How far away do you think we are from our peak?

[Redline]

We're at our prime now. It's really hard to argue a team can go up when they're sitting on 14-5 with 146% and a stellar defensive game.

To be honest, this year has to be our year. Teams don't end up in the situation we're in now that often, so hay must be made whilst the sun shines.

Spot on with this. Really just about everything has gone right this year. From injuries to opposition inaccuracy in front of goal. That doesn't happen very often .

I also worry that alot of our upside has come from elite work rate and being super competitive. That’s really hard to maintain as the years go by so I think to go up a level it will require more skill. I don't know if we have that in us.

 

[Redline]

I think you underestimate how core Tex is to this team both structurally and on field leadership.

We need him to go again next year.

True, he came into it late as the Hawks pushed up the ground to win the game. Once he had the ball his kicking was elite. For alot of the game the Hawks had him covered though.

If he doesn't play it's not like we play one player short. Whoever it was would of got the ball but probably wouldn't of kicked the goals so its a fair point you make. I don't think structurally he is important though.

 

[Coopers]

Do you think we are at our prime now, or are we still a couple of years out before we hit it?

The window has to be now, and... we've got improvement to come I think. We still have natural progression from a number of players. We also still need more talent/improvement from blokes to fill out the bottom end of the 22.

I think this might not be our year, but I won't be worried if we fall short in 2025, because the five to ten years after that should be a wide open window.

A 10 year window is... just not a thing. Like, I don't think that's happened anywhere, to any club. But the start of a 5 year window, for sure.

Daws, Keays, ANB,Milera, Hinge, ROB, Laird, Cumming - all these guys will be exiting their prime years during that period and at the end of that 5 years will be retiring (or retired) and declining. We'll be finding other roles for say Daws - more up forward for example.

So that's 8 A grade players that have us in the window now + a bunch of depth we have to recruit or develop with what will be shitty draft picks to sustain that kind of success. Given how hard it is to sustain, I'm keen to try to smash this next 5 year period.

We'll still have some awesome talent on our list after 5 years (Curtin, Filthy, Rash,Sog, Max, Woz, etc) so we can probably still be good. Will be an interesting boundary for decision making on how we manage the list at that point. It's historically been very crows to be good without being great.

 

[WeeBlake]

Ignoring the random impact of injuries, 1-2 years

 

[jo172]

The biggest optimist in me has this as being 1997.

That is we have a couple of years in us where we have a very good young core and some older blokes at their peak, a dip for a couple of years, and then a period of sustained (but ultimately frustrating lack of ultimate) success between 2001 and 2009 as the young blokes mature.

 

[crows dude]

We're at our prime now. It's really hard to argue a team can go up when they're sitting on 14-5 with 146% and a stellar defensive game.

To be honest, this year has to be our year. Teams don't end up in the situation we're in now that often, so hay must be made whilst the sun shines.

No way

Max, Curtin, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Soligo are 3-4 years from their prime. many good years to look forward to hopefully

 

[1990crow]

The window has to be now, and... we've got improvement to come I think. We still have natural progression from a number of players. We also still need more talent/improvement from blokes to fill out the bottom end of the 22.


A 10 year window is... just not a thing. Like, I don't think that's happened anywhere, to any club. But the start of a 5 year window, for sure.

Daws, Keays, ANB,Milera, Hinge, ROB, Laird, Cumming - all these guys will be exiting their prime years during that period and at the end of that 5 years will be retiring (or retired) and declining. We'll be finding other roles for say Daws - more up forward for example.

So that's 8 A grade players that have us in the window now + a bunch of depth we have to recruit or develop with what will be shitty draft picks to sustain that kind of success. Given how hard it is to sustain, I'm keen to try to smash this next 5 year period.

We'll still have some awesome talent on our list after 5 years (Curtin, Filthy, Rash,Sog, Max, Woz, etc) so we can probably still be good. Will be an interesting boundary for decision making on how we manage the list at that point. It's historically been very crows to be good without being great.

I think that's slightly pessimistic. Only scratching the surface of having a group reach 50 plus games across the board.

Draper, Edwards, Ryan, Dowling, Taylor all capable of pushing into the core 22.

The real opportunity is to maximise free agency with a successful side drawing in players we historically would not have access to given we've underperformed for 15 years.

 

[Cleric]

The window has to be now, and... we've got improvement to come I think. We still have natural progression from a number of players. We also still need more talent/improvement from blokes to fill out the bottom end of the 22.


A 10 year window is... just not a thing. Like, I don't think that's happened anywhere, to any club. But the start of a 5 year window, for sure.

