When will we contend again?

[hayes]

I find it hard to think that losing four or five core players from our previously successful team in one season isn't going to have a damaging effect on our ladder position - not that those players should have stayed, it's just that their loss will have an effect on the place. New players will have to learn new structures, etc, and establish themselves in new positions.

Having said that, I would not be surprised if we finish somewhere between 7-10 again.

I agree. I know a lot of people are obsessed with age around here, but IMO it's games played that matters more and the guys we expect to take those positons like Stanley, Siposs, Dunell, Ledger, Newnes have all played less than 20 games and probably won't be ready to play the way we think they eventually will.

 

[Persevering Saint]

For a team not doing a Melbourne, I think we're finding ourselves VERY close to doing so.

Fact is, you can pretty much guarantee that come 2014, that's going to become an even bigger list: it is not unlikely that Hayes and Riewoldt could be gone by then. Kosi will definitely be gone.

Pelchen and Watters are going to have to be miracle-workers here. We are kinda ONE year - just ONE year - from being in a healthy position. You chuck another 20ish games onto each of those players you've mentioned, and it's not so bad. If they were about 50 gamers, they'd be in a good spot. The fact that even somebody like Armo hasn't played as much is also a concern. We may well find Armitage and Geary taking on a disproportionate amount of respect by 2015, simply because they are the deepest end of a rather shallow experience pool.