Short post alert!  Aren’t you lucky?  I know that these have been brutal.  But hey – that’s why not everyone has a premiership club!

After a club ranks/scores their players, they need to prioritise.  In general, the ones should trump twos, threes should trump fives, 4As should trump 4Bs.  But there is a grey area: your next premiership.  Know that you know what life cycle stage your club is at, you’ll easily be able to tell how long it might be until you’re in a position to win a grand final.

Take a look at your list a figure out who is going to be around for your next grand final.  There are a few ways to decide if they’ll be around: age, injuries and contract length.

Just briefly…

Age: If you’ve got a great 29 year old player but your club is rebuilding.  Realistically, by the time your club is ready for a premiership, he’s probably going to be a bit too old.  You may need to let him go for someone who fits your club better

Injuries: three knee recos?  Not a great bet.  Constant hamstring pain?  Might not make it. Now, I don’t need to tell AFL fans that the number of injuries a player had make no bearing on how many they will have.  Look at Goddard, for heaven’s sake.  But then again… look at Chris Judd.

Contract length: See who is locked in and who you you’ll have to negotiate with before your club makes it big.  Let’s look at Tom Mitchell.  If we’re being honest, he’s a young player at an ageing club.  Before they’ll win a grand final again, his contract will expire.  He may want to move to a club closer to home. He may want to move to a team with a better shot at winning a grand final.  Knowing what contracts are coming up for renewal or which players you may lose to free agency will help you prioritise who you really want to keep when the time rolls around (and who you want to pay for).

And speaking of paying… that will be the topic of our next post.  And you can expect a long one because you know I love talking about money!