Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is in two minds.
Part of Buckley’s thinking is the now: win enough games to make the AFL finals.
Another part ponders the future: what shape will his first-choice side be if they make the finals.
“You need to win enough games to qualify,” Buckley said after a 24-point victory against Adelaide on Tuesday night.
“But then you need to look after your squad well enough to have access to the right guys when you get towards the end of the year.”
Buckley said he could have fielded a stronger side against the winless Crows.
“I daresay that every side in the competition is going through this in some shape or form: we could have played a better 22,” he said.
“But we have still got our eyes on the prize.
“It’s not just about getting the win now.
“It’s about what is your team going to look like in three, four, five weeks?
“And how are you going to find the best of what you have in your squad to be able to present as well as you possibly can beyond round 18?
“One, you have got qualify to have that privilege and you have got to earn that.
“But it’s a question that match committees will be asking themselves.”
The seventh-placed Magpies expect a batch of rested key players to return for Saturday’s clash against Melbourne in Brisbane.
The group includes Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Ben Reid, and captain Scott Pendlebury could return after a four-match absence because of a thigh strain.
But key defender Jordan Roughead will likely be ruled out after being concussed against the Crows.
“The management of the entire squad through this period is part of the challenge,” Buckley said.
But the Pies coach said he was finding the juggling act “dynamic … it gives you energy”.
“It’s really something that you understand if you get this wrong it’s going to hurt you. If you get it right, it could help,” he said.