DYNAMIC Adelaide utility Josh Rachele has set his sights on emulating club greats Mark Ricciuto and Andrew McLeod after committing his long-term future to the Crows.
As reported by Inside Trading last week, Rachele has signed a new long-term deal that ties him to Adelaide until the end of the 2029 season.
The 20-year-old follows young teammates Jake Soligo, Chayce Jones, Max Michalanney and Harry Schoenberg in announcing fresh contracts in the past week.
Rachele was pick six at the 2021 national draft and has booted 33 goals in 26 games over his first two seasons.
Any lure to return home to Victoria has been outweighed by his desire to taste the ultimate success with Adelaide and end his career as a one-club player.
"Adelaide gave me the opportunity to start with, so I feel like I have to pay them back," he said on Wednesday.
"I want to be a one-club player. Looking at Tex (Walker) and Rory (Sloane) and these guys - playing 250 games - that's definitely something I want to do.
"Every day in our meeting room, we see (pictures of) the likes of Ricciuto, McLeod and those guys who have won back-to-back premierships.
"I definitely want to be a premiership player, it's something I've always played for."
Rachele joked that his mum had tried to get him to move back home, but said his family endorsed his decision to stay in Adelaide.
"They love coming to Adelaide. They haven't missed a game all year," Rachele said.
"Hopefully my brother might be moving over next year at some stage.
"With Jake (Soligo) signing on as well, it made it quite easy (to re-sign). He's one of my best mates. It was just a no-brainer.
"I wanted to get it done as soon as I could."
Adelaide sit eighth on the ladder with a 7-6 record and a healthy percentage of 116.5.
Wins over Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Brisbane this year have proven the Crows can match it with the best.
They lost to premiership favourites Collingwood by one point in round seven and have the chance to turn the tables in Sunday's clash at the MCG.
Adelaide hasn't played finals since 2017 but a win over Collingwood would fuel belief they belong in September.
"It would be massive," Rachele said.
"That confidence booster for everyone would really open our eyes up to acknowledge that we can play finals."
