Victor wrote:
At the last home game of last season. The club stopped the LBSA from selling their 50/50 tickets in favour of clubs own, rather expensive raffle tickets.
I believe that this is what is planned for next season. With the Academy gone the LBSA's Academy sponsorship is now surplus to requirements. But Broncos still want the money. Hence the new raffle.
In the light of this it appears to me that the Academy has been doomed for some time.
The academy was doomed when the already fragile number of junior clubs, players, coaches and volunteers was decimated by covid and this has not / will never return. Certainly no u17/18 running now The first stop on the so called pathway is the community clubs, year on year busting their nuts to find new juniors, retain them and develop them, against all the odds with no help from the Broncos. Broncos then pick the best players from the annual Origin, that is the extent of their input to that point.
So many players leaving the Broncos pathway now, many unlikely to play league again.