At the end of the year, a number of AFL champions will have decisions to make about whether they push on into 2024 or retire.
This year there is a particularly large crop of veterans with a decision to make and Kane Cornes and David King have gone through them and made a call.
Richmond has seemingly told Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin that they can make their own decision and King believes that is a good way to handle it.
“I think what Richmond is doing with Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin is really smart. They’ve been told it’s up to them if they want to play on. I love that. There’s no guarantee of selection. If you play on, you might be in the reserves. This is your call,” King told SEN Breakfast.
Read their thoughts on a number of veterans below:
Lance Franklin (Sydney)
King: “That would be my discussion with Buddy (the same as Richmond’s above). ‘We’re happy to have you go on, it won’t be on the full pay that you’ve had, it’ll be on a normal contract with bonuses built in and if your form dips like it has a little bit, you may be squeezed out of the team for some of the developing forwards that we need to get games into’.”
Cornes: “I’m just a hard no on Buddy. I would sit him down and say ‘thank you, but we need to move on’.”
Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
King: “I would take Rory Sloane at the Kangaroos in a heartbeat. A good solid leader. I’m not rushing him out the door if I’m Adelaide. There’s more leadership outside the two hours of a weekend that are really important to your program.”
Cornes: “I’m also a hard no on Sloane as well. I just think with where they’re at, and just looking at his body, he’s just not impacting and there’s young players that need minutes like Jake Soligo.”
Jack Ziebell (North Melbourne)
King: “Been a warrior, thanks for everything, Jack.”
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Dyson Heppell (Essendon)
King: “Same as Ziebell. I think he’s performed his task at the Bombers and finishes on a high note.”
Nic Naitanui (West Coast)
King: “Has been effectively retired for 12 months.”
Cornes: “There’s some talk that he’ll go around again. I couldn’t believe that they’d allow him to do a pre-season and go again.”
Luke Shuey (West Coast)
Cornes: “Shuey, I think we’re both in agreement that his body is not going to be able to hold up.”
Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
Cornes: “He’s essentially been dropped for the Showdown. Would you have him go around again? I hope he gets a crack at the premiership I think he deserves.”
King: “He’s had a quiet season. He’s had a quiet patch recently. It’s probably his first real quiet patch though isn’t it? It would be a severe call to cut him at this stage. You go one more year and hope he corrects next season.”
Tom Jonas (Port Adelaide)
King: “No, he’s done.”
Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
King: “Thanks Todd, been amazing but time to move on.”
Daniel Rich (Brisbane)
King: “Done.”
Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
King: “I think Jack will make the right call. He’ll be great in the media, Jack.”
Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
King: “Same.”
Isaac Smith (Geelong)
King: “He’s playing some reasonable footy. If he wanted to go again I’d entertain it.”
Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
Cornes: “Tom Hawkins goes again doesn’t he?”
King: “He goes again. Of all those, he’s probably the most likely to go again.”