I think the truth is somewhere in between. Every club has hyped juniors coming through and every club debuts them early. It is true to most NRL players debut between 18-21, this doesn't mean they can't debut later and there will always be players who are slow burners and take time.Quite possibly the most idiotic thing I've read here, which is a big call considering some of the dribble.
So according to this logic the late bloomer is irrelevant? The Cody Walker type player?
It really hits the nail on the head of why the tigers ate crap. This must recruit young stars mentality rarely works, you only need to throw back to Moses Suli for a reminder.
Good clubs recruit hard workers and good characters, like the Storm, when they recruited Ryan Hoffman from under our nose.
The other problem with recruiting young stars is when you make the problem even worse when you constantly refer to them in the media as "the best crop of youngsters we've seen".
The damage is done when you keep putting kids in a higher standing than they deserve.
Melbourne have equally had their fair share, Inglis and Folau were two of the most hyped juniors I can remember (along with Hayne and Sualli). Both Inglis and Folau debuted for the storm at 18 and quickly established themselves as stars at a young age. Both had their issues off field. Curtis Scott was another hugely hyped junior and debuted at 19 for the Storm as did Munster, neither were considered "good characters" and both have had ongoing troubles. I think with the exception of Scott the Melbourne culture and strong leadership has helped. Smith and Slater both also debuted at 19 but generally both passed the "good character" test.
We have generally lacked strong leadership amongst the playing group, in upper club management and at times in the coaching department which is why I believe our youngsters have struggled. We now seem to have a stronger playing leadership group with Api, Klemmer, Bateman which should, along with Sheens set higher standards for the young "stars" and help them to develop with a level of accountability.
All clubs need young stars, particularly home grown to properly manage the salary cap while also being successful (the current Penrith model). It seems from his comments that Sheens is acutely aware of this, such is the focus on the homegrown youngsters.