Agree on the Watters/Lyon thing about what if, but some of the facts are wishy washy IMO.vacuous space wrote:Lyon's coaching a team that's still two thirds players who couldn't do anything right under Harvey. They're sitting just outside the top four. Watters has piloted a finals team into the bottom four. If anyone's not worried, I envy them. I can't be sure right now that Watters isn't the problem. I can't help but look at Freo's spot on the ladder and wonder what if.
It could be the list. It could be the lack of quality kids. It could equally be that the kids who were played under Lyon have been failed by Watters. I'd love to believe that, either way, we'll come good again because of the cyclical nature of the draft, but I don't. I don't see the draft working in cycles. Most good teams have very few early draft picks and most bad teams have a lot of them. As often as there's a team like Richmond, on the rise with a wealth of draftees due to a decade-plus of futility, there's Freos, Geelongs and Sydneys that have very little in the way of predestined superstars.
My worry is, in five years time, we'll be one of those teams that has a lot of picks and can't quite figure out why it hasn't made us into a good team. I was also worried this far into Lyon's term though. I don't think we can afford to needlessly pay two coaches like Carlton is. If things haven't turned by the end of Watters contract, I can't see him getting an extension. I don't think we have any choice but to be optimistic, but each loss makes it harder. Particularly when we're as far from it as we were today.
Every team has gone down to go back up, some just stay longer, mix of good drafting and luck.
Geelong has been blessed with generational father/sons, but drafted well, and most importantly developed well.
Swans were down the bottom to get McVeigh, Bolton, Goodes etc they are just lasting longer with fresh good talent and sensational trading.
Hawks were down, how else do they get Buddy, Roughy, Ellis, Lewis, Thorpe, Dowler etc. They actually didnt draft that well, but they have maintained their list beautifully.
Look at their team now, Gibson, Guerra, Lake, Gunstan, Hale, Burgoyne etc, fair % of their team all traded in.
It is cyclical, though i will agree that it just doesn't happen, it needs to be done well.
We do seem to however fall off the perch spectactularly when we fall.
( God help me)
