GEELONG won't be silly enough to make early calls on its list in 2015.
Plenty can happen between now and the end of the season to inform the Cats' thinking.
But season's end promises to be a time of change for the club that has been as stable as a city crane for the past decade.
Nearly eight years have passed since the Cats thrashed this Friday night's opponent, Port Adelaide, for a drought-breaking premiership and nine players from that year remain on the list.
Eight of them will play against the Power on Friday night (Tom Lonergan and Tom Hawkins were on the list but didn't play in the flag) while Jimmy Bartel will watch from the sidelines as he recovers from a knee injury.
Talent, generous concessions for retaining veterans and sustained success has led to the Cats' list profile in 2015 being different to most clubs, with just five players aged between 25 and 29, nine above 30 and 18 players between 21-24.
By contrast, Port Adelaide has just four players now playing from that Grand Final year (Travis Boak and Justin Westhoff played and Alipate Carlisle and Robbie Gray watched on), has just one player over 30, 12 in the peak 25-29 years and 16 aged between 21-24.
It means that on list profile alone, Geelong would defy history to win this year's flag while a Port Adelaide win would confirm existing theories.
Although Bartel expressed his frustration on K-Rock last Saturday night that external judges always focus on Geelong having nine players above 30, he also understands a gap exists that the club needs to fill.
"Every club carries them [players 30 and over] and it is part of the balance of our club," Bartel said
"Our problem is we actually don't have many in that middle bracket, the Joel Selwood age group."
The question then is how can the Cats create spots to fill that gap through trading and free agency?
It won't just be 30-plus players under scrutiny.
A close examination of the Cats' list suggests much of the change will be organic.
Brad Hartman has retired as has rookie James Toohey.
Billie Smedts' broken collarbone came at the wrong time which places pressure on him given he comes out of contract at season's end. He has talent so the decision will be line ball.
Dawson Simpson sits in purgatory too, unable to play due to a shoulder injury while desperate to prove his worth.
On the long-term injury list are Nathan Vardy and Daniel Menzel with knee injuries while unlucky Josh Cowan has played one senior game since round 18, 2011 due to soft tissue injuries.
It remains too early to say how Menzel and Vardy are managed but places on the rookie list may be an option if they continue to press ahead given their extended absence.
The talented trio (including Cowan) all came to Geelong in the same 2009 NAB AFL Draft but have appeared star crossed in football terms.
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Geelong's list has undergone significant change since this day in 2007. Picture: AFL Media.
No club can carry long-term injuries forever because of the salary cap space it takes up.
Then it comes to decisions on veterans. Geelong coach Chris Scott was pragmatic when asked the question after round one.
"You have to look at the pattern and we need to be unemotional in our thinking when it comes to the senior players and we're guided by the principle by what's best for the team," Scott said.
As the season unfolds, the vulnerable veterans are becoming obvious to some extent because each carries a different set of circumstances.
Hamish McIntosh's inability to get on the park is making it hard for him to press claims with the arrival of Rhys Stanley and Mitch Clark making him particularly vulnerable, while Corey Enright has indicated 2015 is likely to be his last season.
Enright is in good enough form to suggest he could go on but things can change quickly as the season drags on.
Defender Jared Rivers is also playing brilliant football but will make a decision based on his physical capabilities (he has a squeaky knee that restricted him during the pre-season).
One thing Chris Scott has been clear on is that decisions won't be made on birth date. Nor will ‘the 30-pluses’ be treated as one homogenous group.
The form in the back half of the season will be the most important factor, with Steve Johnson, James Kelly, Mathew Stokes, Bartel, Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan (contracted until 2016) all playing reasonable football, or in the injured Bartel's case, experiencing a renewed desire to resume the battle.
Geelong's list is in transition but balancing its profile may happen without the sort of upheaval some other clubs experience.
Players on list in 25-29 age bracket at start of season
Adelaide - 13
Brisbane Lions - 11
Carlton - 16
Collingwood - 12
Essendon - 15
Fremantle - 14
Geelong - 5
Gold Coast - 5
GWS - 6
Hawthorn - 13
Melbourne - 14
North Melbourne - 13
Port Adelaide - 12
Richmond - 15
St Kilda - 6
Sydney Swans - 12
West Coast - 16
Western Bulldogs - 6
