True North
Norm Smith Medallist
Two sides presently 5-0 and generally seen as contenders this season certainly haven't done so:
Geelong's last three top ten picks: Cockatoo (#10, 2014), Selwood (#7, 2006), Tenace (#7, 2003)
Adelaide's last three top ten picks: Davis (#10, 2008), Dangerfield (#10, 2007), Meesen (#8, 2004)
Having a horrid season doesn't beget success in any meaningful fashion either; of bottom 2 sides since 2000, only Hawthorn (2004) and Collingwood (2005) have gone on to win the flag within 10 years, and beyond that, only St. Kilda (2000-2002) and West Coast (2008, 2010) have made the GF in that timeframe (even expanding to consecutive prelims - which we achieved without any such poor season - only adds in the 2003 Bulldogs spoon). Finishing so low is instead the province of present-day failures like Melbourne (no finals since '06 and 2 spoons), Brisbane (one finals series since '04), Essendon (no finals wins since '04 and a spoon), Richmond (no finals wins since '01 and 2 spoons), Carlton (no prelims since '01 and four spoons)... my point is, the clubs that have succeeded in the modern era have by and large been those that haven't seen the tail end of the ladder for quite some time - Geelong (one finals series missed since 2006), Sydney (one finals series missed since 2002)... even the bulk of the Hawks' success was nearly a decade after their worst season and relied heavily on subsequent recruits rather than high draftees.
Realistically, we'll finish this season in top ten pick territory. Use that wisely and we should recruit a quality player that addresses list deficiencies (i.e., a pacy outside mid). Throwing away an entire season for slightly improved draft positions which give us a slightly better chance of getting a slightly better player makes no sense - as the various different case examples I mention above go to show, approaches that focus on the draft beget failure. Hopefully, North never go down that track.
This is an excellent post.





