I think saying their window is about to close is a bit harsh MT. They said the same thing about them 3 years ago.
Rocca, Presti are getting old but other than height aren't integral to the pies plans. O'Bree is a clanger king and Lockyer is just a solid pro. Couple of their under 22s are going to be stars. The real problem is not the age of their list but the quality. Saints had Riewoldt and Dal Santo really come to the fore. Pies have plenty of good finishers (Davis, Thomas, Didak etc) but lack the classy midfielders who can get control of a game and turn it the other way.
They always seems to get 110% out of their list Collingwood and can be commended for it, but unless they do a Sydney and catch a year when a lot of teams are rebuilding I doubt they'll win a flag under Malthouse because someone else is always peaking higher.
That bit in bold has been the case at Collingwood since Hafey was their coach. Average sides under good coaches that always fail in finals.
I'm not comparing them to Richmond and the awful state we're in with a side with no pride as all. The Pies do give their all for each other and are super fit. All I'm saying is most of their core that Malthouse has based his side around in the past 10 years will be retiring or slowing down at the very least in 3 years time. Davis will be 31 and Didak will be almost 30 as will many of their current side. That'll be a lot of experience lost. Thomas is still young (22) but he's a frontrunner. If they're relying on him when the chips are down then good luck to them. I can still remember someone calling him the next Hird
. Pendlebury is a gun (a massive loss for them if his leg is broken), Cloke should be a gun, Shaw is still young, O'Brien is good and Beams looks a footballer. As for the rest - meh! Earlier in the season when they were missing most of their core senior group due to injury they struggled. They were 3-5 IIRC before getting their 'names' back and then winning 12 out of 14.
Finishing in the finals thanks to their soft draws and with the new teams coming in hogging the first round picks will make it harder for the Pies to find the A-graders they need to remain a genuine top 4 side. I'm not saying they'll fall away completely but IMHO their window will close in 2012 which times in with the end of Malthouse's reign. It should be interesting behind closed doors discussing recruiting with Micky coaching for the now and Bucks as coach in waiting. It won't surprise me if the Pies top up this draft/trade period going all out for a flag in the next two years.
