I don't know about that. There was a lot of angst regarding salary cap constraints limiting what the club could do, and most of the trade moves done over that period were to allow fringe players or those like Mumford to get more opportunity and a bigger pay packet elsewhere. The Hawks haven't just used FA; they've been active recruiters via trading, as well, which the Cats weren't when they were dominant. I'm not saying that they should or could have, but I think it shows how well the Hawks have managed their list that, after two premierships and with a plethora of champions, they are still able to make liberal use of both free agency and trade to secure their future and fill holes in their list. In contrast, the Cats could only lose players during their era, and continue to lose players now. Despite being successful, the Cats have not really landed any big signings through trading or free agency since 2007, except for perhaps Caddy.
It's all speculation I know but remember that Lance Franklin leaving freed up quite a bit of cap space for them to recruit Frawley.
Who's to say that if FA came while we were at the peak of our powers, that one or two of our famously underpaid players left for bigger money deals, leaving room for a FA deal. Yes they trade well, but they also trade for the short to medium term at the detriment of the long term. Who's to say these young players like Hallahan, Litherland, Duyrea, Woodward, Anderson are going to be stars in their own rights? Maybe they are, maybe they're being made to look better in a great team. Sound familiar?
Also for all their trading and FA recruiting, they've got a replacement for Lake but who replaces Gibson, Mitchell, Hodge, Hale, Burgoyne and more importantly do these players make the rest look and play better than they are?
Given hale turns 31 next season and Roughead 28 where's their next wave of tall forwards coming from?? Gunston can't do it all by himself. Where's the next gen KPD coming from, Frawley's one but Schoenmakers and Cheney aren't the answer. They have just as many hard decisions to make and holes to fill as we do, we're just 2 years ahead of them in that regard.