Having witnessed the type of challenge the winners will face in Australia first hand and observed the results of the antipodes representatives in the finals it has to be acknowledged that you need a good team to progress.
Obviously the further you progress the greater the experience and to their credit Onehunga have given their lads a couple of great experiences in recent years.
I have no issue with clubs targeting the event and players to play in it. It is at the sharp end the best club football we can offer players of this age. With the demise of National Representative Tournaments it is our only chance to play against top players from across the country.
I like this years format, no one off games and tournament based from start to finish.
The rules are clear about prior involvement with a club and I think that is fair. I do not though believe in restricting the players after the event. If someone was to be picked up by a pro club overseas then he would have to wait until the end of the next season to transfer.
If an Academy or school in NZ spotted him and offered a scholarship he would have to wait, it just does not seem right to me.
The exclusion of the Canterbury boys because they were taking up opportunities at an Academy in Wellington and the loss of opportunity to play for the rest of their team mates simply stinks.
I do not know about the loaning of players, not something we would do in Canterbury and does sound a bit fishy.