It is not the number of injuries that Freo have that is the problem. It is the impact of missing those particular players.
Making comparisons to a team like Gold Coast shows a very poor understanding. If Freo had the drafting options that Gold Coast had in the last 6 years, then we wouldn't be having this conversation.
People still don't seem to respect just how much Freo have relied on 211 and their midfield over the last few years. The statistics supporting this theory are overwhelming. I was rapt (Edit, ta DS) with the recruiting of Bennell, because I imagined Bennell would make Freo's already dominating midfield even better in 2016. I'm pretty sure Roly wasn't planning on winning the premiership without 211, Fyfe or Bennell. They would have been key players in Roly's game plans and Freo (nor other teams) have players who can step up to fill those shoes.
NB: Since Roly took over in 2012, Freo have won 67.5 (1 draw) of 105 games, a 64.3% win ratio. During that time 211 has 72 games for 51 wins, a 72.8% win ratio. Compare that to let's say Hodge since 2012. The Hawks have a 109 games for 86 (Edit, I wrongly had 96 typo) wins = 78.9% and Hodge has 80 games for 64 wins = 80%. That is, 211's presence is extremely significant to the success of Freo. Far more significant than Hodge is for Hawthorn (8.5% improvement for 211, 1.1% improvement for Hodge).
The continual criticisms of Freo's recruiting staff for not having a succession plan for 211, Pav, McPharlin, etc... makes me scratch my head. They are star players which you can't find and replace just by having a plan. If it was that easy, every team would be doing it and Freo would have done it. Every team out there are trying to find those sort of players
