What is often overlooked as a major concern because of the draconian draft penalties is the relative lack of progress from the players that have been at the club for between 3-5 seasons. Wells, Goddard and someone like McLean would definitely help us and we'd definitely be a better side with them in the current side, and they'd give us more hope for the future.

But just as important a problem and possibly more significant in my book is the following. Luke Livingston, pick 4. Trent Sporn, pick 11. Simon Wiggins, pick 15. Murray Vance, pick 6. Kris Massie, pick 7. These five players all went in the top 15 in the draft in the late 90s-2000. The return the club has got from them on the whole has been one well short of what might have been expected from such a selection of picks. There have been varying reasons for this, Sporn and Livo have had injury troubles, Murray Vance struggled with life in the city, Massie broke his leg etc. Another important reason is that these players, especially Sporn, Livo and Wiggins, i.e. the 2000 draftees, have played their whole careers in a 'losing' environment, and also an environment that saw several club champions leave within a short space of time. They have played and are still playing in a side with a manifest lack of leadership. There is no Michael Voss, Nathan Buckley at Carlton. And who knows, throw them into the Brisbane side of the past few years, and they might have looked like pretty decent players.

The problem is that 4/5 selections (not Vance, who we never really saw) have not vindicated the decision of the recruiting department and whoever else to take them so early in the draft. In other words, we have not seen the progress we might reasonably have expected from picks 4, 7, 11 and 15 in the draft. And this is what's hurting us as much as anything. These blokes should be established AFL players who will play 150+ games of footy. Yet we're just hoping that they even make it as 'good ordinary' players. Wiggins and Sporn have been VFL regulars. Livo is ok and has improved but nothing to write home about.

As I've said there are mitigating factors that can be argued. But these players have to be doing more than they are. This is a big reason why we are where we are. The draft picks that we missed out on hurt but the players already at the club haven't come on as might have been expected.