The Eagles hold a third-round compensation pick which they can activate this year or next year but the sticking point could be the need to notify the AFL by March 19 of their plans.
This could be problematic in a number of ways.
For one, the selection is tied to Collingwood's finishing position (it was originally the Pies' pick for losing ruckman Josh Fraser to the Suns before it was on-traded.)
This means if the Magpies finish ahead of the Eagles this year, the compensation pick will automatically become the Eagles' fourth selection at the draft when they actually are only required to take three picks to the draft under AFL rules.
Therefore, more than eight months before the NAB AFL Draft, the Eagles need to decide whether they may want to use four picks at the draft – a decision generally made in October during list management discussions.
They could choose to tweak their list and use the pick to upgrade a rookie-listed player to the senior list, but that is seen as against the spirit of the compensation selection.
Another difficulty for the Eagles is likely to be the fact that, this early in the year, it is hard to predict if a player may want to leave the club or be traded at the end of the year.
In 2011 midfielder Brad Ebert left West Coast to return home to South Australia. The Eagles received an early second-round pick from Port Adelaide for Ebert during the trade period.
Last year Koby Stevens requested a trade to Victoria, finally landing at the Western Bulldogs in return for the club's pick 44.
If the same situation happened this year, and the Eagles lost a player and finished behind the Magpies but had already activated their pick, they would not use it.
The decision to activate the pick in March leaves the club in a position where it is forced to make guesses on how the year will pan out in several forms.
The AFL says clubs are required to make a call before the first round due to fairness, because every club has to know in advance of the season of the picks being selected.
The same situation is unlikely to play on the minds of the Suns and Giants as they decide what to do with their compensation selections, because clubs are forced to make at least three selections at the draft and any pick within the first round will almost certainly be in that bracket.
Follow AFL website reporter Callum Twomey on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey
