RETIRING Adelaide veteran Michael Doughty has experienced the highs and lows of AFL football, but his fingers are crossed that his career high is yet to come.

The 33-year-old announced on Wednesday that he would call it quits at season's end but, with the Crows about to embark on their most anticipated finals series since 2006, Doughty might still understand the joy of securing a premiership.

The eighth most prolific player in Crows history certainly thinks the side is capable of going all the way this season.

"I'm very content and happy that I've been given the opportunity by this footy club and 'Sando' to go out my way and go out with at least an opportunity to play in a Grand Final hopefully," Doughty said.

"I think we've got enough talent, we're getting a few players back in the next week or so, so we should be pretty much full strength heading into finals.

"Talent wise, we're as good as I've played with."

As a member of the Crows team that suffered consecutive heartbreaking preliminary finals defeats to West Coast in 2005/06, Doughty said he had passed on some valuable advice to the current crop at West Lakes.

When he announced his retirement to the playing group, Doughty said he also ensured he made the point that genuine opportunity in football was rare and to ensure the club gave everything it could this September.

"I've been involved in a lot of finals series where you're just in and then you're out and you wake up and go 'what happened there?'" Doughty said.

"I just emphasised the importance of making, from here on in, everything count and be able to look each other in the eye after every game, no matter the result and hold our heads up high [and say] that we gave it our all this year.

"This opportunity might not come around again, we've had a really good year but you've got to make the most of these opportunities when they come and that's probably something we didn't do in '05 and '06."

Doughty's 13 seasons at the elite level have been a winding road, especially early in his career when he admitted to being "a bit wild".

When he was picked by the Crows at the 1999 NAB AFL Rookie Draft, then recruiting manager James Fantasia's notes described Doughty as talented, but that he was easily lead down the wrong path and wasn't a leader.

What saved him, he said, was surrounding himself with strong characters, namely Simon Goodwin, Mark Ricciuto, Brent Reilly and, as the club's football manager Phil Harper put it, "they taught him how to be good".

"I was a bit wild as a young kid and it took probably two or three years for me to settle and I was luck enough that Adelaide had enough belief they could turn me around," Doughty said.

"The influences that I surrounded myself with definitely helped me develop quicker."

But while Doughty said he hoped the best chapter in his career was still being written, he conceded there was no doubting one his the most demoralising moments.

It occurred at the Gabba and the protagonist was Jason Akermanis.

"I remember one night playing up at the Gabba on Jason Akermanis and at the start of the game he got the trainer out and got him to go run and get the Record and ask who No.41 was," Doughty said.

"I was pretty upset by that…I tried to swap wings after that."

Harry Thring covers Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.