I don't think it hurt them, if anything it actually gave them an AFL reserves team to develop the talent and then the FA it all just filtered out.
Only really Essendon, who kind of derailed themselves thanks to Hird and his supplement program, of the sides at the bottom in 2010/11 haven't ended up very strong since. WCE, Richmond, Port, Brisbane, Adelaide and even Melbourne (for Melbourne) have been successful since.
GWS where pretty unlucky they didn't dominate a 2018 super draft or 2 if they did then they would have been the dominating force they should have been
I think we can thank Leon Cameron and whoever has created the abortion that is their salary cap management for them not dominating for a solid 5 year period. Their ability to push talent out the door has been second to none. Cameron keeping them handcuffed on field sure hasn't hurt either.