The Western Bulldogs will again field one of the least experienced squads in 2020, despite playing finals football last season.
On the back of last week’s NAB AFL Draft, Champion Data has crunched the numbers and revealed the Bulldogs will enter the season with the 14th most experienced list in the AFL.
The Bulldogs’ playing group averages 57.67 games per player – with Geelong (80.72) the competition’s most experienced team and Gold Coast (52.08) the least experienced.
In terms of age, the Bulldogs are also on the younger side of the ledger – sitting 10th with an average age of 23.99 years.
Collingwood’s average age of 24.88 years narrowly shades that of West Coast (24.80), Hawthorn (24.66) and North Melbourne (24.66) as the oldest in the competition.
The Magpies’ list will include six players over the age of 30 by the start of next season, including captain Scott Pendlebury and fellow veterans Travis Varcoe, Chris Mayne, Levi Greenwood, Ben Reid and Dayne Beams.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Suns have both the youngest list (23.41 years) and the least experienced list (52.08 games) in the competition.
Gold Coast, who added first-round draft picks Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Sam Flanders to last year's top-six selections in Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Ben King, has only three 30-year-old players and only three 150-game players on its list.
Brisbane, Fremantle and Sydney are the next youngest lists in the competition, with all three having an average age of just 23.54 years each.
Having just recruited three top-10 draft picks in Hayden Young, Caleb Serong and Liam Henry, Fremantle has the least experienced list behind Gold Coast.
Club-by-club age breakdown
Average Age | 18-21yo | 22-26yo | 27-29yo | 30+ | |
1. Collingwood | 24.88 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 6 |
2. West Coast | 24.8 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 4 |
3. Hawthorn | 24.66 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 7 |
4. North Melbourne | 24.66 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 3 |
5. Geelong | 24.65 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
6. GWS | 24.56 | 16 | 18 | 6 | 5 |
7. St Kilda | 24.3 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 3 |
8. Essendon | 24.19 | 13 | 20 | 6 | 3 |
9. Richmond | 24.01 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
10. Western Bulldogs | 23.99 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 4 |
11. Port Adelaide | 23.9 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 4 |
12. Adelaide | 23.87 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 3 |
13. Melbourne | 23.86 | 13 | 22 | 5 | 3 |
14. Carlton | 23.75 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 6 |
15. Brisbane | 23.54 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 4 |
16. Fremantle | 23.54 | 20 | 16 | 8 | 1 |
17. Sydney | 23.54 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 3 |
18. Gold Coast | 23.41 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 3 |
Club-by-club matches breakdown
Matches | <20 | 21-50 | 51-100 | 101-150 | 151+ | |
1. Geelong | 80.72 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
2. Hawthorn | 80.25 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 12 |
3. West Coast | 77.89 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
4. Collingwood | 75.93 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
5. Port Adelaide | 69.02 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
6. North Melbourne | 68.95 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
7. GWS | 68.87 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
8. Richmond | 68.82 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
9. Carlton | 64.33 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 6 |
10. Essendon | 62.83 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
11. St Kilda | 62.2 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
12. Melbourne | 60.42 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 3 |
13. Adelaide | 59.19 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
14. Western Bulldogs | 57.67 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 3 |
15. Brisbane | 56.15 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
16. Sydney | 55.6 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
17. Fremantle | 54.11 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
18. Gold Coast | 52.08 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
