THE DECISION by Adelaide youngster Phil Davis to inform his teammates that he wants to join Greater Western Sydney has thrown up some key questions.

Would Davis have made the announcement if he was fit (he's currently recovering from a shoulder reconstruction) and Adelaide was in finals contention?

And if that was the case, would his teammates and coaches have wanted to keep him in the team?

Given Dale Thomas is yet to sign a new contract with Collingwood, and has reportedly been targeted by the Giants, these are questions that might well apply to the reigning premier right now.

But when asked if he'd be happy to run out alongside players who had signed with other clubs, Magpies skipper Nick Maxwell had a simple answer.

"I'd definitely want them to keep playing on with us because they're contracted for that year, and our role is to go out there and be successful and win games of football," Maxwell said on Thursday.

"Our supporters and our members would want us to do that with the best team available.

"Obviously, it's going to be a good player that gets poached, given the ones they're going after, and that player could be the difference between winning a premiership or making the finals.

"Personally, I would like those players to keep playing."

Nevertheless, Maxwell is confident Collingwood will eventually sign Thomas.

"I think we've created a culture and a place where players want to play footy, and we've had a really good record of keeping guys and also attracting players to the club," he said.

"In the end, we understand it's a business and if guys feel there's more to achieve at a different football club then they'll move on.

"It's hard to compete with it when you're talking about a contact that could be two or three times bigger than what they'd be getting at the club they're at.

"It's just how the player values it and whether they value the lifestyle of being here, the culture and the immediate success right now.

"For our club, we've got the chance of being up the top this year and maybe for the next couple, whereas when clubs are coming into the competition it's going to take them a few years to develop and get to that level."

As for whether the AFL will eventually see an NRL-style situation where a player or coach announces he's joining another club mid-season, Maxwell believes footy fans might have to get used to it.

"I'm sure with free agency coming in there's going to be more issues coming up and people wanting to know where their players are going," he said.

"So we'll probably end up getting to that in a few years' time."