You might not have heard of Braedyn Crowley and Matthew Symes. Ian Ferguson has. His two former North Queensland Fury proteges could well be playing against each other as a scaled-down National Youth League kicks off this weekend.

Symes will be in goals, while Crowley will be trying to score against him, as the Newcastle Jets host Western Sydney Wanderers at Magic Park on Sunday morning. Two aspirational footballers have had to make the long trek from Townsville to further their careers. That's what the NYL is designed for. Opportunity.

Young talent time: Braedyn Crowley celebrates scoring a goal for the Emerging Jets last season. Credit:Ryan Osland

But as a 10-week, two-conference, season the FFA prefers to describe as "revamped" gets underway, there are plenty wondering whether the game's showpiece youth competition continues to serve its purpose.

In 2016, every A-League club will field teams in their local NPL competition - played largely through the autumn and winter months - for the first time. The emphasis seems to have swung towards the semi-pro, adult, leagues to do the heavy lifting in the finishing stages of the development pathway. It makes a lot of sense.