- Nov 11, 2012
- 34,870
- 40,878
- AFL Club
- Sydney
Autopsy Brave Swans fall 9 points short
- Thread starter Heeney2Franklin
- Start date
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Yep We are hanging on to that for as long it will be a viable get out clause. How long have we been rebuilding now ? Imo its 5 years.
They're very young for a core group - Rowbottom, Warner and Gulden are all getting a run in there and none have a huge amount of experience. In a sense I guess you could say they're not 'good' enough. But it feels like a harsh assessment. Mills while an experienced player also hasn't played that many games of midfield yet.
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Our core is. We have more U21s in our Best 22 than just about anyone else in the comp.
Our midfield definitely is, the forward line looks pretty good experience wise, the backline as well. The Kennedy absence leaves a big hole to be filled.
The King!
Chosen One
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Sorry, under 22. Campbell, McDonald, Gulden, McCartin, Blakey, Wicks, Rowbottom, McInerney, Warner were all 22 or under at the start of the season with the majority still under 22. That's a huge chunk of our core including a couple of key position players.
The King!
Chosen One
The age thing is kind of stupid
always ends up well exclude these 6 players and we are a young team, what age can we expect consistent footy? Heeney is 26 now and he is still up and down at times for example.
always ends up well exclude these 6 players and we are a young team, what age can we expect consistent footy? Heeney is 26 now and he is still up and down at times for example.
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Yeah when Buddy plays he pushes our age up substantially, but the majority of our key players are very young by AFL standards.
Hayward and Florent are also both still 23 and they're considered 'senior' by the standards of most in the squad.
The King!
Chosen One
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Lol it's only stupid because it proves a point. Heeney is not as up and down as you think, he gets pushed around the ground as does Mills because they're such flexible players. How many games when he has ball in hand is Heeney poor? He goes missing because Horse pushes him around the ground. Play him up forward and he'll give you 2-3 goals a game and consistent effort.
- Nov 11, 2012
- 34,870
- 40,878
- AFL Club
- Sydney
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Wicks played every game for the season before the last two.
You're now splitting hairs though, but we are as young as thought. Just because we have Buddy, Parker, Rampe and Hickey running around doesn't mean everyone else is old.
The King!
Chosen One
Demons flag side in 2021 was less experienced in age and games than out team against Essendon
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Yep very similar profiles in terms of experience and yet Essendon are bottom 4 and we're pushing for top 4. 14 with less than 100 played for them compared to 11 for us.
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Again you can't look at it on an average or games played basis when you have some outliers that distort the picture massively. You have to look at where the core sits profile wise.
25 to 30 is the sweet spot for the average player I'd say - excluding absolute guns/no.1 picks, but even then they tend to peak in that bracket. Mills, Parker, Papley, Lloyd all in that range and are generally consistent performers when you look back at their last few seasons. Petracca is 26, Neale 29, Cripps 27. Im sure there's more examples.
SM
Bigfooty Legend
Surely people appreciate that when McCartin, Blakey, Rowbottom, Warner, McInerney, Gulden, McDonald and Campbell are 23-25 they will be playing substantially better and more consistent football than they are now? And that's 2-3 of our best mids, a key defender, a key forward, a half back, a wingman and either a half back or half forward in Campbell? Throw in Florent, Hayward, Ladhams, Papley, Heeney, Mills who will all still be in their primes and that's a substantial portion of a team's best 22. If Wicks and others make it as well then that's even more.
And surely full of much higher draft picks, the number of top 10 picks must be mouth watering, and most more than likely playing at the peak of their powers.
If they stay fit and healthy and we can retain those key players we'll be a serious contender in 2-3 seasons. Always felt like last year was a bit of a shock to do so well as I thought the list balance of age, skill and experience looked a bit wonky. Now we're all basing our expectations off last year which is fair but it does make me think we probably over performed a touch for where we were actually at.
This has got my brain ticking over, but it's interesting to see how much more experienced Melbourne's 24-30 year old players are than ours (they also have 3 more players) and how many of them would be in their best team. That list profile is something to behold. We lack not only consistent experience across that age group but we're lacking an A grader or two.
Millky95
Starchild > You
Richmond were 13th in 2016 with a percentage of 79. They bring in 3 players: Prestia, Caddy and Nank. Win the flag. Bring in Lynch the next year, win 2 of the next 3.
Just need the right players and the entire list can suddenly feel very different
