My questions

Possibly getting another U20 potential player, so need to rearrange my team slightly. http://www.blackoutrugby.com/game/club.squad.php#player=11896597 at 9??
Andre Wooders
21 y/o (R14, D7) | 89,643 CSR | $12,365 p.w. | 175cm | 91kg | Australia
Right handed, right footed, in reputable form Stable.
A collected player with flawless discipline, reputable leadership, and horrible experience.
Energy: Supercharged %
Stamina: Princely 12 Handling: Amazing 14
Attack: Sumptuous 13 Defense: Grand 15
Technique: Princely 12 Strength: Admirable 10
Jumping: Limited 4 Speed: Admirable 10
Agility: Impressive 11 Kicking: Despicable 2
Currently a 13 but the player on offer is also a centre as is my 2nd trainee (USA U20 (hopefully))

ya prob be a better 9 than center imo

i reckon he would be a liability at 9

I think at Div 4 he'd be fine at 9. Obviously not a kicker, but having such costs a lot more, and one would like more stm, spd and atk, but he'd go fine I'm supposing.

i thought you had to have some kicking to play 9 well - its mostly 10 but don't 9 and 15 also get involved?

If you have a low rated kicker at 9 they basically will not kick. The kick ratings to really watch out for are 9 and 10, as kicking works differently to other skills (seemingly) in the ME in that's unless it's 9+ it's not really called as a play unless the player is under pressure to make a clearance - so 9 and 10 rated kickers will kick but at such levels do so badly.

As one starts to advance a team then having a kicker at 9 is something to look at, but for a team down in Div 4 it's nothing to worry about if your 9 doesn't kick. Yes it would be nice to have a kicker with 14+ kicking skill at 9, but really that's a very expensive option when you look at the sides you'll be up against. My guess is one can manage without a kicking 9 in Div 3 too, but I certainly can't prove that based on my results.

I've won Div 4 three times. I've never had even one kicker with kicking higher than 13, and my main scrum half at the moment has kicking down at just 5

Wow - good insight - thanks fella.

In my team Id play him at 12, i like having hands and def there, but in a P and G tactic he would be good at 9 with that tec. Obviously at my standard that is, which i think is similar to your team. My 9 is more often than not a non-kicker, he has high tech and hands, and is a bit heavier.

(On a different note, your Howins pushed my Ikina out of the U20 spot so he never got the call up…. similar players, but Ikina was spawned in the wrong season and is much lighter.)

Wing why would he be a liability??
Haha sorry about that Jonny but mine is the wrong season too and I had to work him pretty hard to get there! He is a beast with physicals though. How close was your guy?

Next in line, same height, a lot lighter same discipline etc… he is a bit behind your fella, would be about the same i think if they were the same age. The extra couple of weeks training, and better physicals are the difference. hope he does well.

Just had a look, your guy has worse discipline but is very close CSR wise! Have you seen Howkins skills? What are the differences do you think?

you have an extra pop or so in the important jumping and handling etc, Ikina is up on the training boards.

Oh yeah that would have been close! I am guessing the weight and discipline held you back more than hands and jumping though although I am not an expert by any stretch

Is it the 5 handling pops for Howkins so far?

Yeah 6 as of yesterday Still need 2 nets??

All things being equal I'd have 2 handling nets on Howkins, but with other trainees also a priority all things mayn't be equal

Back again, Boorman will soon put this question beyond doubt but it is currently very close. Which player would you start at 6 right now? Obviously Boorman will play more for IGT and so has lower energy but in must win games who would you play?
Ugo Boorman
19 y/o (R8, 3) | 69,792 CSR | $9,280 p.w. | 198cm | 125kg | England
Right handed, right footed, in satisfactory form Stable.
A conservative player with controlled discipline, reputable leadership, and despicable experience.
Energy: Fit %
Stamina: Princely 12 Handling: Princely 12
Attack: Reputable 9 Defense: Princely 12
Technique: Amazing 14 Strength: Impressive 11
Jumping: Princely 12 Speed: Satisfactory 7
Agility: Satisfactory 7 Kicking: Non-Existent 1

Mark Moss
23 y/o (R12, 1) | 64,697 CSR | $9,609 p.w. | 183cm | 102kg | New Zealand
Right handed, right footed, in decent form Decreasing.
A collected player with collected discipline, satisfactory leadership, and limited experience.
Energy: Perfect %
Stamina: Impressive 11 Handling: Princely 12
Attack: Admirable 10 Defense: Sumptuous 13
Technique: Sumptuous 13 Strength: Impressive 11
Jumping: Limited 4 Speed: Reputable 9
Agility: Limited 4 Kicking: Horrible 3

I'd play Boorman anyway and take what comes, but given likely energy levels and experience Moss would give you a better one off game if you're okay in the lineout with him

Just another question now my YA is getting going..
Am struggling to sort youth training etc, because of the few reveals. Currently just doing 8 weeks on 4 skills then swapping to other 4 skills and (for now) ignoring jumping and kicking. If I am planning a high turnover of youths would people say it was worth investing in a L3 manager or stick with L2?
The skills I am getting reveals on for 16/17 year olds who have only had L3 training are looking pretty good but then there is the odd low skill too... Thoughts? Or just carry on as I am and wait until they are 19 and fully revealed?

If you've spent decent stars on them (30+) then a low would indicate a positional thing. I find it useful on backs as low kicking tends to suggest they aren't a halfie for example.

How high a turnover are we talking? The L3 manager is incredibly expensive for those extra 5 reveals. With a L2 manager you can in theory pull 7 kids a season and still have a fully revealed academy. Anything below 7 will leave you with 20 reveals per kid 'extra' to go on kids remaining in the academy.

So, some quick YA maths.

You have 22 players which is 440 reveals to get
The number of players to leave each season in a balanced academy is 22/4 = 5.5
I would suggest a 5,6,5,6 pattern to give you flexibility in the off season to rotate potential trainee/U20 positions to the correct season and round.
That pattern leaves you with a surplus of 40+20+40+20 = 120 reveals.
Discipline in pulling will give you a fully revealed academy on a L2 manager for significantly lower cost than a L3.
With a L3 Scout you will get 10*16 = 160 stars per season and 160*4 = 640 across 4 seasons.
Assuming we're using the 5,6,5,6 pattern
160/5 = 32 stars per player on the 5 season
160/6 = 26 stars per player on the 6 season
You could also aggregate this to 29 stars per player per season
At L3 training level it is entirely worth it to average out the stars like this or at least go 38, 20, 38, 20 with pulls. Not only will the ensure a decent quality of pull but it will strengthen your academy overall, leading to credible 19 year olds capable of being back up your first team/sit on the bench or sold for a modest sum on the TM.

I rotate my YA nets every season. I understand what you're trying to do with the 8 week think but I don't believe that is enough time to make a meaningful impact on your players. You're looking at 2 pops max in that time, probably 1 because each of the new recruits in the academy will get 1 less week on the first set of training.

Thanks! There is a lot of information there
Umm last season I went for 7 or 8 assuming a couple would not be up to standard and would be replaced before they reach the end.. All on 20 or 30* mostly 30 I think
This season only done 1 so far, is this one where I should do 5 or 6??
I agree with all of your maths there Will try going for a full season on each training from now on

I would suggest pulling 6 on a non U20 season so you can produce 5, higher star players next season.

You don't have to stick rigidly to that format though, that will just ensure a fully revealed academy from 0 reveals in 12 seasons (providing the random selections of reveals don't screw you over and leave you with less than 10 players who have more than 2 reveals left).