Young key defender Jordon Butts has recommitted to Adelaide by signing a two-year contract extension keeping him at the Club until at least 2023.

Butts is just three games into his AFL career but after developing in the SANFL has already shown he is more than capable of competing at the top level.

The 21-year-old was overlooked in his draft year in 2017 when he played with the Murray Bushrangers but spent the 2018 season with Shepparton in country Victoria where he won a senior premiership and was rookie listed by the Crows with Pick No.39.

He finished fourth in Adelaide’s SANFL best-and-fairest in 2019 and made his AFL debut in Round 13 in 2020, playing two games in the Covid-shortened season.

In the opening round of the 2021 season, Butts played a crucial role in Adelaide’s 12-point win over Geelong by playing on Cats Coleman Medallist Tom Hawkins.

Adelaide General Manager List Management and Strategy Justin Reid said Butts’ development from the rookie list to the senior team in the past three seasons had shown he would be an important part of the Club’s future.

“Jordon has trained hard and applied himself to improving every part of his game since we drafted him,” Reid said.

“He has added size and strength to be able to compete with some of the best key forwards in the competition, he reads the ball fantastically well and has all the tools to become a long-term key defender for us so we are very happy to secure him for at least another two years.”

Butts is the latest in a series of players to re-sign with the Crows under second-year Senior Coach Matthew Nicks and his new-look assistant coaching panel.

“I’m stoked to be on board and it gives me a lot of confidence to keep improving,” Butts said.

“The past few years have been great and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

“I’m looking forward to where the footy club is going, we are all hungry to get better and I’m excited to see what’s ahead.”