North are at the same level as Geelong...

[TheOneAndOnlyKJ]

...of 2005/2006.

Think about it, Geelong had nearly the same playing list three years ago (except for guys like Harry Taylor, Prismall, Stokes, Lonergan and Selwood) and showed glimpses of being a great side but suffered some humiliating losses as well. Have a read:

http://stats.rleague.com/afl/teams/geelong/allgames.html

Now look at Geelong. Do I have to say anything?

Suddenly I'm not as disappointed by the losses in recent weeks. We (hopefully) have something to look forward to. We have a lot of young guys we can develope into great players:

Adams
Campbell
Edwards
Goldstein
Greenwood
Grima
Hale
Hansen
Lower
McIntosh
McMahon
Riggio
Ross
JWS
Josh Smith
Tarrant
Scott Thompson
Urquhart
Wells

All these guys are under 25, and all could be better-than-decent footballers. Add to them the guys like Power, Firrito, Petrie, Gibbo and Pratty who are still in their mid-20's.

Geelong stuck with their young guys and are a reaping the rewards. If we do the same over the next two or three seasons we are on the right track for success.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Does anyone else remember Carey sticking four fingers up in Tom Harley's face to remind him what a crap defender he was?

We certainly all remember how utterly crap Hawthorn were not long ago - and it's not just Buddy, guys have got older, more experienced and more used to playing with each other and to a plan.

 

[Kimbo]

While this may offer comfort to some, I am growing concerned at the tendency to think a premiership window is about to open up. Equally, at one level I can agree with Laidley that we are closer to a premiership - shared workload and more experience - yet I wonder if there isn't a sense of misplaced anticipation that can arise from such comments.

Looking back on the history of premiership teams makes interesting reading, but projecting this onto other teams is fraught with danger and disappointment I reckon. You don't win premierships till you consistently win games you should, your fair share of games against other contenders and those little games at the end of the year, called finals!!!

Sick of 'hope'. Show me the wins!

 

[Hearts to hearts]

While this may offer comfort to some, I am growing concerned at the tendency to think a premiership window is about to open up. Equally, at one level I can agree with Laidley that we are closer to a premiership - shared workload and more experience - yet I wonder if there isn't a sense of misplaced anticipation that can arise from such comments.

Looking back on the history of premiership teams makes interesting reading, but projecting this onto other teams is fraught with danger and disappointment I reckon. You don't win premierships till you consistently win games you should, your fair share of games against other contenders and those little games at the end of the year, called finals!!!

Sick of 'hope'. Show me the wins!

I certainly don't think we are destined to win a flag because of any of this. I'm just agreeing that we won't win one unless we have some patience, and don't throw up our hands and ditch players (or coaches) before they get enough of a chance to grow as individual and a team.

 

[Star]

Re the OP I think a number of teams could claim the same thing.

The recent Brisbane and West Coast premiership teams had 4 out-and-out brilliant mids and probably 4 back-ups. This Geelong team could claim the same (Ablett, Bartell, Corey, Selwood) and the same minimum 4 back-ups (if not more).

This is the area we are well behind in as to be frank only Boomer and Wells at their very best could get a rotation in there and we don't have another half-a-dozen waiting in the wings for this perceived premiership team we have in 2-3 years.

 

[Gasometer]

Agreed with Star.

Unless there is some miracle crop of midfielders on that extensive list above, we need some big replacements for the likes of Boomer and Simmo.

Astounded to read tonight that Wellsy has 123 games under his belt.

The real pity of this year has been the inconsistency, because the thing that cuts me up tonight is that there were some games this year that suggested that we could have gone along way had we been able to recapture that form.

Gaso

 

[Ashley B]

We possibly have the new crop of midfielders but it takes sometimes a few years to develop them Firrito, Jesse Smith, Harding at times , Urquhart and add Thomas and Campbell as burst players with Lower, Riggio and Ross. It all depends on how hard they are willing to work . Many of these players are fairly quick and skilled and 3 or 4 would be the size of midfielder we are looking for. We would still have Rawlings, Wells, Harris,Simmo,Swallow? and Harvey .
I imagine we will delist Shagga retired, Brown , Sansbury, Davies, Grima and possibly Thommo, Sinclair and Warren rookie? So theres 8 possibilities and 8 more spots.

 

[RoyalBlue]

Haven't read the OP, but if he means we're both at sealevel, then he's probably right.

 

[bubbleeroos]

I think to win a premiership you need a great crop of 25-27 year olds, plus a couple of youngsters and a number of expereinced guys too. Give it another year or two of being underrated and we'll be there. Just wait.. just four weeks ago we were playing like a top team, the ability and promise is there.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

The ability is there for sure. But will it be coached well enough to turn it into results on the field? Raw talent only gets you so far.