bar Morton who was drafted 4 seasons ago with anorexia

HA!

Your post is all well and good, but you're forgetting something.

It's all fine and dandy to say that these 10 guys are going to bulk up. And you're right, they will, and in general they'll improve. But you have to realise that there's still a lot happening at the top end of our pool of players that will be hard to replace... or more specifically that these kids will have to replace themselves.

Granted there will be many that will moan about Green's footy this year, or Sylvia's broken down body... But there is still a lot of important work being done by our top-agers.

Guys like Moloney (27) Davey (28) Jamar (27) MacDonald (26) Green (30) Sylvia (25) Rivers (26)... They all play important roles in the side when up and running. With the exception of maybe Jamar who can play many more years, and Sylvia who has time (and the body of a 53 year old) these guys will need replacements in those coming years. Add to that the fact that guy like Jones, Jurrah, Garland, Frawley, Martin (25!!!) and Petterd have all probably plateaued in terms of physical development... and you'll find that it's not as simple as saying:

Take performance on weekend, add 30 games, set to simmer for 2 years, and Bob's your uncle.

Some of these gun kids, who I agree look good, may not make it... not even necessarily through any fault of their own. But then some of them will need to step into some gaping holes left. I'm thinking particularly of Moloney and Sylvia, and to a lesser extent Green and Rivers.

Your point is well made, that the sheer weight of numbers in terms of players maturing at that time is what will define our success as a club. But I thought it was worth looking at the facts that these young leaders like Trengove, Scully if he stays, Watts and McKenzie... some of them will add to what we have, and some will step into roles that are already occupied and playing quite well.

Macdonald was a big out. Tapscott would help a lot too with some of the weak efforts put in down back by Garland and even Frawley.

The fact that last night was our 4th game since the QB(18 days) was also a telling factor on the young bodies. IMO even older sides would have struggled with that kind of scheduling.

Agree. Tight shceduling catches up with teams in most professional leagues.

The fact that last night was our 4th game since the QB(18 days) was also a telling factor on the young bodies. IMO even older sides would have struggled with that kind of scheduling.

I also think it was no surprise that Melbourne and Richmond got thrashed this round. Our clash last weekend produced over 160 tackles, tons of contested possession in the second half, and a match that was in the balance deep into the last quarter. That was a tough match between two young sides and both teams really struggled to get up for this weekend.

We are still a bit light compared to other clubs. The average weight for an ALF footballer is about 87-88kg. Our median average is 85kgs. No wonder we went for 4 talls in the 2010 draft.

Guys like Moloney (27) Davey (28) Jamar (27) MacDonald (26) Green (30) Sylvia (25) Rivers (26)... They all play important roles in the side when up and running.

Our 8 most-experienced players (those who have played 100 games plus) are among the worst in the league for A-Grade quality. Our next 7 (50-100 games) includes Dunn, Bate and Warnock who can't even get a regular game.

We've got quite a wait before our real talent gets to the 80-100 games required to have enough experience, not to mention strong bodies. Most of them haven't even played 30 games each.