I close my eyes and picture that photo taken last November, Ross, with a smile as wide as his face, clutching hold of our six new draftees. To me, that photo gave me hope for 2011. Unfortunately, it all quickly came tumbling down - we saw a few games given to kids, but in my opinion, not long enough. Lenny did his knee, as did Gwilt. And of course, Gilbert, Riewoldt and Dal were all caught up in the 'St.Kilda School Girl' saga.
Now I close my eyes and think of a photo that will hopefully be taken in a little over a month's time from now. Our new coach, new assistant coaches, Ahmed Saad, Terry Milera and a bunch of exciting new draftees. Again, feelings of hope will seep from us faithful. I also imagine Chris Pelchan and Ameet Bains somewhere in the background, hard to see, but also brimming with a huge smile, knowing their massive part in this.
This year, Geelong won the flag as one of the oldest teams in decades. However, had we won it we would not have beaten that record - we are not as old as Geelong, and whilst some believe our window closed, I believe it still very much open.
If you look at the below table, you will see that in 2011 Geelong had 11 players over 29 years of age. We have 8, however this includes Baker and Gardiner, meaning in 2012 we will have the same number as Adelaide, Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn and West Coast, with Riewoldt, Kosi, Milne, Hayes, Fisher and Blake. We also have the most amount of players in the 26-28 age-bracket - whilst there is generally little improvement to come from this bracket, they are often the players playing at their peak.
Our issue is 22-25 year olds, having the 3rd least in the competition (behind Gold Coast and GEELONG). However, the addition of Saad and Milera will take us just below the league average in 2012. We are 3 below the average in players 18-21, which is a worry for the future, but it hopefully shouldnt effect us too much in 2012.
_______18-21____22-25____26-28____29+
Adel_____9_______ 18_______7_______6
Bris_____12_______14_______7_______5
Carl_____9________20_______8_______6
Coll_____17_______20_______5_______7
Ess______9_______20_______7________4
Freo____10_______15_______8________5
Geel____14_______12_______6_______11
GC_____28________7_______5________3
Haw____13_______18_______11_______6
Melb____13_______22_______6________4
NM_____11_______19_______6________4
Port____10_______16_______9________5
Rich____12_______22_______5________3
St.K_____9_______13______12________8
Syd____10_______16_______9________7
WC_____11_______19_______7________6
WB_____11_______16_______6________8
Av.____12.2______16.9_____7.3______5.8
So from looking at these numbers, I don't think our list is in as dire shape as what has been suggested. Yes, we are getting a bit older, but we are not yet over the hill. The worry is that five of our players 29+ are also five of our best, but most of them should still be able to compete at their peak for another 1-2 years.
I believe that with a good pre-season, a bit of rejuvenation around the club (fresh faces, new coach, new game-plan), all hope should not be lost for 2012.
Go the Sainters!
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