I would like to put some information down to share my interest in the current u21 side!
In our 30th season for those that followed our journey we had a very successful season, achieving home court advantage for this coming season by finishing the top Asian team in the consolation tournament. We made the most of a well trained side to produce some good wins. Our world rank is now into 20 and we are on the rise from the last few seasons. We also had major contributions from one new manager and that was a great win for our campaign. Adding someone passionate and willing to help out, taking weekly interest in the team and asking questions to help me reflect on decisions made were much appreciated. We also ran 2 tipping competitions where the top scoring player drew some interest, probably not as much as id hoped but was worth trying something to draw interest in the team.
So I am reapplying for the role of u21 manager with a real motivation to bring a trophy to our cabinet. Our draw is already set, and looking ahead and predicting outcomes, the 2nd round pools if all top ranked teams progress look challenging. But I see our team in a really good position to protect our home court and achieve highly.
In terms of our training programs we have made significant contact to managers with plans, and as a result we have some great builds coming through. Not only that but some of our best u21 players have made really quick transitions into the NT side which has supported my long term stance that we are setting our managers up really well at u21 level to progress through to the NT side. Having the likes of Pelip and Chick at 24yrs, Yu and Meehan at 25, and other young upcoming stars such as Vietayaki breaking into the side this season only a few seasons after u21s. And they are cracking into a NT side which has broken into the top 10 in the world. Our nation has some very knowledgeable trainees and we are combining to produce some great players.
I wont be setting any precise goals as the season is more complex than just saying "We need to win gold". Injuries and gameshape are two huge factors that will determine whether we can reach our potential. This is something all nations face, but more so than most big nations, when a smaller team based nations like Australia gets hit with a starting 5 injury, our next best player to fill in is usually sacrificing huge skill differences. But i can guarantee strong mentoring of our coaches, and an active season where i hope we can draw another few managers that are keen to contribute in our offsite on a weekly basis.
Thanks and as always im happy to put the time in to help our nation achieve on the world stage!
Whitewind