The bizarre element is Perryman (who hasn’t had a single query on his age) and Houston are just 18 months apart in age. Houston’s age is a non factor.
It’s just poor heuristics! 27 sounds close to 28 which sounds like ‘almost-30’ and 10y ago 30 was the round number that tipped you over the sporting elite edge. So the shortcut becomes 27 = past their best.