Brett Burton's future is in jeopardy with Adelaide coach Neil Craig admitting there'd be a 'lot of discussion' before extending his contract into 2009.
Burton, who will have an operation on his left knee on Wednesday night, will be out of action for close to a year.
Craig said the club had a 'tough' decision to make on their high-flying forward who is in the final year of his existing deal.
"He's 30 years of age but we all know the way he's playing for us this year and it would indicate that without the injury he'd continue to play," Craig said.
"It's about our list, it's about keeping really high quality players in our club. There's talk that this year's draft, if you are going to be aggressive, this is the one to do it. There's an element of compassion about your playing group and he's one of our senior leaders."
Craig has shown in the past he's not afraid to cull the club's veterans.
Two years ago he sent premiership defender Ben Hart out to pasture while last season Jason Torney, who finished in the club's top 10 best and fairest in 2007, was delisted too along with Ian Perrie.
Craig also oversaw the exodus of experienced trio Ben Hudson, Martin Mattner and Scott Welsh to other clubs in the post-season.
"They are always tough decisions to make when they are long serving players, highly decorated players, and it won't get any easier in the next two or three years with Simon (Goodwin) and Andrew (McLeod), Nathan Bassett, Tyson Edwards," he said.
"So that's why it's really important to take a lot of discussion with everyone, particularly the players."
Craig said he had already begun talks with Burton about his playing future.
Burton's knee and the shoulder dislocation to Jason Porplyzia on the weekend has provided the Crows with a more pressing issue heading into Showdown XXV.
The team's best forwards are on the sidelines and they'll have to replace them with squad members playing in the SANFL. Ken McGregor and the untried Taylor Walker are the frontrunners but Craig also mentioned Nick Gill, Trent Hentschel and Luke Jericho as possible inclusions.
Craig said there were positives associated with both McGregor and Walker.
"You are always weighing up the experience versus skill, what the young guy brings in. A young guy would bring in a huge amount of enthusiasm," he said.
"You just look at the attributes that you need in that sort of game, the type of style you want to play, the opposition, maybe look at who would pick up a McGregor versus a Walker."
While McGregor has plenty of big-game experience, Craig said he wasn't afraid to blood Walker during the pressure of a clash with the Power.
"Long-term it can be a fantastic experience for them," he said.
On a more positive note for Adelaide, McLeod, who had a minor knee operation last month, pulled up well from a Tuesday training session.
"It looks like he'll attempt to train flat out for the full session tomorrow," Craig said. "If he gets through that obviously he'll be a strong consideration."