Jesus H Christ - another one bites the dust; Shudds have recently made off with a couple and now HKR take their pick.

It could be time for the club to explain what the hell is going in with the 1873 project; shouldn't that be generating sufficient funds to stop this from happening?

Precisely - beginning to wander what the point of it is!

Like I keep harpin on,parent pressure,loyalty,silly money,who knows but definately not the lack of trying to keep them by Wakey.

It does it really does so please if you are - keep donating.

As BLM says it's not through a lack of trying. The problem as I see it is that heads are easily turned especially those of some parents - some of whom have no real knowledge of or interest in the game.

Sadly when it comes to head turning we struggle - recent very poor form - the endless debate regarding NM whilst other clubs forge ahead - prehistoric facilities, worse than most of the amateur clubs these kids come from! - a very conveniently located club that other clubs like to shop at.

We do keep a few good ones and occasionally pinch a few (which folk seem to forget) - and there is no reason to suspect any of the recent losses are in anyway certain future SL players.

It is irksome but without the 1873 project we'd probably have nothing. As it is a few of the Under 17's and under 19's look to have some potential. Also as you know you simply can't keep them all.

Will Oakes left 5 months ago, this is old news.

HKR offered him a 1st team Super League contract which quite frankly is ridiculous.
He's nowhere near ready for training with 1st team players, he has so much physical development to go through before he mixes it at training with fully grown blokes. He's a good prospect for a 16 year old but still needs to be with 16,17 & 18 year olds while he's learning the game and developing physically.

Wakefield did all that they could to keep him but he was head hunted by a number of clubs while also letting it be known that he wanted away for whatever reason.

The only other to be 'lost' was Will Ingleby, a half back who went to Huddersfield.

Vasty is correct when he says that facilities are probably the biggest issue when it comes to attracting and retaining talent from the Youth set up. Most of the clubs have state of the art training centres that are built specifically to create the physique required for the modern game.
Prehab and rehab centres with pressure chambers, dedicated medical facilities, video analysis suites, a team of professional Coaches and highly qualified Strength & Conditioning Staff.

When kids go to school or back to their Community clubs they talk to each other, how do the Wakey Academy lads feel when they listen to their mates wax lyrically about the superb training environment, state of the art, modern & scientific equipment they have available to them.

At those pivotal points when many clubs are romancing the same group of players with mums and dads in tow, they have their heads turned by the investments that Wigan, Warrington, Leeds, Huddersfield and the Hull clubs have made in their training centres.
Wakefield and Castleford in particular pale in comparison!

We can only dream of competing with that at the moment but it's what makes Club 1873 so vital to Wakefield and it's another reason why the new stadium is a must!

It will be the same until we get stadium/facilities sorted, we are rebuilding the club and Wakefield will always produce RL players and hopefully we will start keeping the best ones like we're starting to already. Huddersfield have been after the Wakefield youngsters for the last few years because they can't produce enough of their own.

He's joined the new joint Hull/Rovers academy

On a Full Time Super League 1st Team contract which will mean he at least starts the year training with their 1st team. I say "starts" because I have some faith that common sense will prevail and they'll step him down to Academy U19s training rather than over challenging him against fully developed adults who's technical ability is way beyond Wills.

Thought the idea of a shared FC/Rovers Academy was to improve the prospects of the Hull area. Is this lad originally from Humberside?

That would be narrow minded to think every lad that will come through the academy will be from east yorkshire that just won't happen,

And the article in the HDM says oaks has been given a 1st te contract but won't be seen in the 1st team he will go straight into the new joint academy

I got it from the the horses mouth ,a super league coach in Humberside,you guess which one,that the joint venture will never work.The dominating past amateur teams don't exist at the present in Hull so looking further afield may be there only option at the moment.When he's been messed about for a while hopefully he'll come back to Wakey.

I think somebody hit the nail on the head elsewhere 'you can't keep them all' - I appreciate that, I suppose it's the ones that get away that come to notice but as I don't get chance to see the youth games I have no idea what potentially good prospects remain at Wakefield. Perhaps there are some committed to Wakefield as good or better than Oakes?

