In past years, Geelong (Joel Corey, Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel), West Coast (Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr, Chris Judd and Ben Cousins) and Brisbane Lions (Jason Akermanis, Simon Black, Michael Voss and Nigel Lappin) have used their depth in the midfield as a springboard to the flag.
Could it be Richmond's turn in a couple of years?
Trent Cotchin cannot see a reason why not.
Cotchin, in his fourth year for the Tigers, is not far off being considered among the competition's best.
Both he and teammate Dustin Martin are in the top five in the AFL for kicks and Cotchin is in the top five for inside 50s for this season.
The group has time on their side too - Nathan Foley is 25 and played his 100th match against the Lions; Cotchin is 21, with 54 games, and Martin is about to turn 20, with 34 matches played.
Cotchin says as he, Martin and Foley improve, so too will Richmond's premiership prospects.
"We are still very young, we have a lot of learning to do," he said.
"We have got a lot of areas to work on, with our contested footy, but when we win the clearances we get the ball going forward and it helps us set up.
"A lot relies on the midfield."
Cotchin and Martin were both instrumental in Richmond's win over the Lions on Saturday night.
Martin finished with 22 touches and five goals, Cotchin led the game with 30 touches and Foley had 22 disposals and seven hard-ball gets.
"It was really nice to finally get on top of them in the last quarter," Cotchin said.
