ADELAIDE midfielder Scott Thompson says his side can emulate Geelong's rise to an AFL superpower if it can keep its list together and re-sign its young stars.

Jared Petrenko and Brodie Smith inked new deals with the club on Tuesday and Thompson said if the Crows stuck by each other, great things were possible.

"If we're going to be successful, we need to keep the group together and bring through a young list to create that success," he said.

"I remember a game in '06 we beat (Geelong) at AAMI by about 80 or 90 points and then the next year, with the same team, they won the flag.

"They've had that group go through together and mature together and they understand how each other plays.

"We've got the list that's capable of doing a similar thing."

Patrick Dangerfield would be first on the Crows' wishlist of re-signings, with the 21-year-old of contract at the end of the season.

Dangerfield was elevated to the club's leadership group for season 2012 and Thompson said he would play a vital role in the future of the side.

"We've seen what he can do and what he's capable of doing ... that's the future of the list," he said.

"We mentioned Petrenko and Smith, you've got Dangerfield, [Rory] Sloane, David Mackay, who has been around for a while now, but these young guys, (like) Matthew Wright, that are coming through, are going to be very important for the success of the club going forward.

"In the perfect world you don't want to lose anyone, especially blokes who have come from interstate and Patrick's one of those, so we'd love to keep him, no doubt."

Thompson said coach Brenton Sanderson's arrival from Geelong meant the club had taken a further step towards emulating the Cats, with an increased emphasis on physicality and weights creating a stronger list.

"With Sanderson coming from Geelong and the background he's had there with these mature, strong bodies and obviously playing consistent finals footy and winning three of the last five premierships, he's got a very clear picture of what it takes to get to that standard," Thompson said.

"It's a work in progress, it's going to take a number of years until we get a list that's full of mature bodies, but we're heading in the right direction."

He also flagged the need to play a contested brand of football, made possible by having stronger players around the contests.

"You look at the better sides going around now, I've mentioned Geelong, [as well as] Hawthorn, Collingwood - right across the field they've got mature, strong bodies capable of being strong in the contest and winning the contested ball," he said.

"That's definitely where we're looking to improve because, as I said, in finals footy the fancy stuff goes out the window and it's the contested game that gets you across the line."

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

Scott Thompson is a $538,500 midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here