Hartlett stays put with Port until 2021

Port Adelaide star Hamish Hartlett has spurned interest from rival AFL clubs to sign a new long-term deal with the Power.

The 25-year-old was contracted until the end of next season but signed a five-year extension on Wednesday that ties him to the club until the end of the 2021 season.

The South Australian revealed that he had turned down long-term, big-money offers from Victorian clubs to stay at Alberton.

“It’s great to have that security – I never really wanted to go anywhere else,” Hartlett said.

“I’m incredibly happy that the footy club has come to the party and I’ll be hanging around for a few more years.

“I’ve been here for a significant amount of time already – I’ve invested a lot in the footy club and the footy club has invested a lot in me.

“So for them to counter-offer the way they did was really pleasing.

“I’m just pretty thankful to the footy club for doing that.”

North Melbourne and Richmond were both reported to have been keen on luring Hartlett across the border.

“The length of the deals was something that pricked my ears up a little bit,” he said.

“But it was within two or three days that the club came back with their offer on top of that.

“As soon as they gave me the same sort of security I knew I was always going to stay.”

Hartlett has played 112 AFL games for Port since he was selected fourth overall at the 2008 national draft.

He said that the promise of premiership success, the tight-knit nature of the playing group and a desire to repay the club for helping him cope with the death of teammate John McCarthy in 2012 were key factors in his decision to stay.

“I’ve been on a long journey with these guys and the job is unfinished,” he said.

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