That's what we can hope for Trinity,commitment sometimes out weighs skill.

has anyone thought that it might not of been about the money but the dire position we has put in last year, this could quite easy be most clubs next season and their academy, I doubt any other club will go through what we did last season with the threat of stadium issues and survival

have faith in the staff,
lets build on what we have here and stop the panic,
we can't beat other clubs on facilities but we can work on unity and belief within the club that they can be apart of what will grow to a better Wakefield Team

the old hull fc u19s and the u16s atm are ring fenced in the new academy set up, kr cant have any players fc have kept

so they need to invest somewhere as they seemed to release a few of their old u19 players last season

Just a few facts to correct certain points highlighted on here.

A. Will Ingleby (Hudds), Fletcher Davies (Hudds), Ben Harley (Hudds), Will Dagger (Warrington), Will Oakes (Hull KR) all left for other clubs and a few left because they wasn't offered decent terms.

B. Wakefields Scholarship & Academy are excellent


Wakefield do a great job with their youth but the next step is poor and that is not a reflection on the team it is a reflection on the board.

I hope this is clear, thanks for reading!!!

Wills circumstances I don't know ,but the last bit of your post I believe is wrong due to first hand experiences,also the people in place have been very good from top to bottom.There will always be people who form their own opinions regarding the youth system at Wakey and that is their right , three lads out of the last batch of 19s playing super league can't be that bad for a so called poor youth system.

Very clear apart from 'G' surely the board act on advice of the coach and just at the moment we have one of the best at the helm.
Just an after thought - if the hearts of these lads are not at Wakefield I don't really want them here anyway.

Bailey Robinson also left for Bradford and four players that were offered terms left without contracts elsewhere because the hierarchy didn't have the same views as some of the coaches. That is 10 players that left and I am sure with the right support from above at least 6 of these could have been retained. Once again the academy set up is up there with the best even without state of the art facilities they unearth great talent year on year.

Just beginning to realise avenger your someone who's had a bit to do with youth rugby ,I'm guessing mainly from the sidelines. Never seen this youngen play, but you say several clubs were intrested must have plenty of potential then, Chesters no mug ,his statement that he'll go straight into the acadamies tells me Mr chester also doesn't think the kids not ready for first team action but training that's another thing, don't think the first team are gonna knock hell out of him but he can learn a lot from full time super league players and like Ive said before your views to me are a level below what you try to comment on

WTF are you talking about!

You're not realising anything because your every contribution on here betrays your lack of intelligence.

Where have I said that Will Oakes doesn't have talent, you're an idiot.
He's not ready to train alongside fully grown men beyond the odd session every blue moon. His development is best served training full time with the Acadamy U19s and even there he'll be over challenged at times by the 3rd year U19s.

Also, about me you know nothing so don't try and work out where I might sit in terms of my knowledge and experience of the game, because when you do its just laughable, suffice to say it's way beyond you.

I know who you are and in every aspect you don't even come close fella, not as a player, not as a coach and it's obvious to everyone that whatever knowledge you do have belongs in the dark ages with zero knowledge of modern training methods and the role sports science plays.

Do yourself a favour and obsess about someone else because for all your posturing on here you don't impress anyone.

Oh and by the way you once suggested that on the field of play you'd have me in your pocket and I'd be tasting blood. For the record I'd do you all ends up for skill, speed and toughness, not that it could ever happen because I operated at a level you just dreamed about.

With regards to the players who left the Youth system last year,
Will Ingleby turned down an offer from Wakefield and accepted one from Huddersfield
Bailey Robinson did the same but chose Bradford over Wakefield
Will Oakes we have already discussed
Will Dagger accepted an offer from Warrington that Wakefield couldn't match

Ben Harley left midway through his second year as did Fletcher Davies, both left because they were unhappy with things at Wakefield, enough said!
Connor Chadwick left because he chose not to continue pursuing a career in Rugby League.

For what its worth i know a scolaship coach who use to work for us (this guy is also currently international coach albiet at a small country)he left the the club to go elsewhere due to how the club treated the youngsters he told me this as he sees big potential in one of my lads and advised me not to let him go there if ever scouted which in his view he will


This isnt me slagging us off in anyway its only what i been told and still would consider my lad been at wakey if ever given the chance

You can certainly put a smile on my face ,sets my day up perfectly

I honestly beleive that these kids have left the WTW Academy because they were 'sold short' by the hierarchy