17th Premiership wrote:
These turnarounds generally take time and a good dose of luck.
The Cats launched their supremacy with the 2001 superdraft (Bartel, Kelly, Johnson, G Ablett Jnr). After having a mini-superraft i 1999 picking up Joel Corey, Ling and Enright... They won their first flag 5 years after the superdraft and 7 years after their first min-superdraft, in 2007 and only after reshaping their culture.
The Hawks launched their supremacy with their 2004 superdraft (Roughead, Franklin, Lewis) following their mini-superdraft in 2000 where they picked up a couple of hacks in Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchel (#36!!!) as well as Campbell Brown.
NB: This list rebuild was polished up a bit in 2007 with the addition of Rioli and the inspired pick of Stuart Dew...
They won their first flag, prematurely it must be said, in 2008. And the real dynasty launched itself in 2013, 8 years after their super-draft of 2004 and 12 years after Hodge and Mitchell arrived.
We had one really good genuine selection since the last of our no.1 picks in 2008 which was Cripps.
We really hope that last year's crop (Weitering, McKay, Curnow) turn out to be our version of a superdraft. And we are trying to manufacture a cumulative 'mini-superdraft' with high draft pick rejects/trades: Plowman, Sumner, Marchbank, Pickett (slim chance but not impossible).
On top of this would come the SPSs, Fisher... who we hope will turn into great players for us etc...
And then, we still kind of need to strike oil (with a couple of high picks who turn out to be great) in at least one more draft. Which is where we need to get a good trade done for Gibbs. I'm hoping he has a cracking year and the Crows lose a prelim or grand final by a few kicks. Then we can get 2 first round picks or at least one first round and another top 30 pick which we need to convert.
So, if all those things happen, we are in with a chance... at best 2020. More likely 2022-ish.
Pretty spot on I think.
Here's another spin on what we have ahead of us.
I doubt if any of the following would be on another AFL list (at best borderline calls)
Buckley
Kerridge
Boekhorst
Lamb
Jones
Jaksch
Armfield
Graham
Gorringe
Thomas
White
I hope I'm pleasantly surprised by Smedts and Palmer.
Early signs are that we will "earn" an early pick, maybe the AFL can make up a rule to give us a priority pick, two top 20 picks for Gibbs and we should have enough cash to attract a free agent.
We are starting further behind than any team has on a rebuild before.
Having said all that, Macreadie, Polson and Williamson all showed something at the weekend, fingers crossed!
Gibbs wasn't a two top 20 pick player last year.
We would've taken that.
He won't be this year either.
2020...gives us all a few years to come up with a few memes to dish out a little Facebook revenge.
I'm happy with Bolton. He's done nothing wrong.
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