A refreshed Ian Callinan doesn’t believe this season will be his football swansong.

Callinan’s football journey is a unique story of persistence. The Tasmanian was a talented junior who starred in representative and state league football, but was continually overlooked at the draft.

A decorated career in the TSL, VFL and SANFL saw Callinan win five premierships, three best and fairests, a J.J. Liston Trophy as the VFL’s Most Valuable Player and a Jack Oatey Medal as best afield in the 2010 SANFL Grand Final.

Adelaide rookie-listed Callinan as a 27-year-old in 2011 and he went on to kick 49 goals from 32 appearances in three seasons at the top level.

‘Nutsy’ played his 100^th SANFL game last year as Adelaide’s inaugural state league captain, adding another best and fairest award to his trophy cabinet as well as finishing the season as the side’s leading goalkicker.

Now 32, Callinan says his body feels better than ever and he’s not approaching his 16^th season of senior football as his last.

“I’ve done most of the pre-season with the AFL boys and I’m feeling as good as I’ve ever felt,” Callinan told afc.com.au.

“I had a slight hiccup with a minor knee injury early on, but it was probably a blessing in disguise as it’s helped me freshen up a bit along the way. I’ve ticked all the boxes after Christmas which is probably the most important thing.

“I’m not saying this will be my last year, and I’m not saying it isn’t. I haven’t really thought about it much at all.

“I just want to take things one week at a time and play my role for the side and try and lead from the front.”

Adelaide announced its 28-man SANFL development squad for the 2015 season last Thursday. Ten players with League experience headline the squad, along with a number of highly-rated youngsters from clubs across the state.

Callinan said he was excited with the calibre of the list.

“We’ve got a huge amount of depth this year,” he said.

“It’s a strong squad and I’ve got no doubt that any one of them could play at any time during the year.

“It means we can probably pick more position-based this year whereas last season we were probably picking the best players who were available at the time.

“Heath Younie and the whole development team have clocked some big hours and put in plenty of hard work putting this squad together.”

Callinan said Adelaide’s development recruits would be treated the same as any other player at the Club.

“We need these guys,” he said.

“If we don’t have them, we don’t have a footy side. We want them to fit in and feel part of our footy club.

“We don’t necessarily expect them to come in and play SANFL or AFL standard football right away. We just want them to come in and play their role.

“It’s also about giving young guys an opportunity to chase their dream, and we’re just happy we can play a small part in that process.”

Callinan will captain Adelaide’s SANFL side for a second season after the team finished in eighth position in its maiden state league campaign. The SANFL Crows play their first trial match against Port Magpies at Alberton Oval from 11.30am this Saturday.

Callinan said he was looking forward to a fresh start after a summer of change at West Lakes.

“Last year was a bit of an up and down season for a number of reasons,” he said.

“There’s been a few changes around the Club since then. Obviously we’ve got some new coaches and a new CEO on board plus a lot of new players as well.

“It’s an exciting challenge and I’m keen to lead from the front and continue to help some of our younger guys out along the way.”