Do we have too many players over 30 years of age?

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

I think we do. It may be that 3O is the new 25, but injuries mount up over time. No doubt someone will point out that our average list age is such and such, however we still have plenty in the 30+ category. Hoskin Elliot is only weeks away from his 30th birthday.

 

[gouki88]

Not for this season. It might hurt us down the track, but I think it's fine for the short-term. Look at what Geelong did last season, for example.

I think the aim should be 1 or 2 more genuine cracks with Pendlebury, Sidebottom & the like (this season and next I imagine). The trick will be to gradually feed young talent some game time to get them ready to take over.

 

[manicpie]

I think we do. It may be that 3O is the new 25, but injuries mount up over time. No doubt someone will point out that our average list age is such and such, however we still have plenty in the 30+ category. Hoskin Elliot is only weeks away from his 30th birthday.

It's not so much that we have too many, it's the fact that they're all slow which is a concern

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

Not for this season. It might hurt us down the track, but I think it's fine for the short-term. Look at what Geelong did last season, for example.

I think the aim should be 1 or 2 more genuine cracks with Pendlebury, Sidebottom & the like (this season and next I imagine). The trick will be to gradually feed young talent some game time to get them ready to take over.

It caught up with Geelong pretty quickly didn’t it. It’s now or much later down the track IMO.

 

[gouki88]

It caught up with Geelong pretty quickly didn’t it. It’s now or much later down the track IMO.

Sure, but Selwood retired and Hawkins has broken down. None of our older guys are retiring as far as I'm aware, and all are quite durable.

 

[manicpie]

It caught up with Geelong pretty quickly didn’t it. It’s now or much later down the track IMO.

I think it's more a case of Geelong losing their hunger a bit. They are still very competitive

 

[Pies_10]

Difference between us and Geelong our best players are under 30 though.
Naicos
Jaicos
Moore
De goey
Maynard
Quaynor
Murphy

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Howe, Cox, Adams, Mitchell, Elliot (Hoskin Elliot & Crisp only weeks away) That’s almost a quarter of the list.

 

[Kes1984]

Think we are the perfect mix right now of experience and talented youth. It’s a golden opportunity for a flag this year or next with this list. If we can get out of this current slump.
Next season I’d like to see some fresh youth injected from early in the season to get some games into the up and comers.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Maybe one too many in our selected best 22 but I don’t see an issue. Very few of our over 30s are indispensable

Some of those over 30s are extremely durable and reliable eg Crisp Sidebottom and Pendles. Crisp especially has years left in the legs.

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

Think we are the perfect mix right now of experience and talented youth. It’s a golden opportunity for a flag this year or next with this list. If we can get out of this current slump.
Next season I’d like to see some fresh youth injected from early in the season to get some games into the up and comers.

Out of a list that I posted, I can only see improvement in Crisp. The others will either plateau or decline.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Out of a list that I posted, I can only see improvement in Crisp. The others will either plateau or decline.

That’s true of every club. We have some good performers in the VFL ready to step up and challenge for a spot next year and the likes of Mitchell WHE Howe and cox will have to fight for their spots.

Our list structure looks as good as it has for a few years.

Would be much worse if we still had treloar grundy and Aish.

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

That’s true of every club. We have some good performers in the VFL ready to step up and challenge for a spot next year and the likes of Mitchell WHE Howe and cox will have to fight for their spots.

Our list structure looks as good as it has for a few years.

Would be much worse if we still had treloar grundy and Aish.

We should have kept Witts instead of keeping Grundy. The benefit of hindsight.

 

[YouBeauty]

The time is now , finishing top, no other stand out teams. There's no better time than now. Consequences on the list later.

 

[Jasper84]

Finals are when the over 30's shine. Guys like Adams and Mitchell are built for the high intensity slog fest of finals and try to deliberate tailor their training programs to be at peak fitness when they roll around. I also think that they know that every final could be their last and go into preservation at the end of the season.

