2003 we won 11 games with a 13 players under 24 such as Roo, Lenny, Dal (8 gams), Ball (16 games with groin issues) Goddard, Koschitzke, X Clarke, Milney (14 games), Goose Maguire, Blake, Heath Black, Baker, Joey (12 gms)..
We added some grunt through picking up Guerra, but had players like Dal, Lenny, Ball, Roo, etc, who were able to develop & improve putting us within a kick of the GF in 04.. Natural development is understated by many on this forum, but when you've followed the game for many years your able to be patient. And when you see that there's 15-20 players with scope for upside such as our list, there's a belief that anything is possible in a new season.
Sure, "scope for upside" I agree with. And we all have to make our own judgements on how likely it is that the guys on our list in 2018 will improve. But I'm not sure they compare. Selected highlights of our 2004 list:
277 games: Harvey (32 years old, dual Brownlow Medallist)
179 games: Jones (27 years old, got 11 Brownlow votes that year)
168 games: Gehrig (28 years old, kicked 100 goals that year)
148 games: Thompson (31 years old, very solid player)
137 games: Hudghton (27 years old, very solid player)
93 games: Hayes (24 years old, got 10 Brownlow votes that year)
65 games: Guerra (21 years old, kicked 29 goals that year)
52 games: Milne (24 years old, kicked 46 goals that year)
50 games: Riewoldt (21 years old, kicked 67 goals and got 17 Brownlow votes that year)
26 games: Dal Santo (20 years old, got 12 Brownlow votes that year)
16 games: Ball (19 years old, got 8 Brownlow votes that year)
Also playing 18+ games: Hamill, Black, Powell, Voss, Baker, Penny, Blake, X Clarke, Knobel, Goddard.
In Harvey+Hamill+Jones+Gehrig+Thompson+Hudghton+Powell there's a pretty solid experienced core, including a dual Brownlow Medallist and a Coleman Medallist. Then coming through below there are all-time greats of the club including Hayes, Milne, Riewoldt, Dal Santo, and Goddard.
Do we have that in 2018? Make your own judgement. I reckon not.