Change in age demographic

[cwrcyn]

Most of the players who were moved on at the end of the season were aged 26 or older

Campbell 33
Crouch 30
Ross 31
Membrey 31
Hayes 28
Bonner 28
Paton 26
Battle 26

We've added Macrae (30) and Carroll (21) so far. The rest will be kids with maybe the exception of a mature ruck recruit

Once the draft is over, we'll likely have 20 players aged 21 or under.

Ross Lyon, when appointed, said he wanted to go to the draft. He's been true to his word

[Scollop]

Ross Lyon, when appointed, said he wanted to go to the draft. He's been true to his word

In fairness, the 3 year strategy to focus on using our early round picks in the National Draft was agreed upon before Ross was appointed.

Bassett, Ratten, Rath, and Lethlean created the strategy after the review in 2022. Bassett and the board have ensured that Lyon and Silvagni continue to implement the plan.

[cwrcyn]

Thanks for clarifying.

In any case, thank goodness the shift in strategy happened

[samuraisaint]

Aren't we putting Crouch on the rookie list?
Anyway, I would like to think that we would definitely be going to the draft (esp for our first two picks) right up until the Tasmania team comes in.
This year I sincerely we hope we pick two pure midfielders.

[Yorkeys]

Aren't we putting Crouch on the rookie list?
Anyway, I would like to think that we would definitely be going to the draft (esp for our first two picks) right up until the Tasmania team comes in.
This year I sincerely we hope we pick two pure midfielders.

Because key position defenders you can get at Aldi?
Can't disagree, at same time note North have very talented mids but get beaten a lot and Sydney are blessed with mids but failed miserably in the GF, similarly Port have a terrific mid field but fell over, apparently because big bodies in key positions are important.
Confounded problem, fix the midfield then defence leaks, fix defence and big forwards go missing. Glad it's SOS' 3D chess game.

[spert]

Aren't we putting Crouch on the rookie list?
Anyway, I would like to think that we would definitely be going to the draft (esp for our first two picks) right up until the Tasmania team comes in.
This year I sincerely we hope we pick two pure midfielders.

Because key position defenders you can get at Aldi?
Can't disagree, at same time note North have very talented mids but get beaten a lot and Sydney are blessed with mids but failed miserably in the GF, similarly Port have a terrific mid field but fell over, apparently because big bodies in key positions are important.
Confounded problem, fix the midfield then defence leaks, fix defence and big forwards go missing. Glad it's SOS' 3D chess game.

Top teams win finals- the team needs to be the best, not just have a couple of elite players. The trick is to develop a balanced team, with a few adaptable players who can be swung around different positions when needed- so the ability gap between the bottom 6 in the team and top 6 is not huge, and inconsistency across the season is reduced. Easier said than done mind you..

[samuraisaint]

Aren't we putting Crouch on the rookie list?
Anyway, I would like to think that we would definitely be going to the draft (esp for our first two picks) right up until the Tasmania team comes in.
This year I sincerely we hope we pick two pure midfielders.

Because key position defenders you can get at Aldi?
Can't disagree, at same time note North have very talented mids but get beaten a lot and Sydney are blessed with mids but failed miserably in the GF, similarly Port have a terrific mid field but fell over, apparently because big bodies in key positions are important.
Confounded problem, fix the midfield then defence leaks, fix defence and big forwards go missing. Glad it's SOS' 3D chess game.

Top teams win finals- the team needs to be the best, not just have a couple of elite players. The trick is to develop a balanced team, with a few adaptable players who can be swung around different positions when needed- so the ability gap between the bottom 6 in the team and top 6 is not huge, and inconsistency across the season is reduced. Easier said than done mind you..

We're definitely on the right track. Chito, NWM, Windhager, Matteas, Darcy Wilson, Henry, Higgins, King, Clark, Caminiti, Cooper Sharman, and I would have said Battle, are all great young talent. But we need to get our next Rob Harvey and Lenny Hayes types which don't grow on trees. Next year we can go all in on tall defenders.

[samuraisaint]

Aren't we putting Crouch on the rookie list?
Anyway, I would like to think that we would definitely be going to the draft (esp for our first two picks) right up until the Tasmania team comes in.
This year I sincerely we hope we pick two pure midfielders.

Because key position defenders you can get at Aldi?
Can't disagree, at same time note North have very talented mids but get beaten a lot and Sydney are blessed with mids but failed miserably in the GF, similarly Port have a terrific mid field but fell over, apparently because big bodies in key positions are important.
Confounded problem, fix the midfield then defence leaks, fix defence and big forwards go missing. Glad it's SOS' 3D chess game.

Port win a lot of games and so do the Swans.
North was a good side right up until the lockdown in 2020, and since starting their rebuild have lost Francis and Tarryn Thomas and could have got Harley Reid - that is going to sting them for a long time, same as us not getting Petracca and Bontompelli stung us.
We're still looking for our next Jack Steven. This is the year we find him in the draft!

[D.B.Cooper]

Ross Lyon, when appointed, said he wanted to go to the draft. He's been true to his word

In fairness, the 3 year strategy to focus on using our early round picks in the National Draft was agreed upon before Ross was appointed.

Bassett, Ratten, Rath, and Lethlean created the strategy after the review in 2022. Bassett and the board have ensured that Lyon and Silvagni continue to implement the plan.

Implemented after we totally f***ed up 2019 & 2020 by not using our first round draft picks in the draft I assume.
Wherever it originates, I am glad we finally see sense and are using our FRDP and using them wisely on players such as NWM, Pou & Wilson.

[Scollop]

Simon Lethlean and Alan Richardson decided to bring in Dean Kent and Dan Hannebery in the 2018 trade period.

During Roo's last few years, I don't think the club
was focused on setting up the team with great development of young players. That led to a bit of a vacuum in 2018 when Joey and Roo retired, so they wanted to import leadership instead of building a legacy and handing over to future leaders.

Trout and Richo stuffed up our first rebuild. Richo was always struggling to patch holes and I think he tried too hard to please his captain while Roo was still playing. I think Roo and some of the other senior players hung around for 2 years more than they needed to (in the desperate hope that maybe they'd play finals again). I'm not saying they couldn't play to a high standard...I just don't think it was in the best interest of the team and the club for Chips, Gilbo, Joey and Roo to have played for as long as they did.

I think the club has finally worked it out. It's nearly impossible to compete with the Northern States teams with their academies and you can't pinch a flag with a Moneyball strategy. What they're doing now with the focus on developing our young talent will hopefully set us up for the next 10-15 years