I suspect SOS and the Board would have had serious reservations about the strength of our list when those comments were made, but with the improved performance from our established players and the successful integration of some of the kids, those views may now have changed.
2 months ago you'd be forgiven for thinking our midfield lacked grunt, pace AND depth, and our forward line had no teeth.
Now we've got too many mids to fit in (Cripps, Murphy, Graham, Curnow, Carazzo, Daisy, Gibbs, Holman, Boekhorst, Bell), Levi's the most accurate kick in the comp, and Armfield, Menzel, Everitt and Hendo are combining really well and creating some difficult match-ups.
I reckon we'll go hard for an extra first round pick IF someone wants out (Hendo or Yarran?), but it's probably not critical. We were expecting a 5-year rebuild with a massive list overhaul, no reason we can't revise to a gradual 4-year rebuild with natural attrition of the list.