Preface: what Hawthorn have achieved is magnificent. Clarkson is, in my opinion a genius coach; and the club have been very canny with their list management.
However. The most recent period of AFL history is completely and utterly unprecedented and unique.
During this time the AFL simultaneously established 2 new clubs, and in doing so distorted the trade/draft situation in a monumental fashion. The effects of this enormous distortion are still being felt even today, but at the time the effects were so massive that the implications could only be equally as large.
In real terms what it meant was that several generations of the elite players went almost exclusively to just two clubs, which was further compounded by devices such as mini-drafts and compensation picks given out for unsigned stars (and on-traded, leading to further distortions) for many subsequent years.
Whilst there were many implications to this gigantic upset of the natural order one of them was plain, and inarguable: the teams who were at or about the top of the ladder at that point were, via an accident of history, gifted an unprecedented opportunity to sustain their dominance.
Quite simply, instead of getting 3-4 or more genuinely good players per year for several years, the chasing pack got only 1. This translated into a situation whereby, arguably, it became incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for the them to catch the top performers.
This is plainly illustrated in the reality that, despite all of the explicit mechanisms to promote equalisation: for the last decade the same 4 teams have shared the Premiership spoils, with the 7 cups since the inception of GC being shared between just 4 clubs. All of whom, it turns out, were either at the top or on the cusp of success precisely when GC and GWS were brought into the competition and the trade/draft environment radically distorted. This is not a coincidence.
Now, please read the preface again. This is not to downplay Hawthorn's achievements; rather, it's to recognise, interpret and understand the extremely unusual conditions that have lead to the current status quo.
I'd be interested in any thoughtful comments on how far people see this distortion having an effect, given the current ominous look of Greater Western Sydney.
Do you agree or not, that the Hawthorn 3peat was in many ways an accident of history?
However. The most recent period of AFL history is completely and utterly unprecedented and unique.
During this time the AFL simultaneously established 2 new clubs, and in doing so distorted the trade/draft situation in a monumental fashion. The effects of this enormous distortion are still being felt even today, but at the time the effects were so massive that the implications could only be equally as large.
In real terms what it meant was that several generations of the elite players went almost exclusively to just two clubs, which was further compounded by devices such as mini-drafts and compensation picks given out for unsigned stars (and on-traded, leading to further distortions) for many subsequent years.
Whilst there were many implications to this gigantic upset of the natural order one of them was plain, and inarguable: the teams who were at or about the top of the ladder at that point were, via an accident of history, gifted an unprecedented opportunity to sustain their dominance.
Quite simply, instead of getting 3-4 or more genuinely good players per year for several years, the chasing pack got only 1. This translated into a situation whereby, arguably, it became incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for the them to catch the top performers.
This is plainly illustrated in the reality that, despite all of the explicit mechanisms to promote equalisation: for the last decade the same 4 teams have shared the Premiership spoils, with the 7 cups since the inception of GC being shared between just 4 clubs. All of whom, it turns out, were either at the top or on the cusp of success precisely when GC and GWS were brought into the competition and the trade/draft environment radically distorted. This is not a coincidence.
Now, please read the preface again. This is not to downplay Hawthorn's achievements; rather, it's to recognise, interpret and understand the extremely unusual conditions that have lead to the current status quo.
I'd be interested in any thoughtful comments on how far people see this distortion having an effect, given the current ominous look of Greater Western Sydney.
Do you agree or not, that the Hawthorn 3peat was in many ways an accident of history?