RORY Sloane insists he never contemplated leaving Adelaide, after re-signing with the club for a further three years on Monday.
St Kilda's coach Alan Richardson and CEO Matt Finnis both publicly announced the club's interest in the 25-year-old, while behind closed doors plenty of other organisations would have been drooling at the prospect of luring the star midfielder.
As he'd insisted time and time again this year, Sloane said he was always happy with how his contract negotiations developed.
Crows star off the market after inking new deal
"I was really comfortable with where we were at the whole time and had constant talks with the footy club," Sloane said.
"We just needed some time to think about things outside of football. My fiancée, Belinda, and I just needed to make sure we were right with every possibility and every element that comes up over the next few years.
"I didn't consider other interest at all."
Of course, Sloane's decision to commit to the Crows leaves Patrick Dangerfield as the last of the club's superstars to re-sign after Taylor Walker did so last November before being made captain.
Richard Douglas is also out of contract at season's end but is expected to re-commit soon.
Sloane wouldn't be drawn on what his decision meant for Dangerfield, although he denied that the time it took to lock his deal down had anything to do with easing the pressure on his teammate.
As the only star yet to indicate whether he'd like to remain at West Lakes, Dangerfield will now solely shoulder the burden of expectation for the second half of the season.
Douglas makes it two in two days for Crows
Sloane's new deal ties him to the club until at least the end of 2018, by which time he was confident the Crows could push deep into finals territory. They're currently inside the top eight and are on track to end a two-year finals drought this season.
"The key people that we have around the footy club, this year in particular, and the direction that they're taking us, the direction that the players want to go as well – it's really exciting," he said.
"It's something that I think everyone wants to be a part of, that we're all going to drive pretty hard to succeed and especially in the second half of this year drive to make finals.
"The team aspect side of things - the team first is something that really sits well with me."
Adelaide's round 11 bye came at the perfect time for Sloane, who returned from a fractured cheekbone against Carlton in round 10. He'll now line up against Hawthorn on Thursday night at full fitness, fresh from the players' four-day break.
The game is a re-match of the club's first in the AFL, 25 years ago in 1991. Sloane was born that same year and said it was fitting he'd be able to help celebrate the anniversary.
"Back to feeling nice, very healthy. Four days off definitely helped and I'm glad I got that Carlton game in as well, because (after) a few weeks off you sort of miss the contact," he said.
"We're very excited to take on the reigning champs…second half of the year after a little break, we want to play some really strong footy and push for finals."
