MELBOURNE captain Nathan Jones is set to remain a Demon for life after agreeing to a four-year contract extension.
Jones, 26, who was due to become a restricted free agent when his existing contract expired at the end of 2015, is now tied to the Demons until the end of the 2019 season.
As reported by AFL.com.au in September, the Demons were keen to sign Jones to a long-term contract and after much discussion, signed off on the deal on Wednesday night.
Jones hopes his commitment and the continual improvement of the Demons leads to Melbourne becoming a "destination club" for prospective free agents.
"I hope the success, the belief and confidence that we can generate (means) we can become a destination club like Hawthorn one day," Jones said on Thursday.
"Hopefully we can continue to grow off-field and perform on-field and that will obviously attract talent and keep the talent that we've got."
Jones met with CEO Peter Jackson, coach Paul Roos and football manager Josh Mahoney at the half-way point of 2014 to discuss the importance of having the right structure in place to take the club forward.
The Demons shored up their off-field stability in the off-season, bringing in Simon Goodwin as an assistant coach - he will eventually take over the top job when Roos departs at the end of 2016 - and also signing former Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney to a development role.
Jones says he "bleeds" for the Demons and always wanted to stay at the club that drafted him with pick No.12 in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft.
"It never crossed my mind to leave and it was just a matter of getting the negotiations done," Jones said.
"I love the place and I'm looking forward to having some success here."
There is little doubt Jones would have been a sought-after commodity had he decided to test the free agency market.
The AFLPA is pushing to reduce the eligibility for free agency from eight to six years' service, a move Jones believes will be beneficial for players. However, he believes the system still has some way to go before it is foolproof.
"At the moment we're seeing it being an advantage to the teams at the top of the ladder," Jones said.
"It probably hasn't completely served its purpose in being able to spread the talent across all the clubs but the AFL and the AFLPA will be watching that really closely.
"I hope the best decision will be made for the game and I hope we (Melbourne) can be beneficiaries of that free agency period."
Mahoney said the club was pleased to get the deal done before Christmas.
"We've been speaking to Nathan since half way through this year about extending out his contract, and the length we were never too worried about," Mahoney told AFL.com.au.
"He's improved each year. He's our current captain and reigning best and fairest winner, so we're very excited for him to sign on long-term."
The Demons co-captain achieved career-highs in disposals (27.7 per game), tackles (5.2), clearances (6.2), contested possessions (11.6) and uncontested possessions (16.1) in 2014.
In addition, Jones was second in the competition for total disposals (610) and fourth in clearances (138) and was desperately unlucky not to earn an All Australian nomination in the squad of 40.
Jones has played 179 games in nine seasons.
When his new deal expires at the end of 2019, he will be 31 years old.
