GREATER Western Sydney faces a battle to hang on to young midfielder Taylor Adams, who made the dreaded statement on Saturday that he will put off contract talks until the end of the year.
Pick 13 in the 2011 draft, Adams is one of only two Giants from that draft class – along with the seventh pick Nick Haynes – yet to extend their contracts beyond 2013.
Gary Ablett famously stated he would put contract talks on hold before deciding to join Gold Coast. Lance Franklin has echoed the line to also leave his future with Hawthorn in limbo.
And now 19-year-old Adams, a former Geelong Falcon TAC Cup player who battled homesickness early in his time in Sydney, has uttered the same line.
"I think I'm over the homesickness at the moment and I'm really enjoying it up here in Sydney and made some really good friendships," he said following GWS' 59-point loss to Geelong on Saturday.
"I just have to sit down and think about what's right for me (and) I'll probably wait until the end of the season.
"There's no rush, I'll just take my time and make the right decision."
It's understood Adams is keen to determine exactly where he sits in the Giants' pecking order, with the second-year club overflowing with talent through the midfield.
Over the past 12 months, Dylan Shiel, Stephen Coniglio, Toby Greene, Devon Smith and Will Hoskin-Elliott, along with key position players Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton, have extended their contracts.
GWS coach Kevin Sheedy, who is also yet to determine his future once he hands over the reins to senior assistant Leon Cameron at season's end, insists he isn't concerned by Adams' stance.
"I think Taylor is on the money. Spot on. I'd be doing exactly the same thing as him," Sheedy said.
"You only get these chances (rarely) in your life and hopefully we make him an offer that he wants to stay.
"It's how you handle it and the way you go about it with managers and so forth and you don't know what's going to happen.
"We have to appreciate the individuality of a young man looking at his career and his life and that's the way I see it.
"I've had some great players come in and I've had some great players leave.
"You win them and you lose them."
Adams missed four matches earlier in the season as he struggled with injury, but has appeared in the past six games, averaging 24 possessions and 5.5 marks per outing during that time.
Returning to some solid form on the field has been his main concern of late.
"I'm just trying to get out there and play good footy at the moment," he said.
"I'm coming off another injury-interrupted pre-season just trying to handle my back and my hips.
"Over the last four or five weeks I've started to play some consistent footy and I just have to worry about that now.
"The rest will take care of itself."
James Dampney is a reporter for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
