In another sign of their impending dominance of the competition, GWS will enter next season as one of the most experienced sides in the AFL.

Traditionally experience is an excellent indicator of the top contenders in any given year, and next year the Giants’ list will rank 2nd for age and 3rd for games played (up from 17th and 12th in 2016).

With the additions of Sam Mitchell and Drew Petrie, West Coast will be the most experienced side next year (1st in both rankings), with Hawthorn, Essendon and Fremantle not far behind.

At the other end of the rankings, North Melbourne will no longer be the butt of retirement home jokes with the Roos dropping from being the most experienced club in 2016 (1st in both indicators) to one of the least in 2017 (17th for age and 14th for games played).

Chris Fagan’s Lion cubs look set for a tough year, clearly ranking last for both age and games played.

 

AFL Clubs Experience by Age

Age Rank Club Avg Age 2016 Avg Age 2016 Age Rank
1st West Coast 25.0 years 24.2 years 4th
2nd GWS Giants 24.6 years 23.4 years 17th
3rd Hawthorn 24.6 years 24.2 years 5th
4th Fremantle 24.4 years 25.0 years 3rd
5th Essendon 24.4 years 25.0 years 2nd
6th Adelaide 24.0 years 24.0 years 8th
7th Richmond 24.0 years 23.8 years 11th
8th Collingwood 23.9 years 24.0 years 10th
9th St Kilda 23.9 years 23.6 years 14th
10th Western Bulldogs 23.9 years 23.6 years 13th
11th Geelong 23.9 years 24.2 years 6th
12th Gold Coast Suns 23.9 years 23.5 years 15th
13th Melbourne 23.9 years 23.5 years 16th
14th Carlton 23.9 years 24.0 years 7th
15th Port Adelaide 23.9 years 24.0 years 9th
16th Sydney 23.8 years 23.7 years 12th
17th North Melbourne 23.7 years 25.2 years 1st
18th Brisbane Lions 22.8 years 22.6 years 18th

 

AFL Clubs Experience by Games Played

Games Rank Club Avg Games Avg Games 2016 2016 Games Rank
1st West Coast 84 games 67 games 5th
2nd Hawthorn 77 games 73 games 3rd
3rd GWS Giants 74 games 54 games 12th
4th Essendon 68 games 72 games 4th
5th Fremantle 67 games 75 games 2nd
6th Collingwood 63 games 60 games 9th
6th Port Adelaide 63 games 66 games 6th
6th Western Bulldogs 63 games 57 games 10th
9th Richmond 61 games 61 games 8th
10th St Kilda 60 games 54 games 12th
11th Geelong 59 games 65 games 7th
11th Gold Coast Suns 59 games 53 games 15th
11th Sydney 59 games 56 games 11th
14th North Melbourne 58 games 90 games 1st
15th Adelaide 57 games 54 games 12th
15th Melbourne 57 games 51 games 17th
17th Carlton 53 games 53 games 15th
18th Brisbane Lions 41 games 42 games 18th

 

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A big thanks to Draftguru for the stats. Check out their site for all kinds of weird and wonderful AFL stats and records.