Not at the current levels of rotation I wouldn't have thought.
It would take a pretty remarkable athlete to be able to generate the 12-18kms of running, combined with the repeat efforts etc... that most players need to produce for you to be a good team. Even the key forwards and backs are generally in that range and if you're not then you can bet the opposition are going to make you chase and chase and chase.
For example, every team is aware of the tracking data of every other team and they will look to use that to their advantage. If a defender has lower numbers in intensity then a team will try and rotate targets through them and make them blow up. If a team tries to use the player they call the strap, the last defender who sits behind the play, then teams will try and force a weaker runner back to kill the opportunity to split the ground. We changed things with Rance and Grimes, two hugely capable runners in that spot so now those guys have to be players like Tom Jonas who is as good a runner as Port have on their list.
The thing with someone like Stack is when they talk about him being a little behind in the level required at the moment, he is still going to be miles ahead of most players from 10 or 15 years ago and before in terms of intensity. In the past a great runner like a Robert Harvey would grind out similar distances but he would do it like a half marathon runner, at a steady, consistent pace.
Now, we expect players to have intensity in their running. It's about hard, repeat efforts, not just covering huge distance. Training is rarely done over more than a km or two in distance at the most, all about repeat intensity of smaller distances.
A lot of people have the capacity to run distance off little training but it's impossible to do high intensity without the work. For example, if you were to try and go to the oval and do a 10 minute run at a comfortable pace, you'd likely get through it without too much discomfort, even with zero training beforehand. If we were to cover the same distance you ran in that 10 minutes, but ask you to do it in intervals where you run hard for a short distance then recover, and repeat, then someone without training will be the Sheriff of Struggletown really quickly.
The thing with Stack is he can be really fit but not intensity running fit. Being intensity running fit takes mental strength and a willingness to push through enormous physical discomfort. For whatever reason, a lot of the indigenous boys struggle with it and take a bit longer to build the capacity.
The reason I'm optimistic with Stack is not everyone can play footy really well at an AFL level like he can, but anyone can get themselves super fit. If they want to.
