HEATH Scotland has big plans for life after football, but he's content to put those plans on hold for now.

The Blues veteran, who recently turned 32, harbours ambitions to join the fire brigade one day, but has declared his intention to play on for at least one more season.

Having signed up Matthew Kreuzer, Bryce Gibbs, Chris Yarran and Rob Warnock in recent months, the club has put all contract negotiations on hold until after the season, but a new contract for Scotland appears a formality given his on-field performances this year. 

The evergreen defender has averaged a team-high 26.8 possessions per game and has missed just one match, with a calf strain, which has him confident he can continue to make a contribution.

"I may have turned 32, but I don't feel like I'm 32," Scotland says.

"For me it is just a number, but unfortunately in the business that we're in when you hit 30 everyone thinks you're old, but I feel as good as I did when I was 26 or 27.

"I feel strong, my body is holding up, and I feel like I haven't lost any speed or power.

"But obviously it's a team game and when the side's not performing as expected you don't reflect on your own performances a great deal.

"I don't look at kicks, marks and handballs, but I've been happy with the fact that I've been able to be reasonably consistent."

Scotland has played 239 AFL games, 53 with Collingwood and 186 with Carlton, and he admits breaking the 200-mark with the Blues would be a milestone he would cherish.
 
"I was thrilled just to get to 200 games [in total] and to get to 200 for Carlton would be great," he says.

"That'd be fantastic and I'd love for that to happen.

"But one thing that's always stayed with me from my days at Collingwood was I remember Mick Malthouse saying to me early on, 'Don't count your games; make your games count'. That's always stuck with me."

Scotland is the oldest player at the club by over three years, which makes him an easy target for teammates.

"I get 'Poppy' or 'Fossil' thrown at me and I'm getting quite thin up top as well, so I do cop a bit of flak, but that's an integral part of a footy club - we're all pretty close," he says.

"We spend every day together and it's good to keep it a little bit light-hearted sometimes.

"But I give out as much stick as I get. When you do give a bit out the boys do target you."

While Scotland is keen to extend his career into a 15th year, he's put a lot of thought into his post-playing days. He hopes to stay involved in footy in some capacity, but is serious about becoming a fireman.

"I've got an older brother who is full-time in the CFA (Country Fire Authority) and that's how I probably got interested in it initially," he says.

"Bret Thornton and I have been doing a bit of study for the (fire brigade) exams over the past 18 months, so it's definitely a job I'd like to get into.

"That's my long-term goal and something I'd really love to do."

Scotland has been lucky enough to avoid major injuries over the course of his career and has also proved remarkably resilient when it comes to soft-tissue injuries.

Despite his age, he won't be looking to be excused from any training sessions as he feels continuity in game preparation is a key part of his durability.

While he's keen to play on next year and has big plans beyond that, Scotland's focus for now remains on being part of a late surge to secure a finals berth.

"A lot of people have been frustrated with our season and we have been too, but the players and coaches couldn't be working any harder," he says.

"We're just starting to see the fruit of that hard work over the last couple of weeks. They haven't been our greatest performances, but we've managed to get the four points and hopefully we can build on that.

"I genuinely believe the club is on the right track for some success. Hopefully I can be around long enough to be part of it, but if not I'll be assured that the club is headed in the right direction.

"It's going to be an exciting future."