That's a sound theory John. The only thing is the team has to improve and be competitive in the meantime. It can't be all develop, develop. There has to be some balance.
All of our great sides in the 70's, and in 1980, had a lot of talented youth plus skilled older players. Several of these skilled older players such as Sproule, Walsh, Andrews, Thorpe, McGhie, Malthouse, Rowlings and Welsh were mature imports from other clubs. Some were at the end of their careers when recruited but it didn't stop them being valuable to the team while the next tier of youngsters were being developed.