In another sign of their impending dominance of the competition, GWS will enter next season as one of the most experienced sides in the AFL.

Traditionally experience is an excellent indicator of the top contenders in any given year, and next year the Giants’ list will rank 2nd for age and 3rd for games played (up from 17th and 12th in 2016).

With the additions of Sam Mitchell and Drew Petrie, West Coast will be the most experienced side next year (1st in both rankings), with Hawthorn, Essendon and Fremantle not far behind.

At the other end of the rankings, North Melbourne will no longer be the butt of retirement home jokes with the Roos dropping from being the most experienced club in 2016 (1st in both indicators) to one of the least in 2017 (17th for age and 14th for games played).

Chris Fagan’s Lion cubs look set for a tough year, clearly ranking last for both age and games played.

AFL Clubs Experience by Age

Age Rank Club Avg Age 2016 Avg Age 2016 Age Rank 1st West Coast 25.0 years 24.2 years 4th 2nd GWS Giants 24.6 years 23.4 years 17th 3rd Hawthorn 24.6 years 24.2 years 5th 4th Fremantle 24.4 years 25.0 years 3rd 5th Essendon 24.4 years 25.0 years 2nd 6th Adelaide 24.0 years 24.0 years 8th 7th Richmond 24.0 years 23.8 years 11th 8th Collingwood 23.9 years 24.0 years 10th 9th St Kilda 23.9 years 23.6 years 14th 10th Western Bulldogs 23.9 years 23.6 years 13th 11th Geelong 23.9 years 24.2 years 6th 12th Gold Coast Suns 23.9 years 23.5 years 15th 13th Melbourne 23.9 years 23.5 years 16th 14th Carlton 23.9 years 24.0 years 7th 15th Port Adelaide 23.9 years 24.0 years 9th 16th Sydney 23.8 years 23.7 years 12th 17th North Melbourne 23.7 years 25.2 years 1st 18th Brisbane Lions 22.8 years 22.6 years 18th

AFL Clubs Experience by Games Played

Games Rank Club Avg Games Avg Games 2016 2016 Games Rank 1st West Coast 84 games 67 games 5th 2nd Hawthorn 77 games 73 games 3rd 3rd GWS Giants 74 games 54 games 12th 4th Essendon 68 games 72 games 4th 5th Fremantle 67 games 75 games 2nd 6th Collingwood 63 games 60 games 9th 6th Port Adelaide 63 games 66 games 6th 6th Western Bulldogs 63 games 57 games 10th 9th Richmond 61 games 61 games 8th 10th St Kilda 60 games 54 games 12th 11th Geelong 59 games 65 games 7th 11th Gold Coast Suns 59 games 53 games 15th 11th Sydney 59 games 56 games 11th 14th North Melbourne 58 games 90 games 1st 15th Adelaide 57 games 54 games 12th 15th Melbourne 57 games 51 games 17th 17th Carlton 53 games 53 games 15th 18th Brisbane Lions 41 games 42 games 18th

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