Is our Premiership Window Closing With this List?

[Isaac Norm Smith]

Agree that the rebuild is inevitable - in reality is going on every season. I definitely don't see why we have to slide while doing so. They haven't slid in 30 years. Not sure it needs to start now.

A mini-slide, from 1998 - 2003, then...

Yes Partridge you're right, we have never bottomed out but I was thinking more along the lines of 1998 - 2003. I guess time will tell whether this top up policy has worked or not. I think it was probably the right decision at the time given Danger became available and the drafts were somewhat compromised. Still, if it doesn't work, it will no doubt set us back at some point IMO. Probably worth the gamble though, and given the landscape has changed with free agency, we just adapted to that.

 

[Isaac Norm Smith]

I reckon we've been unlucky with injury, though - if you'd told me before the start of the year that we'd be playing Sean Simpson and Zach Guthrie due to having virtually nobody else fit, I'd say we'd be struggling to hit the eight.

Yeah we have certainly been decimated at times this year. Especially our stock of small forwards. I think we are a much better side with guys like McCarthy, Cocky, Parfitt etc applying pressure and locking the ball inside our F50. If we can get Scooter to have an extended run at it, we will be much better for it no doubt. Still, it has been a positive for us to blood so many youngsters and give them a taste of senior footy.