Melbourne youngster Christian Petracca will remain at the club that drafted him after signing a two-year extension with the Demons.
The 22-year-old, now in his fourth ear in the league, has committed until the end of the 2020 season in a promising start to the year for Demons fans.
“I can’t wait to start the season off, it’s all we are really focusing on but to finalise this contract for another two years is such a special feeling,” Petracca told the Herald Sun.
“It’s awesome because this is where I want to be.
“We have such a young playing group which is thriving and so hungry for success and that includes the coaches as well.
“I think I’m a really loyal person and I was always going to stay, so it was just a matter of doing it at the right time. I think before the season starts was the best time.”
Petracca's loyalty continue's Melbourne's retention of his young core and while long-term deals aren't in place, it allows the Demons to build on a year that gave fans so much promise.
Despite a heart-wrenching end to 2017, Petracca's belief in what the group can accomplish went a long way to inking a deal before the beginning of the season.
“It’s brought this group a bit closer together,” he said.
“We all realise we have got more to give each other and we are quite young and it’s not always easy to give that feedback when you are young because we aren’t as experienced.
“But we have got a lot more demanding on each other this year.
“Our (co)-captain (Jack Viney) at the moment is 24 years old so we have got just to be more demanding of each other and keep thriving off each other’s energy because we are young and motivated and we come in here every day with a sense of purpose and that’s what we want.”
“It’s pretty clear what we are capable of as a team and I’m very excited for our development together and the coaching staff we have got on board,” Petracca added.
“I’m only 22 and still trying to learn the history of the footy club. But the longer I have been here the more I understand the fans and how passionate they are and impatient they are because they haven’t had one since ’64.
“The more I come into this team the more I realise that’s all we play for — premierships. That’s all you care about is the team and what you can do for the team to win.”