I don't recall anyone mentioning prelims unless you mean in the context of Brad making one with norf and at the time there was no limit on what they could achieve. There is now obviously because they ****ed it up and have all but run out of chances.
I get what Zach is saying though - he (Scott) has had two full seasons to evaluate the list. The same thing has happened both times - this year, at full strength, we’ve learned it’s not good enough to make finals.
Next season, for eg., we can’t have Goldy playing 11 of the first 12 games and Bryan playing none. That decision may cost us a game or two - but we need to start pumping games into these younger guys. Finals shouldn’t be an absolute priority next year imo - seeing what we’ve got in Bryan, Hayes, Caddy, Roberts, Tsatas, Hobbs, etc. should be the priority.