Boak Set To Stay
Travis Boak says he has no interest in joining the competition's new franchise and wants to stay at Port Adelaide for as long as he can
Newspaper reports last week suggested Boak was being heavily courted by the AFL's 17th club but the talented 21-year-old denied he'd even spoken to its officials.
"My manager handles all of that, but I haven't spoken to the Gold Coast at all," he told afl.com.au.
"I've been reading about it in the newspaper and it's been interesting reading, but I just laugh it off. I have no real interest at all in going there, so it's funny reading about it.
"I love it over here in Adelaide. I'm really enjoying it and I don't want to go anywhere. I'd be happy to stay as long as I can and with a young group coming through at the club, it's going to be fantastic to be a part of that."
Boak, from the Victorian surfside town of Torquay, was selected by the Power with pick No.5 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft.
Despite missing a month with injury, he finished sixth in the club's best and fairest count last season and has already been touted as a future captain.
Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde said negotiations were already underway with Boak's manager.
"Funnily enough I was actually only talking to Travis' manager on Tuesday and he's assured me Trav's not going anywhere," Rohde said.
"Travis is a highly rated player and we think he's only going to continue to improve. We see him as a key part of our future. Obviously he was an early draft pick and his development has been very good since he's been here.
"We see him as a good long-term player for the club."
Boak is one of a number of promising Power players, including onballer Robbie Gray and half-back Nathan Krakouer, who will fall out of contract when the Gold Coast poaching spree begins in earnest at the end of the season.
Rohde said he was confident of retaining all three of the 2006 draftees.
"There are a few players coming out of contract and they're all high priorities for us, so we'll work our way through all of them hopefully," he said.
"We always try and get onto the guys coming out of contract nice and early. I'm talking to their managers all the way through. It's just a matter of when we push the button to get into it."
The introduction of free agency and the introduction of the cashed-up Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney (GWS) teams means existing clubs will be under more pressure than ever to retain their players.
Boak admitted the lure of earning big dollars would be a temptation for some, but said he was optimistic the youthful nature of the Port Adelaide squad would help keep the group intact.
"As a young group we're a lot closer than clubs that might have that age gap between the 18 and 19-year-olds and then the 30-year-olds or the older guys," he said.
"We've got a big group of players around the same age, which is fantastic. If we can all stay together then hopefully in the near future we can have some success."