Daws, Keays, ANB,Milera, Hinge, ROB, Laird, Cumming - all these guys will be exiting their prime years during that period and at the end of that 5 years will be retiring (or retired) and declining. We'll be finding other roles for say Daws - more up forward for example.

So that's 8 A grade players that have us in the window now + a bunch of depth we have to recruit or develop with what will be shitty draft picks to sustain that kind of success. Given how hard it is to sustain, I'm keen to try to smash this next 5 year period.

We'll still have some awesome talent on our list after 5 years (Curtin, Filthy, Rash,Sog, Max, Woz, etc) so we can probably still be good. Will be an interesting boundary for decision making on how we manage the list at that point. It's historically been very crows to be good without being great.

The 10 year window is doable if we can top up with FAs and smart drafting.

 

[1990crow]

The 10 year window is doable if we can top up with FAs and smart drafting.

If Geelong can do it we can.

 

[Greenfinger]

As I see it we have enteree into our premiership window.
We still have alot of upside coming from the younger players (Curtin, Draper) and we already have a number who are entering their peaks (Michaelanny Worrell, Rankine, Thilthorpe, Soligo, Rach etc) and very few at the ends of their careers (Tex, Smith).
We also have a number who are young and ready to be AFL players now (Nank, Edwards)

Our list profile is excellent, and the only downside is Tex coming to an end. If he was 27 years old, we would be in a better spot even than we are.

Do you think we are at our prime now, or are we still a couple of years out before we hit it?

I still think we are two years away from our peak 5 year run.
When Draper is in the team, Curtin has another 30 or so games into him, and we have made the changes around losing Tex, I think we are ready.
We do need to work on our midfield still, as we do get hammered in the clearances far more often than we should, and getting a player like Draper in should help in that area.

It would be amazing to nab Nas, but I think we are behind both St Kilda and Port in that race.
If we can get a Smith this year in trade, which is possible if Brisbane get Sam Draper, which looks the most likely at this stage, then he should be ready to continue the ruck position along with McAndrew.

It would be good to get some good SA talent back via FA as well in positions we need down the track.

I think this might not be our year, but I won't be worried if we fall short in 2025, because the five to ten years after that should be a wide open window.

What say ye?

2 years away from our peak 5 year run! No way ! Dawson is massively integral to our success and is 28 years now. We are now in the window and will be from now for 3-5 years imo.
We have talent still developing so likely will improve from here but we are surrounded by a dynamic competition so hard to say how that translates to our competitors . I can see us being one of the dominant forces from now to Dawson being 31-32 years old. After that who knows….

 

[1990crow]

2 years away from our peak 5 year run! No way ! Dawson is massively integral to our success and is 28 years now. We are now in the window and will be from now for 3-5 years imo.
We have talent still developing so likely will improve from here but we are surrounded by a dynamic competition so hard to say how that translates to our competitors . I can see us being one of the dominant forces from now to Dawson being 31-32 years old. After that who knows….

Shame we aren't getting NWM. That would've helped.

 

[ceebsaf]

I feel like we need one more A-grade intercepting/key defender to start a true dynasty. Call me crazy, but I think Worrell is our most important player right now. If we lose him, our backline could fall to pieces. Murray and Butts are great lockdown defenders, but both are susceptible to injury, and neither has Worrell’s agility. Keane is solid when he has support, but I worry if he’s forced to shoulder the bulk of the defensive responsibility.

 

[1990crow]

I feel like we need one more A-grade intercepting/key defender to start a true dynasty. Call me crazy, but I think Worrell is our most important player right now. If we lose him, our backline could fall to pieces. Murray and Butts are great lockdown defenders, but both are susceptible to injury, and neither has Worrell’s agility. Keane is solid when he has support, but I worry if he’s forced to shoulder the bulk of the defensive responsibility.

I think that's not a big problem honestly. Best performed defence for a reason.

If we can improve the midfield to reduce the quantity of oppo i50 entries, and field position improves we only get stronger.

 

[ceebsaf]

I think that's not a big problem honestly. Best performed defence for a reason.

If we can improve the midfield to reduce the quantity of oppo i50 entries, and field position improves we only get stronger.

Yeah, we're doing great in defence. I just worry that if one more defender goes down with injury, we might struggle, especially with Max out too. That’s why I think we need one more A-grader in defence to truly reach our peak.

If Draper can even reach half the level of Curtin's improvement this year, our midfield will naturally improve.

 

[Golumless]

No way

Max, Curtin, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Soligo are 3-4 years from their prime. many good years to look forward to hopefully

We're 1st with a 15-5 and 146% record. It's pure delusion to think the prime is any better.

