Another way of looking at it.. Your 21 and shown a bit. You could crack the sads about Bags or you could see he will be gone in a year and you could have his spot in a team with a crack list pushing for flags. You could work your butt off and play with Merrett and Smith. Or you could get more opportunity at the saints or dogs. The competitive kids will stay and the Carslile types will leave. It's a possibility.
Reminded me of what made Jobe great. He wasn't an overnight success by any means. Almost traded. Similarly, Hird. They both worked to achieve success. Just because a kid is a high draft pick that doesn't mean they don't have to work and take their opportunities as and when they arise. It's the club's role to build resilience in their kids both for the return on their investment as an EFC player and, long term, to facilitate success in life after football.
Parish (Francis, Langford, Laverde etc) are all talented. How that talent is unlocked is a matter of trial, error and, mostly, luck (injuries, form). The club may not get it right but it certainly has an incentive and interest in looking after both the mental health (and confidence) of their most talented players.
On the other hand talking about selection is fun, nothing wrong with saying that the club got it wrong. if people didn't post about selection this board would be a pretty empty and boring place.