against a big old school C grade thug for quite a while now.

Thats because LM is coaching and Umpiring these days

Nice guy

[zedman]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

same with our club.

Who's that?

lol..melbourne

[Bluedemon]

I have similar thoughts but our club has an internal policy which prohibits any U18 player suiting up in C grade. Some people in our club are for it some including myself are against it. I can see both sides to our policy. To have an U18 go straight into B or A grade sometimes doesnt work. They are overwhelmed at the difference in play and strategy and the physical difference in some cases is enormous. On the other hand some lads take to it like theres no change. I played B and A grade at an early age like a few blokes at the club. I do feel that C grade could be that stepping stone into senior footy. Some grades have that stigma of old hacks who are past it but i think that has gone now with clubs having tremendous depth and having quality players in all levels.

same with our club.

Who's that?

lol..melbourne

[LMA]

It's just the division of C2 that gives you that perception Dee Man. Certainly there are younger players out there in the other C sections but C2 with all the colleges and their depth it is an unusually young C grade division. We played in C1 last year where there was a more traditional and fitness friendly age group amongst most sides.

[finn]

don't forget that they look younger every year too while we slip slowly into decorous old age...

[TEX07]

don't forget that they look younger every year too while we slip slowly into decorous old age...

I seem to be doing this quicker??

['00'02'03'07]

don't forget that they look younger every year too while we slip slowly into decorous old age...

I seem to be doing this quicker??

Im going to second that one Tex as I seem to be doing this at a faster rate now too

[giffo]

Unfortunately we haven't been able to field an u18's side for two seasons now but any players who stuck around who are eligable for u18's have mainly been playing b grade. Even without the u18 players we still have a very young c grade side with an average age of about 20-21.

[teaoby]

we obviously dont have u18's but our D-grade in c6 has become a sort of landing ground for blokes just out of school who didnt play footy and want a kick. or blokes who just want a "social" game for a bit of a laugh before the saturday night game!

they love it and have made a really good culture in the lower grades with the guidance of a few older more weathered heads.