NEWLY re-signed Port Adelaide star Travis Boak says the future and direction of the club was enough to seal his two-year deal, despite it remaining unknown who he'll play under.
The Power are yet to install a senior coach, but Boak said the main thing he was concerned about before re-signing was where the club would head regardless of who was at the reins.
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The 24-year-old was excited by the plans former coach Matthew Primus had for the Power, but his departure was seen by many as a threat to Boak's commitment.
Boak sought reassurance from the club that Primus' plans would remain and found it.
"I sat down with Matty towards the end and he explained where the club was heading and that was something I was really happy with," Boak said.
"After the Matty decision I spoke to the club again and just wanted to be reassured of where it was going.
"They reassured me it was along the same path and I'm really happy about that and really excited by it.
"I'm really close with Matty and it was hard to take that he wasn't going to be coaching, but it was more the direction of the club [I was worried about] and where we're heading."
Boak had been chased by both Geelong and North Melbourne in recent months and in July Cats coach Chris Scott and star players Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel controversially met with him in Adelaide.
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The Kangaroos also confirmed that coach Brad Scott and captain Andrew Swallow had made a detailed submission to Boak's manager, Tom Petroro.
While conceding the club's chasing him made an impact, Boak said that in the end their plans weren't any more impressive than Port's.
"They're all fantastic clubs," Boak said of his suitors.
"But I don't think there's a hell of a lot of difference to what they're doing [compared] to what we're doing, I just think our direction of the club is in good stead and I think we're really going to turn it around."
Emerging players Jasper Pittard, Jarrad Redden, Aaron Young and Cameron O’Shea all recently penned two-year deals and Hamish Hartlett, Matthew Broadbent, Paul Stewart and captain Dom Cassisi also re-committed to the club earlier in the year.
Boak's two-year commitment will see him finish the 2014 season as a restricted free agent, a situation, he said, was pure coincidence.
"I'll (have been at Port for) eight years then … so restricted or something like that, I think," he said.
"It's got nothing to do with it … it's (two-year deals) something I've always done."
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
