Every year without fail, at least one high profile player is off contract and this year is no different with Adelaide's Rory Sloane the man in the public eye on this occasion.
Since free agency was introduced, it has made player movement that much more exciting or nerve-wracking, depending on which side of the ledger you sit on and Essendon great Tim Water believes Sloane should publicly announce his decision prior to the 2018 season kicking off.
In late 2017, there were rumours of Sloane potentially returning back to his native state of Victoria and Watson has told SEN Breakfast for the superstar to make a call either way to avoid any distractions.
“I believe if he knows now what he wants to do, he can avoid a year of speculation and in turn help the Crows avoid a possible distraction again, like they experienced last year,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“If he’s already decided – make an announcement before the season begins. Say I’m returning to Melbourne at the end of the season, where I end up I don’t know, but I want to finish my career in Melbourne.”
“I’m not going to pretend for one second that’s it’s going to be a popular decision in Adelaide – they love him over there,” he said.
“Anyone that falls out of love with him, they will fall back into love with him because of the way he plays.
“I think he is a rare talent Rory Sloane. He’s not the most gifted player, but he gives nothing but one hundred percent every time he plays.
“He’s a competitive beast, he knows no other way how to play.”
Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon said this was an area that the AFL as a whole needed to mature in.
“He should say ‘I haven’t made a decision. When I have made a decision, whether I’m staying or going – I will tell you.’ That’s the only undertaking he should take,” he said.
“‘I’m not going to drag it out. When I know, whether round two or round ten I’ll tell you and then we can deal with it.
“AFL footy has got to grow up, and grow up and deal with the consequences of people starting to make decisions like this.”