“I don’t think our list will be impacted on too much. But you always have to make some changes at the end of each season.”
“We certainly had a fair exodus of players last year. Now we want to consolidate with the list we currently have. I wouldn’t expect you will see a lot of players moving around because making wholesale changes isn’t on our radar. But I guess it’s also up to the players in terms of what they think is best for them.”
“In terms of where the Club’s at, we’re more about trying to strengthen our list through development.”
“Part of what the off-season encourages is the movement of players. I think it’s a good thing because it brings a whole batch of new players into the system. That’s the natural evolution of club lists.”
“I don’t think it would necessarily be a good thing for the AFL if 12 clubs were in a position to delist only one player. That would throw the entire draft system into disarray. That would then deny the next wave of players the opportunity to get picked.”
“I think the rules that govern that are very stringent, but at the same time are very fair.”
“If you’re in a position where you don’t have to make many changes to your list, then you’re a very lucky club. Every team is always looking at means to bolster their list.”
“Unfortunately it means that you have to make some tough decisions on players because you are forced to make at least three changes. So we know at least three players at our Club will be moving on.”
Voss on the salary cap
“The salary cap only ever becomes an issue if you’re constantly paying players too much. We have to be diligent with that.”
“Those negotiations are going on at the moment with our out of contract players. I don’t deal with the salary cap on a daily basis but I always get a brief on where we’re at.”
“We have to give it plenty of consideration because it might not just impact on next year, but also in the years to come. So like every single club, it’s something that we’ll have to manage and monitor and Rob Kerr’s our man in charge of that.”
Voss on the Club’s requirements from the upcoming Draft
“When we’re looking at our first pick - which is Pick No.10 - the best available player is still our priority.”
“We’d love to be able to strengthen our midfield brigade. That would be nice. But the best player available at that pick will be what we’re after.”
“For us, we’re trying to create some stability. So any growth we’re going to get is going to come from the draft system.”
“But at this point in time, I don’t think I can be sitting here talking about how we’re going to approach the Draft. There’s just so much uncertainty. We’re still five weeks away from the trade period and 14 weeks away from the Draft itself.”
“Our focus lies completely on the players we have now. Getting out of contract players to sign up is what’s critical right now.”
Voss on the players’ post-season break
“We’ll be coming back a bit earlier to start training for the China trip, but not everyone will be. The players that are likely to play in the exhibition match will come back to the Club for a week before the trip to get themselves ready for China. Then all the players will go over together as a group.”
“Our pre-season break is going to be a bit longer than usual because we’ve got the Shanghai trip in the middle of it. We won’t start training officially until the 7 November.”
NB: Vossy's View will return as a regular article on lions.com.au next year when Senior Coach Michael Voss resumes his regular media conferences on the eve of the 2011 season.
