BRISBANE Lions co-captain Jonathan Brown says both he and fellow veteran Simon Black want to play on in 2014, but will wait and see if the club’s new coach wants the same thing.
Brown’s season ended early this year in round 19 after he tore his plantar fascia and underwent surgery.
The 31-year-old had a second operation to clean out his knee two weeks later.
He said on Friday night he had the passion to play into a 15th season, as 34-year-old Black wanted to take on his 17th.
But both would make sure their bodies would enable them to, and that the incoming coach wanted them to remain a part of the team, before making the definitive call.
"I'm not sure," Brown said, when asked on 3AW if he and Black would play on.
"We'd like to go around again, but we've got to work through that with the club and certainly with the new coach.
"At the end of the day, I want to make sure I'm on the same page as the new coach and I'm sure 'Blacky' is in the same situation.
"First and foremost, I want to tick the medical box. My operation's done and I got some good feedback from the surgeons going forward.
"I've still got the fire in the belly, but I want to make sure the body matches up with that and the coach's aspirations are the same.
"We'll work through that over the next couple of weeks."
Black was restricted to eight senior games this year because of groin and knee issues.
The Lions are in the market for a senior coach following the departure of Michael Voss last month.
There are also young Lions currently contemplating their futures, with the likes of Patrick Karnezis, Sam Docherty, Billy Longer and Jared Polec reportedly homesick.
Of the four, Polec hails from South Australia, while the rest are Victorian.
While Brown said the new coach would be able to talk to the youngsters about their concerns once he was appointed, picking the right person was more important than making a hasty decision.
"I've got absolutely no inkling [who it will be]," he said.
"I know they've interviewed five or six guys and I'm pretty confident they'll get the right coach.
"It's important they don't rush into a decision.
"At the end of the day, if it takes them a week longer to get the right coach, I'm satisfied with that and hopefully the members will be as well, and we get into 2014 and it will be a lot more positive."
Earlier on Friday evening, Port Adelaide assistant coach Alan Richardson all but ruled himself out of any role at the Lions.
The experienced coach had been unofficially linked to the club but was yet to be contacted by them, with Power's season still alive.
He said he was happy with his role at the Power and was "certainly" committed to them for the next few years.
