ADELAIDE star Richard Douglas expects to put pen to paper on a new contract close to the club's mid-year bye in round 11.
Douglas, who was crowned club champion in 2010, ranked fourth in the League last year for average inside 50s.
He's one of three notable out-of-contract Crows, along with Rory Sloane and Patrick Dangerfield.
Although there's been interest from other clubs to lure him home to Melbourne, he told AFL.com.au that the trajectory of the Crows' premiership chances meant he'd be crazy to leave.
"We'll sit down once the season gets underway and towards the middle part of the year, and then hopefully get something done," Douglas said.
"You can't be naive and think that [interest's] not out there, so you've got to just assess where you're at as a person and if you're enjoying your footy and if you want to be at the club; I tick all those boxes.
"As long as you're happy to be somewhere, why not stay?
The 28-year-old is building a house in the Adelaide suburb of Glengowrie.
"There's obviously family back home and some ties that want to pull you home, but at the end of the day you want to get the ultimate success and if you can think you can get that at Adelaide, you'd be mad to leave."
While both Douglas and Sloane have spoken of their desire to remain in Adelaide, Dangerfield has given no such indication if he intends to remain at the club past 2015.
If he fails to re-sign he'll enter October as the game's biggest free agent.
Coverage of Dangerfield’s path to decision has already reached saturation point.
Douglas understood the obsession with his teammate, but offered a players' perspective: given the gravity of the decision, it wasn't anybody's business how a player handled his contract negotiation.
"It sells papers so it's always going to be a topic of conversation, but the thing they don't understand is just how big of a life decision it is," Douglas said.
"It's not just about money or wanting to go back home – it's a whole range of things.
"When you've got partners and family and kids, the decision you make impacts a lot of people so you need to talk to people you can really trust, and [listen] to peoples' opinions you really value.
"That takes a long time, and for them or for anyone it's not a decision you want to rush into … whether it takes people three months to do it or if it takes the whole year - I don't think it's anyone's business."
Douglas has made his name as a goalkicking midfielder, but flagged a possible return to the half-back flank this year, a position he hasn't played since being drafted in 2005.
How often he's required in defence will be up to coach Phil Walsh, but through years of playing as a forward he's learnt a few tricks from opponents that he said could help him at the other end of the field.
The Crows begin their season at Adelaide Oval against North Melbourne on Sunday.
