COLA and the academies are a reasonable contributing factor. Look at the difference Franklin and Heaney made last night. They also absolutely nailed some regular picks and well done to them. I believe they did it without the pressure other clubs have because of the other advantages they receive elsewhere, meaning they're less likely to take risks and bugger it up.
A scenario to illustrate is a team with lots of list holes. Those teams can fall into the trap of recruiting hybrid-position players because they think it will hedge their bets, like a half-back/midfielder or a ruckman/forward instead of a dedicated role-type player.
The risk is the player isn't a standout in either and never develops into the Goodes or Cornes the club wants them to be, sliding into mediocrity. Sydney don't have to do this because their list holes are smaller as a result of other concessions. They can just pick the best pure mid or pure flanker available and put 100% into developing the player in that spot.
You could counter and state that all strong clubs enjoy this benefit while at the top, but the difference is other clubs earn it legitimately.
If you're trying to say, overall, that they would've been just as good in the last 6 years or even close to nearly as good, I would strongly disagree with you. IMO those concessions are the difference between a good team and a great team.
A scenario to illustrate is a team with lots of list holes. Those teams can fall into the trap of recruiting hybrid-position players because they think it will hedge their bets, like a half-back/midfielder or a ruckman/forward instead of a dedicated role-type player.
The risk is the player isn't a standout in either and never develops into the Goodes or Cornes the club wants them to be, sliding into mediocrity. Sydney don't have to do this because their list holes are smaller as a result of other concessions. They can just pick the best pure mid or pure flanker available and put 100% into developing the player in that spot.
You could counter and state that all strong clubs enjoy this benefit while at the top, but the difference is other clubs earn it legitimately.
If you're trying to say, overall, that they would've been just as good in the last 6 years or even close to nearly as good, I would strongly disagree with you. IMO those concessions are the difference between a good team and a great team.
They don't have holes because of everything other than COLA and the academies.
The success of their recruiting and development is based primarily on the identification of players who address specific needs and developing them to play in those roles.

