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That was probably true during the naughties (and maybe the nineties) but I guess less so in the last decade. Though Kennedy, Mumford and Shaw played most of their Swans footy in the 2010s, despite being recruited before the decade began.
Since then our influx of players from other clubs has been limited by salary cap pressures and (to an extent) the trade ban. Those we've tried recently as "cheap" top ups to the squad (Lewis, Clarke, Brand, Gray) have been more hit than miss.
Maybe the ruckmen buck the trend somewhat. Hickey has been invaluable, albeit we'll only have him for a brief period. Ladhams may deliver for longer. And while Sinclair was only ever an "OK" ruckman, he's given us lionhearted service over many years.
Particularly in the 90s we had a steady flow of top draftees who deserted us - Grant, Rocca, the Richmond defender whose name deserts me. The outflow of fringe and middling players who have gone on to have good careers elsewhere feels more recent. Players like Phillips, Faulks, the injury-riddled Chapman didn't amount to much at their new clubs. But in the last decade we've experienced brief but promising outputs from Biggs and Murray, decent to excellent outputs from White, Nankervis, Newman, Jones, Cameron. I think it reflects well on our recruiters that they've identified so many players with latish ND and rookie draft picks who have formed the basis of our own team's success and contributed to others.
Since then our influx of players from other clubs has been limited by salary cap pressures and (to an extent) the trade ban. Those we've tried recently as "cheap" top ups to the squad (Lewis, Clarke, Brand, Gray) have been more hit than miss.
Maybe the ruckmen buck the trend somewhat. Hickey has been invaluable, albeit we'll only have him for a brief period. Ladhams may deliver for longer. And while Sinclair was only ever an "OK" ruckman, he's given us lionhearted service over many years.
Particularly in the 90s we had a steady flow of top draftees who deserted us - Grant, Rocca, the Richmond defender whose name deserts me. The outflow of fringe and middling players who have gone on to have good careers elsewhere feels more recent. Players like Phillips, Faulks, the injury-riddled Chapman didn't amount to much at their new clubs. But in the last decade we've experienced brief but promising outputs from Biggs and Murray, decent to excellent outputs from White, Nankervis, Newman, Jones, Cameron. I think it reflects well on our recruiters that they've identified so many players with latish ND and rookie draft picks who have formed the basis of our own team's success and contributed to others.
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