NORTH Melbourne faces a fork-in-the-road moment at selection on Friday afternoon, with a decision on former skipper Andrew Swallow's future at the heart of it.
A club bold enough last year to let go of five veterans – Brent Harvey, Nick Dal Santo, Michael Firrito, Drew Petrie and Daniel Wells – also demoted experienced duo Swallow and Lindsay Thomas ahead of round six.
Swallow, 30 next month and a mainstay of North's centre-square group for the best part of a decade, had already been shuffled to half-forward, while Thomas, 29, failed to kick a goal in four of his five games.
The magnitude of the selection statement prompted Swallow's successor as captain, Jack Ziebell, to say the rest of the playing group was on notice and that no-one was safe.
That message grew louder when three weeks passed, neither player broke back in and the Kangaroos proved increasingly competitive.
But North went back to the future last week, replacing Trent Dumont (concussion) with Swallow for last Sunday's clash with Melbourne.
There were other options, such as pacy second-year midfielder Declan Mountford, who made his debut in round one and has performed well in the VFL.
Mountford hasn't played at any level the past two weeks as a senior match-day emergency.
Swallow was fresh from 30 disposals for VFL affiliate Werribee and his inclusion came a week after Sydney took its season-long frustration out on the Roos' outmatched midfield – winning contested ball 170-133.
His promotion, along with the in-form Jarrad Waite, made Brad Scott's side the competition's fourth-oldest in round nine, a strange statistic for a club seemingly in transition. To be fair, a week earlier North fielded the fifth-youngest team of the round and copped a hiding.
In no surprise to anyone, least of all his coach, Swallow gave his all against the Demons.
The 214-gamer, the heart and soul of the team for so long, laid six of his nine tackles in the opening term.
Tellingly, he had just one possession in the hot opening, but finished with a respectable 17, albeit at a modest 65 per cent efficiency.
That effective disposal percentage is trending in the wrong direction. Swallow went at 79.8 per cent in 2009 and 73.7 in his banner 2012 season and is going at 64.3 in 2017.
He is a three-time club best and fairest – the last of them won in 2012 – but his player rating peaked six years ago and dipped each season since, apart from a slight spike in 2015.
Swallow, who is contracted until the end of the 2018 season, was once rated the AFL's 20th-best footballer and now comes in at No.241, a fall of 55 places since the end of last year.
His average possessions have dropped each season since 2012, from a career-high 25.8 to 16.3. Swallow's clearances per match (3.5) are also at a nine-year low, coinciding with his time in the centre square dropping.
He has attended just 47.5 per cent of centre bounces this year after peaking at 82.4 in 2011. Two years ago it was 72.7, then last season 62.1.
Swallow's midfield time in 2017 has also plummeted to 79 per cent – from 97 per cent a year ago – and his corresponding forward figure has vaulted from three per cent to 21.
But the extra time up forward has not bloated his goals or goal assists and he is ranked equal-14th at the club in score involvements.
Swallow's lack of pace, among other things, makes him less effective outside the contest and poses a problem with the trend of his decreasing opportunities at stoppages.
The coaching staff is sending a pretty clear signal, with Dal Santo stating after round three that Scott was in the process of "moving out" Swallow.
The football world will find out on Friday whether Swallow's selection last week was simply a stop-gap measure with Dumont and Jed Anderson unavailable.
North named Dumont, Anderson and Swallow on its extended bench for Sunday's match with Carlton. It is unlikely that all will make the cut. Mountford is nowhere to be seen.
At 3-6, the 14th-placed Roos should have at least half an eye on 2018 and beyond, which they appeared to when they released 1600 games' worth of experience last year.
If Swallow plays ahead of Dumont or Anderson, you have to wonder what North's strategy is.
