Geelong list and recruiting boss Stephen Wells says the club wants to keep fringe youngsters Jordan Clark, Quinton Narkle and Charlie Constable.
The Cats trio have been on the outer for most of the season, but Wells hopes future opportunities at senior level will convince them to stay.
Clark has another year to run on his contact, while Narkle and Constable both remain unsigned for the 2022.
“We definitely want to keep as many of the young players as we can on our list and convince them that there will be further opportunities down the track,” Wells told SEN’s Dwyane’s World.
“There are some good young players in our senior team right now – Esava Ratugolea, Max Holmes, Gryan Miers etc. We’ve got a mix of players at the moment even though we’ve got a big group of older players.
“We think that we will also logically create some opportunities down the track for those younger players.”
Wells admits striking the balance between contending and developing young talent isn’t easy as the Cats chase a first premiership since 2011.
“It’s a hard team to get a game in,” Wells told
“It’s very hard contending and also developing young players at the same time. Hopefully if they hang around long enough, they’ll get their chances.
“The young guys that come into the club, even though they’re not playing senior footy every week, they’re getting the opportunity to train and learn from some players that have been outstanding players – champions of our club for a long time.
“It’s hard to get a game and players do want to be playing senior AFL footy but our circumstances just at the moment, it might not always be this way in years to come, some of those players have had to wait.”
Clark, 20, has made 11 senior appearances this season, taking his career games tally to 32 across three years.
Narkle, 23, has played 33 games in four seasons, while Constable, 21, has managed just 12 games since debuting in 2019.