Adelaide Crows great Scott Thompson has joined Port Adelaide as a development coach

UPDATE: Adelaide Crows great Scott Thompson has returned to Port Adelaide to start his coaching apprenticeship feeling he is “back home”.

Crows great Scott Thompson, who announced his retirement this year, will join junior club Port Adelaide as a development coach. Picture: Sarah Reed

CROWS great Scott Thompson is back home at Port Adelaide - and excited to start his AFL coaching apprenticeship at Alberton where is football journey began.

The Power on Friday confirmed Thompson has accepted a two-year deal to be a development coach specialising in midfield roles, an expertise he developed in more than 300 AFL games at Adelaide and Melbourne.

“It’s a great feeling to be back where my footy began,” said Thompson, who played his junior football as a Magpie before being drafted by AFL club Melbourne in 2000.

Thompson says the coaching portfolio offered at Port Adelaide suits the mentoring role he came to appreciate late in his career at the Crows.

“As a senior player it’s natural to take on that sort of responsibility,” Thompson said, “but it helped me realise I have a genuine passion to help young players get the best out of themselves,” he said.

“Port Adelaide has an exciting group of young midfielders and I’m also looking forward to working closely with the likes of Ken Hinkley, Michael Voss and Matt Lokan, who I know well from my school and junior football days.

“It seems like a lifetime ago that I was finding my way as a youngster at Alberton but it’s a great feeling to be back where my footy began.”

Thompson, 34, will start his coaching apprenticeship at Alberton after being sought out by AFL club Fremantle for next season and two radio outlets in Adelaide.

Scott Thompson grapples with Port’s Ollie WInes during Showdown 41. Picture Sarah Reed

Scott Thompson playing in the SANFL for Port Adelaide. Picture: Stephen Laffer

He also was seen as a contender for the SANFL league coaching vacancy at South Adelaide.

Thompson will be part of a new-look development team at Port Adelaide where academy director Shaun Hart has rejoined Gold Coast, former Power player Jacob Surjan has moved to North Adelaide and Glenelg senior coach Matthew Lokan has returned to Alberton to take charge of the Magpies in place of Chad Cornes.

A winner of the Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide’s club champion in 2011 and 2012, Thompson closed his AFL career in September after playing 308 AFL games in 17 seasons – 269 with the Crows from 2005 and 39 with the Demons from 2001.

He played just one AFL game this year while being a much-treasured mentor to the Crows novices in the SANFL.

There will be some surprise in Thompson not staying at West Lakes where Don Pyke’s coaching panel has been remodelled. At the senior level, Pyke has lost forwards coach David Teague to Carlton and hired Sydney assistant and former Port Adelaide midfielder Josh Francou and returned premiership defender Ben Hart to the club for his second stint as an assistant coach.

A potential opening for Thompson was in the role vacated by former captain Nathan van Berlo who has returned to Perth to become a midfield coach with West Coast.

Port Adelaide will start its pre-season training program on Monday, November 27. Senior coach Ken Hinkley’s panel remains consistent with senior assistant Matthew Nicks, forwards coach Brendon Lade, defence coach Nathan Bassett and midfield coach Michael Voss. Cornes will move from the Magpies’ coaching staff to be part of Hinkley’s AFL order.