The Lions are currently in the process of trying to secure signatures from all their recent draftees, even though they’re contracted until the end of 2015.
Each of the Club’s seven live picks at last year’s National Draft – James Aish, Darcy Gardiner, Daniel McStay, Lewy Taylor, Tom Cutler and Nick Robertson – have tasted senior AFL action in 2014 and are considered valuable parts of the Lions’ future.
Leppitsch said that while it was critical to re-sign the next generation of Lions stars, there was no real urgency to lock them away right now.
“Obviously we’ve got more than 12 months to get that job done, but of course (it’s important),” Leppitsch said on Thursday.
“We drafted seven players last year, and all seven come out of contract next year.
“A couple are pretty close (to re-signing), so hopefully those good announcements can be made soon.”
There’s no doubt most of the interest will surround James Aish, particularly given three of the Club’s former first round draft selections requested a trade back to their home States last season.
However 2012 first round draftee Sam Mayes showed his commitment to the Lions’ cause by extending his contract with the Club earlier this year.
The Club remains determined to ensure that it doesn’t lose any more quality young players.
“There’s no point putting development time into players if they’re going to leave after two years,” Leppitsch said.
Meanwhile, the Lions are likely to be prominent players in the next AFL National Draft, with Leppitsch preparing fans for another influx of young talent.
“Our list may even get younger next year, that’s the way it’s heading,” he said.
“With most of the Free Agents already signed up by their clubs, we’ll have to do most of our work through the Draft.”
