Wasn't everyone from your 2000 premiership team still in your 2001 squad except Bewick...?
The names are there, yes. It's folly to say a 2001 Michael Long is the equal of a 1999 Michael Long though. Same goes for many of those players. It's like saying "07 cats had selwood" good as he was it isn't the same as 09 or 11 selwood.
As another poster mentioned, 2000 was really the coming together of that 90s period for the bombers. Many players past their peak post 2000 - bewick, long, barnes, allessio, reasons attributed to mercuri's decline are pretty common knowledge. Even Wallis - the 01 side lost the hard edge of its predecessors, Leigh Matthews recognised this.
I'd take the '99 bombers over '01. People (including the eventual premiership coach) expected the 99 bombers to win the flag. 2000 was more similar to that squad with Hird and Lucas added to it, as
Scotland pointed out.