 

[1990crow]

We're 1st with a 15-5 and 146% record. It's pure delusion to think the prime is any better.

Maybe. Could be different and more reliable with a stronger midfield.

 

[Golumless]

Spot on with this. Really just about everything has gone right this year. From injuries to opposition inaccuracy in front of goal. That doesn't happen very often .

I also worry that alot of our upside has come from elite work rate and being super competitive. That’s really hard to maintain as the years go by so I think to go up a level it will require more skill. I don't know if we have that in us.

Yup, that is also a big concern of mine, especially as our midfield (outside of Dawson, and Rankine as a 5th) doesn't put up big numbers.

Whilst I can accept we're probably a tad early to this spot, our inside midfield needs a fair bit more firepower. Or for Soligo to step up to the elite mid he's threatened to be.

 

[Golumless]

Maybe. Could be different and more reliable with a stronger midfield.

No doubt we'll have to evolve/improve our midfield etc, but the game now is maintaining what we have. It's unlikely we'll have a better H&A season in this core's run, should we win out.

 

[Cleric]

2 years away from our peak 5 year run! No way ! Dawson is massively integral to our success and is 28 years now. We are now in the window and will be from now for 3-5 years imo.
We have talent still developing so likely will improve from here but we are surrounded by a dynamic competition so hard to say how that translates to our competitors . I can see us being one of the dominant forces from now to Dawson being 31-32 years old. After that who knows….

We are more than one player. Every other team doesnt have him either.
A fully mature and developed Curtin can replace him, and if Draper achieves his potential, there's no reason we cant have an extended window.

 

[MrBarry]

Spot on with this. Really just about everything has gone right this year. From injuries to opposition inaccuracy in front of goal. That doesn't happen very often .

I also worry that alot of our upside has come from elite work rate and being super competitive. That’s really hard to maintain as the years go by so I think to go up a level it will require more skill. I don't know if we have that in us.

A bit of this, but it's also come from the fact we've literally been at the bottom of the table since 2020.... Can't remember if it was Blighty the other day mentioning how many players we've now drafted who are top 30 picks but it's a lot.

 

[Greenfinger]

We are more than one player. Every other team doesnt have him either.
A fully mature and developed Curtin can replace him, and if Draper achieves his potential, there's no reason we cant have an extended window.

Maybe maybe not . No one can predict a window for more than the next 3 to 4 years . To many variables. A lot of water under the bridge to see if anyone can fill the hole of Dawson . Might be one player but is a major match winner and those are rare .im really hopeful of curtin but the current window which I would define under this captain is 3-4 years and has started . You think we are still 2 years away ?

 

[BRL121]

Maybe maybe not . No one can predict a window for more than the next 3 to 4 years . To many variables. A lot of water under the bridge to see if anyone can fill the hole of Dawson . Might be one player but is a major match winner and those are rare .im really hopeful of curtin but the current window which I would define under this captain is 3-4 years and has started . You think we are still 2 years away ?

I think you might want to rephrase that.

 

[Greenfinger]

Thinking more about this , we do have a fantastic young core. I can see that we might have some rolling waves of peaks after the current window . Thinking a bit about when we had McCleod , Goodwin , Roos , Edwards etc… we were able to top up around a strong core and regularly compete through the 00s ( unfortunately no gf but we stayed competitive). Can see this happening for us. The first test will be how we reconfigure the 3 headed monster attack once Rex retires

 

[Hobbes]

Next year our draw will get harder by about a game or 2. Currently 2 games between 1st and 8th. We do need to improve if we’re going to contend over multiple years. But I think there’s improvement in the list as it is. From our current best 23 we only lose Tex and nobody else should be on a downward trend for a couple more seasons. Maybe ROB with contract security and Laird through age from 2027. But we’ve got improvement in a few players that should counteract that.

Obviously, this year's ladder clearly delineates the haves and have-nots.

The average number of top-9 teams that a top-9 team plays is 3.11
The average number of top-9 teams that a bottom-9 team plays is 2.89

That's a much smaller difference than 1-2 games. It's more like a tenth of a game.

 

[FR0GGY]

Obviously, this year's ladder clearly delineates the haves and have-nots.

The average number of top-9 teams that a top-9 team plays is 3.11
The average number of top-9 teams that a bottom-9 team plays is 2.89

That's a much smaller difference than 1-2 games. It's more like a tenth of a game.

Maybe I don’t understand your post but there was a post yesterday that showed the record of top 9 teams vs top 9 teams, the least played was 8 by freo and Brisbane had played the most with 11.
Not sure how you get an average of 3.11 or are you only talking about double ups?