SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 23: Dan Hannebery of the Swans runs the ball during the round five AFL match between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles at Sydney Cricket Ground on April 23, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Sydney midfielder Dan Hannebery is a former rising star winner, premiership player and a three-time All-Australian.
The former No.30 pick in the National Draft has become a star of the game and was attracting serious interest in 2015 when he was out of contract.
So much so that three Victorian clubs in particular were seriously pursuing the onballer.
Richmond, North Melbourne and Melbourne were the clubs pushing hardest to lure the Victorian back home, with the Dees reportedly offering Hannebery a deal worth almost one million per season.
As it turned out, he signed a five-year contract extension, keeping him in red and white until the end of the 2020 season.
Hannebery said his love for the club and his teammates, plus the lure of future success was too great for him to consider moving clubs.
“I thought initially it was nice and I was sort of humbled by that, (but) I just would basically say ‘That’s great and I’m appreciative that you’re helping me out here and looking for that, but I don’t want to leave and I want to say in Sydney, so let’s get a deal done,’" He said on SEN Radio.
“At the end of the day I sat down with the manager and I said I love the life in Sydney and love the footy club and the players, and we were in a really good spot at that stage with our list and where we were going,” the Swans on-baller said.
“I’ve always had trust in the group that we have got but more so now going forward, it’s a great position to be in and an even better place to live.
“As much as it was nice to look at those offers and speak to the manager about it, at the end of the day, deep down, there was no other place I would rather play footy and live, and that was here in Sydney.”
The 26-year-old also cited the faith the club had put in him as a youngster as part of his desire to remain loyal to the Swans.
"There was an aspect of loyalty to it," he added.
"Personally I felt the sense that the club had done a lot for me and I had the incentive to give a bit more back and the relationships I built were quite strong... that was a major factor in me staying."