Midfielder Richard Douglas says the Adelaide players have spoken about staying together to build a successful era after losing talent to rivals in recent seasons.

Douglas is one of several big-name players, who will fall out of contract at the end of the season.

The 2010 Crows Club Champion said it was important the Club kept its core group intact.

"It's my 10th season now and it'll be Patty's Dangerfield’s eighth, and Scotty Thompson, (Nathan) van Berlo and these sort of blokes have been around a long time and you need quality players to stay," Douglas told AFL.com.au's new show First Bounce on Friday.

 "We've lost Phil Davis (to Greater Western Sydney), Kurt Tippett (Sydney Swans), Jack Gunston (Hawthorn), these real quality players, over the last three or four years and to lose any more would be a real shame and a real big hit on the team.

“We have talked about that. And with 'Walshy' coming in he's brought a real team-first attitude to us, so we think that's going to really help us going forward and give us that edge that we've been looking for."

Like Douglas, Dangerfield will have the option to exercise free agency at the end of 2015.

Douglas, a fellow Victorian, admitted the pull of home was "always there", but the prospect of enjoying success with longtime teammates shouldn't be underestimated.

"You'd love to ideally be around your family and friends," Douglas said.

"Patty's engaged now and he's probably going to be looking to start a family in the next few years, so there's obviously that attraction there to have some free babysitters, which would be nice for him to save some coin.

"It's always there, but at the end of the day it comes down to whether you want to be part of a successful organisation and we feel we're building towards that. Patty's a key part of that, and he knows that.

"Hopefully he hangs around, and we're quietly confident that he will."

After missing the finals for the past two seasons, Douglas is buoyant about the Crows prospects, saying they "have a strong game plan in place" and would be well equipped defensively.