Veteran West Coast defender Will Schofield remains undecided on whether he will join the club on their Gold Coast hub upon the seasons restart.
And according to former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes, the decision to not make the move "could spell the end of his AFL career".
West Australian journalist Mark Duffield said on The Game Podcast that the 31-year old is still weighing up the decision to forgo the month away to focus on family and business interests in Perth.
โSchofield is weighing it up. Difficult situation for โSchoeyโ. His wife has a full-time business, theyโre trying to expand that,โ he said.
โHe has some business interests here, heโs trying to expand them. He also has some expanding media interests here.
โIf Schoey went, my understanding is that Schoey will only be playing for match payments and heโs not, at this stage, in their best 22. So in other words, heโs basically going for nothing.
โHe may think if I stay here and keep training and theyโre back within a month, Iโm still a chance to have some impact on the season.โ
Cornes said on SEN Footy SA & WA that not going to the Gold Coast club would risk accelerating the end of his 191-game career.
โI guess the issue for Will is if he doesnโt go, what does that mean for next year?โ he said.
โHeโs 31, heโll start season 2021 at 32 years of age, we know list sizes and salary caps are coming down.
โIt could spell the end of his AFL career, as harsh as that sounds, if he refuses to go.โ
Cornes also feels that the shortened 2020 season is a perfect situation to keep a consistent performer like Schofield waiting in the wings to cover for injuries and emergencies.
โIโd still be convincing him to go though because as weโve seen, if a player goes down we know he can come straight in and play a role and play at the required level,โ he said further.
โThis year to win the premiership, which West Coast are one of four teams that are favourites, you are going to need 35-37 players to do that.
โIt will be a big blow for them if he chooses not to go.โ
