VETERAN midfielder Lenny Hayes says he will consider the development of St Kilda's young list when he makes a decision on his playing future at the end of this season.
Hayes, who has the Saints' backing to play on in 2014, has made a seamless return to football over the past fortnight after missing seven games with a reoccurring calf injury.
The 33-year-old said he had thought a lot about his playing future but wanted to string some games together before making a call on whether he would push into a 16th campaign.
"With seven games left in the season, I think it will take until the end of the year to make a call on it," Hayes told AFL.com.au.
"It might have been different if I'd played the whole year. In that case I might have had a better indication of whether this would be my last year.
"But because I haven't really played it's been hard to get a handle on whether I could go round again.
"Once I've been back for five or six weeks I think that will give me a better indication of where I'm at, where my body's at and how the team is developing."
Coach Scott Watters has been in ongoing discussions with Hayes on his future and admits he has "been trying to twist his arm", given the former captain's excellent form this year when fit.
The Norm Smith medallist has averaged 24 possessions and five tackles in his eight games, but he has also been valuable as a defacto addition to the coaching staff.
It's a path Hayes appears likely to pursue when his playing days are over after securing his level two accreditation and completing the next coach program under David Wheadon.
Asked in the 2013 AFL Media AFL coaches survey which player would make a great senior coach in the future, the 18 senior coaches gave Hayes three votes, the most of any active player.
"I've always had a bit of an interest in coaching and I've done bits and pieces over the past few years," he said.
"Working with the younger guys at the club, they're very receptive to any feedback and they really want to learn.
"You see guys develop and put time into something and actually get rewards for it. I find that quite rewarding.
"I did a bit of work with some midfield guys down at the Oakleigh Chargers a few years back, so it's something that's always been there and an area that I enjoy."
Hayes believes St Kilda has a bright future and the current group reminds him of the young Saints who arrived at the club between 2000 and 2002 and pushed into a preliminary final in 2004.
He said game time for the club's youngsters would be the key, as well as smart recruiting, with Watters already declaring the Saints would explore every avenue to improve the list.
With star forward Nick Riewoldt playing career-best football at times this season, Hayes said the 30-year-old could play for as long as he wanted, remaining captain.
Among the young group, Jarryn Geary, Jack Newnes and Ben McEvoy were the Saints' standout leadership candidates, Hayes said, as the club rebuilds.
They're a group Hayes is confident can return the club to the finals in the near future.
"There's a lot of talent there, and you just never know," he said.
"If you recruit well, and then some of these young guys come on like we think they will, then I don't see why we can't be back up there in a few years.
"It can turn pretty quickly if the group can stay together."
Nathan Schmook is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nathan
