No doubt once the great number 35 finally gives it away there will be reported sightings of such a player, but nothing will ever be confirmed.
The ancienttus footballus, commonly known as the old footballer, is an endangered species, and the cull is on.
I’m beginning to feel like an animal welfare protester, fighting a lost cause. A lone voice sticking up for something everyone knows has little hope of survival. Maybe I should tie myself to a goal post?
In all seriousness it’s not a good time to be nearing 30 and be on an AFL list. The chances are you won’t be for too much longer.
In recent times we’ve seen the ‘retirement’ of the likes of Jeff White, Jason Johnson, Damian Peverill and countless others. Stand by, there will be many more to come.
Aging players being forced to say goodbye is part of the circle of football life, but maybe the zeal for the kill has gone too far.
The game has become so quick that 30-year-olds are increasingly finding that after a decade of service it is hard to keep up. Only players of exceptional speed, endurance, durability and skill will survive.
The rules changes to keep the game continuous have done much good, but we must be careful not to wipe out our players too early.
It is great that the under-age pathway is now so advanced that the best kids are well enough prepared to make an impact at AFL level, but I can’t help feel we lose something as a competition if this occurs at the senior players' expense.
You can understand the clubs thinking – the next two drafts are relatively uncompromised, but by 2010 the top young talent gets further out of reach.
It’s widely acknowledged that this year’s pool of under 18s is excellent, but is there a guarantee that pruning most players over 28 and getting in more and more kids is the pathway to success?
A more cynical view is that going with youth is the safer option for coaches and list managers who want to keep their jobs. It's difficult for a board to criticise a youth policy – at the very least it buys some time.
Could we not consider making it easier for older players to stay in the game, by allowing them to move clubs mid-season?
If a club has decided a player over 28 is ‘finished’ and another team is interested then they should simply be able to transfer across, with the original club allowed to promote a rookie or recruit someone from outside the system as a replacement.
Otherwise there is lot of football experience and nous going to waste.
A club is unlikely to take a chance on Damian Peverill for a full season, but a Sydney or even Collingwood make have considered him from round 15. This might have led to another contract at the end of the year.
It’s worth remembering some of the uncompetitive (and almost unwatchable) football played by some of the lower, younger teams in the second half of the season. Is this something we want to keep happening every year as the teams that struggle move into development mode by mid-season?
It’s going to be a great September, but give an extra cheer for the older blokes – who knows, you may not see them again and it could be too late to join the protest march by then.
