The million dollar question - How long will it take??

[One Eyed Saint]

To be a competitive top 4 side again....

How many years? - my guess 2-3 years
How many trades? - 1 ruckman and 1 key defender
How many delistings? - 7 to 10 incl polo, blake, ray, peake amongst others

My take on it is that there is no point doing a Nth Melbourne and being competitve to just miss the eight - no point and serves no long term purpose.

About round 14 when we are 4 / 8 we should plan for the future, promote a few rookies and see how things go.

It's going to be a tough few years ahead....

[Old Mate]

I hope we don't tank however we will naturally go backwards in order to go forwards. By doing this we will obtain some decent picks and if we use them right then realistically we could be a top 4 team in another 4-5 years at a minimum, probably longer.

[battye]

2 to 3 years is optimistic. I think probably it will be 5 years and the core of this group will have retired. I hope we still have Goddard at that point because he'll likely be the only superstar of this era left. Maybe 2017 will be a repeat of 2004; a solid young, up-and-coming group that bursts from the gates. Hopefully with a better outcome in September than in 2004.

[mullet]

It only took westcoast 1 year

[dragit]

How many years? - my guess 2-3 years.

This is when we will be at our most un-competitive… when most of our current best 8-10 players - (Roo, Hayes, Goddard, Dal, Fisher, Montagna, Kosi, Milne, etc) will either be leaving or at the very end of the careers…

If we get some decent picks & draft well, we could be top 4 again in around 5-6 years for mine…

[defacto]

It only took westcoast 1 year

no it didnt. it took 2-3.

[mr six o'clock]

We have got talented young players , its time to play them !!!
Siposs was average tonight but should stay in !
Saad did a couple of nice things and should stay in !
millera should play every game !
Stanley should play every game !
Simpkin Should play every game !
ledger should come in !
Cripps and Newnes should play at least 12 games !

All these younger players have good ability and just need their confidence to grow .

Older players with poor disposal ( thats what killed us tonight ) must make way !

[Old Mate]

It only took westcoast 1 year

no it didnt. it took 2-3.

WC finished 3rd in 2007...Then 4th in 2011.

[battye]

Where is our next superstar going to come from? That is the key question for me. I reckon Stanley looks like a great prospect - imagine if he could become a dominant forward but athletic enough to rack up 20+ touches a week and pinch hit in the ruck? Milera looks like he will be a gun. The others show promise too. But nobody on our list looks like they could be a superstar in the vein of a Riewoldt or a Goddard.

Maybe Steven could be an A-grade midfielder in time... maybe.

But ultimately I think the only way we will get that superstar prospect is through high draft picks.

[The Fireman]

hard to say, after being there tonight and sadly witnessing our downfall I would have to say we have lost all the attributes we had when vying for the flag 3 yrs ago, we simply don't have the leg speed anymore, our champs are now seeing out their twilight years and collecting their pay checks. We have some promising kids coming up but the likes of champions like Roo, Dal, Lenny,Fisher just can't prop us up any more. Don't hold your breath guys for another tilt at the bigtime..just enjoy going to the games for at least another 7 yrs..at least and hope for some incredible sponsorship and recruiting.. Sad but True.