Brian,
I suppose I am guilty as well, of just staying where I am the most comfortable. When I started posting a few years ago, it was with the writers that are now on #2. Is it a clique? Perhaps... but in all fairness, anyone can be a part of it. All you have to do is Constructively critique others' work and be willing to try and do it as often as you can. Most people here are more than ready to accept new writers and try to help them however they can. As far as the other part about the mentor critiques, I think it'd be a really nice thing to have. We all want to know how we'd stack up when it matters and their feedback on a regular basis would be appreciated. There could be a "no more critiques from the mentor" penalty if someone tries to glom onto one of them for free. Thanks for all you do,
Tony