St Helens feeder Clubs

[rlno1]

I have read about Penrith's junior league in Sydney. How many clubs would be considered "junior or amateur" clubs that feed into St.Helens?

I know of a few but would be interested to know how many they have.

[bobbruce]

4 hours ago, rlno1 said:

I have read about Penrith's junior league in Sydney. How many clubs would be considered "junior or amateur" clubs that feed into St.Helens?

I know of a few but would be interested to know how many they have.

It doesn’t work that way over here our amateur teams are completely independent clubs. Saints would be as likely to sign a player from Leigh miners as Blackbrook. 
 

Off the top of my head though. 
 

Pilks

Thatto

Blackbrook

Clockface

UGB

Harefinch

Newton

LSH (I think run a team now)

Eccleston 

 

[JM2010]

I think the pro clubs have ambassador clubs in their areas now. Would be interesting to see how many junior/ambassador clubs there are in each professional club's catchment area

[GeordieSaint]

1 hour ago, bobbruce said:

It doesn’t work that way over here our amateur teams are completely independent clubs. Saints would be as likely to sign a player from Leigh miners as Blackbrook. 
 

Off the top of my head though. 
 

Pilks

Thatto

Blackbrook

Clockface

UGB

Harefinch

Newton

LSH (I think run a team now)

Eccleston 

 

Garswood 

Haydock

Bold Miners

(Widnes clubs… )

[bobbruce]

6 hours ago, GeordieSaint said:

Garswood 

Haydock

Bold Miners

(Widnes clubs… )

Garswood a bit far out I did consider Ashton though. 
Don’t think Haydock run an open age team anymore sadly. 
Bold miners I missed. 
looking at our first team and academy your not wrong about the Widnes teams. Which proves the point that clubs aren’t limited to there local amateur teams. 
 

[GeordieSaint]

10 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

Garswood a bit far out I did consider Ashton though. 
Don’t think Haydock run an open age team anymore sadly. 
Bold miners I missed. 
looking at our first team and academy your not wrong about the Widnes teams. Which proves the point that clubs aren’t limited to there local amateur teams. 
 

What? I am from Garswood - closer than Ashton and inside the St Helens Borough area. 

Junior teams would count as feeders as well; I imagine there are a few more scattered around the town. Does Portico still have a team? 

[bobbruce]

Just now, GeordieSaint said:

What? I am from Garswood - closer than Ashton and inside the St Helens Borough area. 

Junior teams would count as feeders as well; I imagine there are a few more scattered around the town. Does Portico still have a team? 

Garswood you’re basically a posh Wiganer. 
 

don’t think Portico exist anymore. 

[gogledd]

I read somewhere that 5 of the 7 debutante youngsters that played last week had been recruited from Thatto Heath Crusaders.

[GeordieSaint]

4 hours ago, bobbruce said:

Garswood you’re basically a posh Wiganer. 
 

don’t think Portico exist anymore. 

How dare you… wash your mouth out… My mum is from Pocket Nook so the genes are definitely not posh!

[Davo5]

Wigan St Pats.

[bobbruce]

27 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

Wigan St Pats.

I know you are saying this as a joke but for any decent club there should be no Amateur Club that you aren’t aware of good young players coming through. Certainly amateur clubs at the level of st Pats as the top NCL sides tend to hoover up the best young players. 

[del capo]

The legend in Penrith of Ince Rose Bridge stalwart that is Bill Ashurst - currently out there on a trip -  still holder of the loose forward shirt  in their all time 13 -tells me that Penrith have more juniors attached to them than ALL juniors in the whole of the UK put together

Sobering thought.

He also has some fairly strong views on Scholarships etc saying that they destroy the volume required to expand the base.

Virtually all at amateur level agree and a surprising number within the Pro game ( those on pay excepted ) also acknowledge. SL clubs  just look over their shoulders and say if they're doing it we have to as well.......And the number of youth sides continue to decline.

Wigan St Pats , probably once the greatest youth set up of all time , with 7 GB Lions on tour together  in the 80's  can't put out an Under 18's this year and struggle with numbers at Under 16's.

Ambassador clubs could well be a way forward. Wigan have 26 of them. Billinge Hill seems still to be the divide for those unfortunate enough to be living on the St Helens side of it.......

SL have a massive obligation to push up the number of teenagers actually playing at full competition levels . Unless they do they will themselves become extinct.