Collingwood midfielder Steele Sidebottom will wear the black and white stripes into the next decade, joining teammates Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp and Adam Oxley as the latest players to extend their contracts.
The signatures of Sidebottom, Adams and Crisp mean four of the top five place getters in the 2015 Copeland Trophy have committed to the club until at least the end of 2019, following Scott Pendlebury’s four-year extension in October.
A free agent at the end of the year, Sidebottom emphatically showed he’s Collingwood through and through, signing a five-year deal that will tie him to the Holden Centre until the end of 2021.
“I definitely feel privileged. I’m glad the club has shown the faith in me, clearly they showed the faith eight years ago when they first drafted me, so I suppose it’s just up to me now to pay back a little bit of that faith and play my best footy for the next six years.”
Tasting premiership success as a 19 year old, Sidebottom has his eyes firmly set on securing a second flag.
“That’s definitely a driving factor for me and being in the leadership group now it’s my responsibility to help drive others to get to that place again. I’m confident that with the list we’ve got, within the next couple of years it’s definitely achievable.”
Steele Sidebottom will remain a Magpie until the end of 2021.
General Manager of List Management Derek Hine brought Sidebottom to the club as a 17-year-old country boy and says his journey has been rewarding to watch.
“We have seen Steele develop into undoubtedly one of the elite midfielders in the competition, but what is equally pleasing is his development off the field where he is firmly entrenched in our leadership group and is a strong mentor for our younger players,” Hine said.
Fellow midfielders Adams and Crisp have also backed the direction of the Pies’ young list, extending their contracts until the end of 2019. 
A new member of the leadership group, Taylor Adams will be a Magpie until the end of 2019.
“There is a real drive and hunger in the group to play finals footy and contend deep in September. We’ve put a lot of work in over the pre-season and we think that in 2016 we should be playing finals footy,” Adams said.
“It’s a good, young list with a bit of experience as well… it shows all the players have faith in the club and where it’s going, especially with a lot of guys signing on at similar times… we are all feeling a similar drive towards a premiership and we are excited about the future,” Crisp said.
Oxley rounds out the four re-signings, completing his transition from a rookie-listed player to a senior-listed Magpie by signing on for a further two years until the end of 2018.
“I think the boys are really loving the way we are going about it and for four blokes to commit around the same time to medium-to-long term deals really shows that what we’ve put in place at the moment is going to help and we’re definitely going to go a long way,” Oxley said.
Having secured Adams and Crisp through trades and Oxley through the Rookie Draft, Hine says the trio has wasted no time since arriving at the Holden Centre.
Adam Oxley began his career as a rookie from Queensland before becoming a valuable member of the Collingwood backline.
“Both Taylor and Jack have really embraced and developed in our program and it’s a credit to both boys’ level of professionalism and commitment that they finished in the top five of the 2015 Copeland Trophy,” Hine said.
“Adam has worked really hard in recent seasons to overcome injury setbacks to establish a position on our senior list and has shown glimpses of what he is capable of at a senior level.”
The signings cap off a string of long-term deals agreed to by Collingwood players over the past 12 months. Sidebottom joins Adam Treloar in signing until the end of 2021, Pendlebury has committed until the end of 2020, while Crisp and Adams join Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore and Brayden Maynard until the end of 2019.
Jack Crisp will be 25 years old when he comes out of contract in 2019.
