ADELAIDE midfielder Matt Crouch believes the Crows have a three-year window ahead of them to challenge for premierships, urging his teammates to prioritise success over the money that could come from joining rivals.
Crouch signed a three-year extension with the Crows until the end of 2021 on Thursday, with the Victorian declaring Adelaide now felt like home after four years with the losing Grand Finalists of 2017.
Adelaide faces another list management challenge in 2018 with star free agent Rory Sloane joining All Australian defender Rory Laird, important half-forward Tom Lynch, midfielder Rory Atkins and half-back Brodie Smith in coming out of contract.
After losing key players Jake Lever and Charlie Cameron during the NAB AFL Trade Period last year, Crouch said the Crows wanted to prioritise staying together and being successful.
"I think so. That’s the main reason you play footy, to be involved in success and premierships," Crouch said on Friday.
"For me, that's the reason I played when I was a young kid and that's what I want to do in the future.
"I'm really happy to be here and really content with the footy club's direction and where we’re going.
"I reckon we’re in a really good position now for the next three years at least to really challenge, and it's going to be a good environment to be around."
Crouch's extension leaves the spotlight firmly on vice-captain Sloane, who has insisted he won't be rushed into signing a new deal as he enters 2018 as an unrestricted free agent.
While hopeful the two-time club champion would remain at West Lakes, Crouch said Sloane's future would not be an issue for the team.
After a slow start to pre-season training that saw the players meet to address poor time trial and skin fold results, the Crows are back on track post-Christmas.
Crouch said there had been a number of personal best results in this week's 2km time trial, which was taken out by recruit Sam Gibson, who also claimed first place in December's opening time trial.
"It obviously wasn’t the way we wanted to start, but it's a positive now and we can really look forward and get stuck into pre-season," Crouch said.