And the difference between Boyd and Heeney and Fyfe this year is the limited talent pool for forwards for forward rucks.
Heeney and Fyfe could very well be among the best midfielders in the league, but from a team-wise perspective, you can cover the loss of a gun midfielder. Look at GWS and Treloar. They didn't miss a beat losing Treloar.
On the other hand, you can't cover for the lack of a 200cm KPF, because they just don't exist. Short of having a peak Geelong-esque midfield, you can't win the flag without one. We certainly would not have beaten GWS or Sydney without Boyd. Limited talent pool.
We were never quite bad enough in any one given year, combined with the entry of GWS/GC, to land any of Lynch, McCartin, Boyd, Hogan etc. etc. in the draft. So we went out and made the most of Griffen leaving to buy one with our salary cap room.
Fans of other clubs saying that we overpaid for Boyd - what was the alternative, tanking in any of the years from 2012-14?