Scott Thompson to remain loyal to Adelaide Crows post-contract STAR Adelaide midfielder Scott Thompson will remain with the Crows next year despite being listed as a restricted free agent. Thompson, the winner of Adelaide's best-and-fairest award for the past two years and an All-Australian last year, will earn an automatic contract extension by playing against St Kilda at AAMI Stadium on Sunday. The Crows have been bled by rival clubs poaching a number of talented players in recent years. Thompson's three-year contract, which expires at the end of the season, has a trigger clause which stipulates that if he plays 55 games during the length of the contract, he gets a fourth year, taking him out to the end of next year. The durable 30-year-old has played 54 games out of a possible 54 since the start of 2011. In fact, Thompson has played 68 consecutive games for the Crows dating back to round nine 2010. After losing a number of its better players in recent years - particularly Kurt Tippett to Sydney, Nathan Bock to Gold Coast, Jack Gunston to Hawthorn and Phil Davis to Greater Western Sydney - Thompson's contract extension will be a boost to last year's preliminary finalist. Thompson's remuneration is in the top three at Adelaide following spectacular form in recent seasons. This season, he has been solid, but over the past two rounds he has improved to the high levels previously achieved. Thompson, who started his career with Melbourne in 2001 and played 39 games before being traded to the Crows at the end of 2004, was the most talked about player in the competition earlier this month when he was on the end of a wrong umpiring decision against the Hawks, which could have cost the Crows victory. The AFL later apologised to Adelaide after admitting the umpire had made an error by penalising Thompson for pushing an opponent in a marking contest close to goal. The decision was late in the round-six game at AAMI Stadium which Hawthorn won by 11 points. Should he continue his sequence of games beyond three full seasons, he will reach his 200-game milestone for Adelaide in round 17 against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium. As a restricted free agent, a player is allowed to field offers from any other club, but his club has the right to match the best outside offer. If his club matches the offer, the player may choose to remain, seek a trade or enter the draft. If his club does not or cannot match the rival offer, the player can move to the club of his choice. Adelaide also has three players on the league's unrestricted free agents list - Graham Johncock, Jason Porplyzia and Ben Rutten, who are all out of contract at the end of the season. Johncock, who has played 227 games, but none since round three, turns 31 in October and may decide to retire. Full-back Rutten is in the final year of a three-year deal and is likely to be asked to play on under year-by-year terms, at least until the end of next season. Rutten, who turns 30 later this month, played his 200th game against the Hawks in round six. Since the start of 2009, he has missed playing in one of Adelaide's 99 games, through illness in 2011. Forward Porplyzia's tenure will also be assessed at the end of the season. He has played 116 games and is likely to be offered an extension.