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

Finals are when the over 30's shine. Guys like Adams and Mitchell are built for the high intensity slog fest of finals and try to deliberate tailor their training programs to be at peak fitness when they roll around. I also think that they know that every final could be their last and go into preservation at the end of the season.

I hope you’re right my friend.

 

[legendstatus]

Lets hope if we crash and burn in the finals we make some serious hard calls and start a mini rebuild and free up a huge amount of salary cap, hang back too long and we get caught out in the pack

We have too many aging players, not enough young age talent outside Naicos and some untried potentials. - Like another poster said our issue is also they are all slow!!!

Issue is we also don't have any players in/out that are worth trading out so we are caught in the middle right now.

We don't have the added benefit of being an interstate team or Geelong with go home factor so we really need to draft & trade like no other - the Collingwood/Hollywood factor is just about dead so thats no an advantage any more either.

Feels like Flag or bust this year and beyond.

 

[Kes1984]

Finals are when the over 30's shine. Guys like Adams and Mitchell are built for the high intensity slog fest of finals and try to deliberate tailor their training programs to be at peak fitness when they roll around. I also think that they know that every final could be their last and go into preservation at the end of the season.

Agree older blokes step up in finals. The maturity and experience kicks in under the immense pressure of finals footy. Cool heads prevail.

 

[Markfs]

It caught up with Geelong pretty quickly didn’t it. It’s now or much later down the track IMO.

if we win the premiership this year, i couldnt care less if half the team die of old age over the next preseason...

 

[Jen2310]

This year it's probably fine, but come next year.. need to inject some youth, espeially in the midfield.

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

This year it's probably fine, but come next year.. need to inject some youth, espeially in the midfield.

We do Jen. N.Daicos might need to bulk up a bit over the preseason.

 

[Finnishpie]

We do Jen. N.Daicos might need to bulk up a bit over the preseason.

Daicos isn't likely to get much bigger I don't think.

On the topic though, I wasn't convinced we needed Mitchell but he's been good over the season. But what we need is more pace in the midfield. And slowness comes with age so it's a factor. Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Adams, Mitchell -- they've all lost a yard and they all play in the midfield.

I don't know why Macrae and Carmichael haven't been given more games as emerging replacements for Adams and Mitchell, who are vulnerable.

By next year, all those I mentioned are going to be vulnerable I think. Pendlebury probably needs to be moved to the half-back flank, Adams is doing fine as a forward, I'm not sure about Sidebottom and Mitchell is going to be a leader ... in the VFL I suspect.

 

[Go Woods]

Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Howe, Cox, Adams, Mitchell, Elliot (Hoskin Elliot & Crisp only weeks away) That’s almost a quarter of the list.

Got win it this year, we hope.
From that list Howe and Mitchell may struggle in 2024.
2025, Sidey, Pendles most likely retire.

 

[Go Woods]

This year it's probably fine, but come next year.. need to inject some youth, espeially in the midfield.

100% Jen, Reef, Harrison, Allen, Macrae and a more consistent AJ need to force their way into our best 23 in 2024.

 

[thebigsaveloy]

30 is just a number. It depends on the player. Overall though, AFL clubs have massively undervalued the benefit of older experienced players and have preferred to speculate on youth. That's starting to change and we'll see players playing longer and longer.

Our mix seems great this season but that's because we have Nick Daicos at one end of the spectrum and Pendles and Steele at the other, all of them pretty rare and special players.

Can't understand the whole thing of we're so slow with these old players like Pendles and Steele when neither has ever been fast.
I'm not sure if either of them have even lost any speed. Pendles has been making more ball handling errors over the past 2 years but this was a guy who barely for over a decade so we grew to expect perfection.

Average age of a list is completely irrelevant. We'll start to see more older players go to better teams at the tail end of their careers in the hopes of winning a premiership. So no, we don't have too many players over 30 and a couple of the ones we do have are absolute treasures so we should enjoy it while they're still playing.