18 - Carlton
17 - Richmond
16 - Port Adelaide
16 - Hawthorn
15 - Brisbane Lions
14 - St Kilda
14 - Western Bulldogs
13 - Kangaroos
13 - Adelaide
12 - Melbourne
12 - West Coast
12 - Geelong
11 - Fremantle
11 - Essendon
11 - Collingwood
10 - Sydney
10 - St Kilda of 2005
We only have 4 players in our side with 150+ games experience, below the average of 5 for teams that competed this weekend.
If you take about 150 of Harvey's games out of the equation (because he skews the result somewhat), we have the 5th lowest average games in the AFL.
What's my point?
That we have an inexperienced side.
Consider the fact that in 2005:
- We averaged 6 players per game with 150+ games experience
- We averaged 10 players per game with <100 games experience.
Compare that with 2007 and you can see where the difference is.
We have effectively lost 7 players since 2005 who averaged about 130 games experience between them.
So when people say we went backwards in 2006 - well consider the fact that we had a lot more youth and inexperience in the team than when we made Prelims.
It wasn't Thomas' fault, it wasn't poor recruiting ... it was our inexperience and the diminished output from our older players.
And when people say we went backwards in 2007 - well consider the fact that we have EVEN MORE youth and inexperience in the team.
We are one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the AFL.