Doughty went into the season as one of five Crows aged 30 years or older.
That number has dwindled to four following the retirement of Tyson Edwards and will be cut to three when skipper Simon Goodwin hangs up the boots at the end of the season.
Adelaide’s disappointing start to the year has prompted questions over the future of the remaining three over-30s, Doughty, Andrew McLeod and Brett Burton.
McLeod, who is recuperating from knee surgery, is yet to announce his plans for next year, but on Tuesday Doughty echoed Burton’s sentiments in wanting to play on.
“If my form holds up and the club decides they need me for another year I’ll definitely put my hand up. I’m not thinking about retirement or anything at the moment,” Doughty said.
“My future is on the line in the next 10 weeks and as a senior player I’d need to maintain that consistency for the second half of the year, which I think I can do.”
Doughty, who has played 178 AFL games, has been a permanent fixture of the Adelaide side over the past five years, but this hasn’t always been the case.
The former rookie managed 36 games in his first four years with the club and faced the prospect of being delisted on several occasions.
Doughty was confident the game hadn’t gone past him, but said the sudden departure of Edwards had served as a timely reminder of how fragile a player’s career could be.
“I wasn’t expecting Tyson to go the way he did, but that’s happened now and it puts everyone on alert. As a senior player you’ve got to be performing each week to hold your spot now,” Doughty said.
“I’ve had a lot of experience with these sort of equations, having been on the edge of being delisted two or three times throughout my career. It’s another challenge for me and I love a challenge like this, so I assume I’ll come out the other end a better person again.”
The Crows will have three days off before returning to the club for training on Saturday, ahead of the clash with Melbourne in two weeks time.
Reigning best-and-fairest winner Bernie Vince will serve his club-imposed suspension in the SANFL this weekend, but injured trio Phil Davis, Trent Hentschel and Brodie Martin will all have the week off.
Richmond’s resurgence over the past month has left Adelaide just a game and percentage from bottom spot on the AFL ladder.
Doughty rated his side’s performance in the first half of the season as a 4/10 and said the club was determined not to claim its first-ever wooden spoon this year.
“It’s been a disappointing start to the year and the record (3-9) speaks for itself. We’re definitely disappointed, but all we can do is look forward. We’ve got 10 weeks to improve the list and decide where we head for next year,” he said.
“You never want to finish last and we’re not a group that will ever try to bottom out or lose games. We’ll be fighting like anything to not finish last. We can still make the finals, so we’ll still be aiming to achieve that.”
