Patrick Dangerfield has given his strongest indication yet that he will turn his back on free agency next year and recommit to Adelaide, saying he "loves" the Crows and is happy to stay as long as Brenton Sanderson remains coach.
Dangerfield turned down lucrative offers from Geelong and Essendon when he last came out of contract in 2012, re-signing with the Crows for a further three years.
But the star midfielder, who is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of 2015, gave Adelaide fans an almighty scare in March when he told Fairfax Media he would not make a decision on his football future until the final year of his contract.
Dangerfield said then his decision would primarily be based on whether the Crows' list could achieve future on-field success in the wake of forward Kurt Tippett's departure at the end of 2012, and the club's subsequent loss of its first and second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts.
But Dangerfield told SEN radio on Thursday morning that he was more entrenched at Adelaide than ever before.
"You always think about (coming home). I think early on in your career you'd love to come home because you don't have those really well developed relationships you get once you've been at the club for a long period of time," Dangerfield said.
"For myself, I've been here for a while now. Your family really does become the players around you, because you spend so much time with them.
"And whenever I go home now it's great to catch up with mates, but it's not like you can cruise back on a Tuesday or Thursday and catch up with a few friends. They've got work and study and that sort of thing.
"I've certainly enjoyed my time (at the Crows) a lot more, the longer I've been here."
Dangerfield said his relationships at Adelaide had been "too strong" for him to leave in 2012, Brenton Sanderson's first season as coach.
The former Geelong Falcon said he would be "very happy" to continue playing under the Crows' coaching team, in particular Sanderson.
"Paul Connors, my manager, (said that) if I wanted to go home then he would find a way, but I love what we're doing here in Adelaide," Dangerfield said.
"I think a really important part of enjoying your footy is having good coaches around you and I certainly think we have that in 'Sando'.
"He's a terrific coach and a really good people person, so as long as he's here I'm very happy to stay."
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