In the wake of Geelong's horror preliminary final exit on Friday night, fresh questions have emerged over the role of their veterans in Chris Scott's team going forward.
The Cats were obliterated by the Demons with off-season recruits, Jeremy Cameron, Isaac Smith and Shaun Higgins all playing in the humiliating loss.
Speaking onย Footy Classified Bombers legend Matthew Lloyd was skeptical of a few of Geelong's senior players, in particular skipper Joel Selwood.
The two-time premiership player and his midfield brigade were comprehensively beaten by the likes of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver on Friday night, with Geelong going down by 83 points at Optus Stadium.
Midfield
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
The Cats have an ageing list with the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, Smith and Lachie Henderson amongst others approaching their final years at AFL level.
Lloyd believes that Chris Scott must make a tough call on Selwood's playing time in 2022 as well as other senior players in order to limit the impact on his side.
"I think the questions come for him now, Lloyd said on Monday evening.
"What do you do with Joel Selwood? Can Joel keep going? Joel was shown by Petracca and Oliver that he can't cut it against those guys anymore."@matthewlloyd18 on the hard list calls Chris Scott is facing this off-season.#9FootyClassified | Watch @channel9 pic.twitter.com/1s5nXhW44R
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) September 13, 2021
"What do you do with Joel Selwood? Can Joel keep going?"
"Joel was shown by Petracca and Oliver that he can't cut it against those guys anymore so he has to make some really strong decisions.
"Luke Dahlhaus, do I play him again? Lachie Henderson, do I play him again? He's got to make some hard calls now."
Dahlhaus was dropped for the semi-final against GWS and left out again in Friday night's loss with the 29-year-old failing to recapture the form he showed at the Western Bulldogs to earn a trade to Kardinia Park.
31-year-old Lachie Henderson is out of contract at the end of this year and has yet to sign a new deal to keep him at the club into next season.
Fellowย Footy Classifiedย panelist Kane Cornes echoed Lloyd's sentiments and thought Selwood had earned the right to keep a downsized role.
"Maybe Joel Selwood has earned the right to play again," Cornes said from Perth.
"A similar boat to Trent Cotchin but his role needs to be reduced. He can't play another position so that's the hard part.
"Maybe you keep him fresh and he plays 12 games next year and you get him right if they're qualifying for finals."
The conjecture around the league by many is that Geelong were putting all their eggs in the flag basket in 2021, with many players entering the final years of their career and the club's premiership window closing fast.
The coming summer is shaping up to be one of the most defining off-seasons of Chris Scott's coaching career with many decisions set to be made over the future of not just the side's core players but also some up-and-coming personnel.
Charlie Constable, Quinton Narkle and Jordan Clark are all rumoured to be looking for a way out of Kardinia Park, with the trio finding opportunities in the senior side few and fair between in recent seasons.
