Longmire sought out O'Keefe, 33, for clarification regarding his future plans after a report the Norm Smith medallist was keen to explore free agency next season.

O'Keefe's manager Darian Lobb was quoted as saying his client wanted to play on in 2015 and "wants the opportunity to play at another club" after falling out of favour at the Swans.

Fourth on the Swans' all-time games played list, O'Keefe has been stuck on 286 senior matches since round four this year and appears destined to play out the season in the reserves.

On Monday, Longmire said O'Keefe was yet to make a decision beyond 2014.

"I spoke to him just after those comments and he said he hadn't made a decision at all," Longmire said.

"That's what he said after those comments were made, that he hasn't made a decision on next year at all.

"That's where that sits."

Quizzed on O'Keefe's chances of a senior recall before the year was out, Longmire's response painted a grim picture for the two-time premiership winner.

"I don't know," Longmire said. "As it sits, it's going to be a bit of a challenge if he hasn't got in to this point.

"You never know what's around the corner but we've been pleased with the balance of the team and how they've been going."

Longmire was also asked about Tom Mitchell, another midfielder that has struggled to break into the senior side in 2014.

Unlike O'Keefe, Mitchell's issue has revolved entirely around fitness, with persistent ankle problems preventing him from regaining a place in the reserves, let alone the first team.

It still didn't prevent speculation coming from Victoria that he was potentially interested in moving elsewhere, despite the fact he is contracted until the end of 2016.

Mitchell returned from injury for the reserves at the weekend and Longmire said he could still force his way into the seniors this year.

But he had a quick response when asked about the highly rated youngster's future.

"He's contracted," he said.

"I don't pay any attention to the talk. He's contracted."

Asked if he was out of favour, a bemused Longmire replied: "The facts are he's played two-and-a-half games in eight weeks.

"He hasn't been able to play or train consistently. We know he's a really good player but you need to be able to train and play to play at senior level.

"Hopefully he's able to do that in the next few weeks. It's very difficult to get a game in our senior team if you're not playing in our reserves team."

A hot topic in recent weeks has been the response AFL coaches would have if they knew one of their players was leaving.

Melbourne coach Paul Roos declared he would refuse to select a departing player for the rest of the season, as there would be little point furthering their development before they left.

It is common practice in the National Rugby League for players to announce they are switching clubs while continuing to turn out for their current team.

While Longmire doesn't have a strong opinion regarding the AFL situation, he said the NRL example had conditioned the northern states to the impact free agency can have.

"I think it would depend upon what situation you're in," he said.

"Every situation is different and has to be treated as such. If you make a broad-brush statement, it's not taking into account every individual situation.

"I'm not saying what's right or what's wrong, but I guess we're a bit more conditioned to it up here than what's happened previously as far as playing players.

"But I don't have as strong a view on it as others in the game."

Twitter: @AFL_JD