Stevie J and Nick Riewoldt among stars who should ponder retirement, writes Mick Malthouse

HE started the season with a bang but Jobe Watson has crashed back down to earth. Should 2017 be his last year in the red and black? MICK MALTHOUSE thinks so.

Is time up for Nick Riewoldt?

“YOUTH has no age.” ~ Pablo Picasso

I have long been an advocate for breaking the age barrier, strongly believing that a person can prove their worth in the workforce through action and results rather than being judged by a time frame.

But, I am also a realist so I know that time slows for no man.

Now before this becomes a column of quotes I’ll get to the point: watching the footy this year I have seen a handful of players who should strongly consider retiring at the end of this season. But I can almost guarantee that not all of them will.

When to retire is perhaps the toughest question a player will ever ask himself.

Extraordinarily tough too for the coach who has to nudge a player towards the exit.

JAMES KELLY: ‘I THOUGHT I WAS DONE’

Steve Johnson, Nick Riewoldt, James Kelly, Lindsay Thomas, Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne, Jobe Watson and Brett Deledio should all ask themselves if it’s time at season’s end.

It is incredibly difficult to single these players out because I have the utmost respect for them all.

They are each men who have starred in the competition at different stages.

Steve Johnson is losing his explosiveness, writes Mick Malthouse. Picture: AAP

Their bodies have been punished, smashed year upon year. They have dedicated themselves to their clubs for more than a decade. It takes a toll, eventually.

This is not personal, it is football. And football is unforgiving. A fresh batch of teenagers join the ranks every year, fired up to take on the big boys, and time is on their side.

Experience is on the other side.

So do you retire when the tank is empty, or when there’s still a little petrol left?

When your dignity is in tact and the crowd still has an appetite to watch you play, or when you’re on your last legs and in and out of the senior team?

STEVE JOHNSON has been a massive hit for GWS.

They gained experience and flair and he has capitalised on effective delivery into the forward line. With a good list they were able to absorb his deficiencies — including his lack of ability to put genuine pressure on the opposition backs.

BOMBER THOMPSON: STEVIE SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY

It has now gone pear-shaped. He has lost length in his kicking, dropped off in pace, and can’t hold a tackle. It is my observation that he has turned to using tricks to win possession because his body won’t allow for the agile moves he once displayed. Time is ticking.

Mick Malthouse says ideally Nick Riewoldt would play every second week. Picture: AAP

Talk of extending NICK RIEWOLDT’s contract is premature.

The Saints’ star has played some ripping games this year, though he has also played some poor ones, particularly against GWS where he looked every inch his 34 years and slower than he once was.

His effectiveness in the backline is questionable, with unreliable decision-making and execution adding to the pressure on the St Kilda defenders to get the ball out of the danger zone.

Forward, he is constantly in the same contest as Josh Bruce, who as a consequence has lost the edge he had gained last year because he can’t get a good run at the ball.

If Riewoldt played every second game with a rest in between he would be wonderful for the Saints, but that is not going to help their run at finals if other players are therefore in and out of the team. It is a dilemma for player and coach.

Josh Gibson has struggled this year. Picture: AAP

JOSH GIBSON is the classic definition of a player in the twilight zone.

In his three premiership seasons the Hawthorn defender contributed greatly to the club’s success. But that form is mostly in the past.

Currently, in isolation he doesn’t win enough one-on-one football to be the impact backline player the Hawks needs this season. At times he is being mercilessly beaten. The writing is on the wall.

Gibson’s teammate SHAUN BURGOYNE, one of the nicest people I have met, is also standing in the shadows of dusk.

While still quick, he has dropped a yard in pace and in doing so his ball-getting power has diminished. His two biggest weapons, gone. It’s hard to come back from there.

Jobe Watson doesn’t look the same player he once was. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

JOBE WATSON’s 12-month ban may well be a life ban.

The former Bombers’ captain went through hell during the club’s drug saga, and whether or not he was talked into playing on is only for himself and John Worsfold to know.

He started the season with a bang, but now I wonder if he still has the same interest in and love of the game he once had, because it doesn’t look like it. Time will tell on this one.

JAMES KELLY helped Essendon throughout the absence of their suspended players and he has continued on well enough this year.

But, he is a good player in a team that is, at best, eighth to 12th in the league. He can’t play forever and the Bombers need to rebuild.

LINDSAY THOMAS was probably lucky not to be cut when North Melbourne delisted four of its stars last year. On reflection, I would say Brent Harvey had more going for him.

Whereas Harvey still had pace and a good kick, Thomas is slowing and his kicking is off.

I understand why Brad Scott made the decision that he did, but now, having a veteran spend more time in reserves than the seniors doesn’t help anyone and I wonder if there could have been a fifth departure from Arden Street last season.

Because this is the balancing act that clubs face, and there is no instruction manual.

It’s not an age thing. A player doesn’t turn 30 and automatically join the dole queue.

Take a look at AARON SANDILANDS. He is still as dangerous a player at 34 years of age as he was when he started.

Ironically, the amount of time he has missed through injuries has probably rested his body and given his career some respite.

The new third-man-up rule will also help him, so that his body isn’t being punished every week. His height is not going to diminish, so as long as he has reasonable mobility he can play on.

Then you get 30-year-old BRETT DELEDIO, at his second club and spending a large chunk of the season on the sidelines. Players who are prone to muscle injuries will always breakdown earlier in their career.

It’s a harsh truth for Deledio and GWS.

It’s a value thing. Does that player still provide enough value to the club to continue?

Once the warning signs appear, and they always do — less pace, less agility, less dominant, more injury prone — then the decision comes down to this: how much can he contribute to the team? What will he gain, or lose from going around again?

The greatest gift a club can give a player is his legacy.

If any or all of these players retire this year, their parting gift will remain in tact, and deservedly so.

Brett Deledio’s body is letting him down. Picture: AAP

THE MAGPIE REUNION — OH, WHAT A NIGHT

Speaking of retirees, it is always fantastic to catch up with my former players, especially those who I would consider close allies.

Last Saturday night was no exception, when I sat with the self-professed “ratpack” at Collingwood’s 125- year anniversary dinner.

It was a wonderful night of celebration for the club with some true football talent taking to the stage.

Though, as always at events like this, it is at the table where the real reminiscing happens.

After travelling in with James and Jeanne Clement (terrific people who we are so pleased to call friends,) Nanette and I were seated with Chris Tarrant, Ben Johnson, Alan Didak, Heath Shaw, and their wonderful partners, and as the night unfolded so did the tales — which took aim at each other before turning on me!

Anecdotal stories about my pre-match and halftime speeches, and coaches box antics, which had me in stitches. Some I had forgotten about, and others I’m sure were exaggerated!

These are men who I first met as boys. Each one very different in personality and football talent. Now they are partners, fathers, and plain decent human citizens.

For as much as they had me in tears of laughter on Saturday night, there was a sense of pride there too, seeing the men they have become.

Football really is family, and family is everything.

Mick Malthouse loved catching up with Alan Didak and other former players.