Adelaide ruckman Ivan Maric says he "knows" Kurt Tippett will stay at West Lakes despite his conspicuous absence from a bevy of young Adelaide players to sign new contracts this week.

Bernie Vince, Andy Otten, Taylor Walker, Myke Cook and Tony Armstrong, plus more seasoned swingman Scott Stevens, have each inked deals to remain at the club, all believed to be for two years.

Tippett had been in negotiations at the same time as the others, but elected to postpone talks until the end of the season, adding fuel to speculation about his chances of being poached by the new GC17 franchise, destined to become the AFL's newest club.

However Maric said the signs all pointed to Tippett having a long career at Adelaide, having bought a house here and entertaining the prospect of having his Queensland-based girlfriend move down.

"I think that he's very happy here, he's bought a house, his girlfriend's talking about moving down here with him, so those are all good signs," Maric said on Wednesday.

"We'd all be very surprised if he left, we all want him here as well, so I think, no, I know he'll stay at the Adelaide Crows, I know he will."

The Crows travel to the Gold Coast this week for a Saturday night meeting with Richmond, but will again be missing captain Simon Goodwin as he continues to battle a medial ligament strain that was initially thought to be a one-week injury at most.

Adelaide medical staff are unsure of exactly when the healing process will be completed, meaning Goodwin remains limited to straight line running and other less strenuous activity.

Maric will have a new ruck partner on Saturday following the loss of Brad Moran to a serious knee problem that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

Youngsters James Sellar and Shaun McKernan - younger brother of Corey - are the frontrunners for the role, though Tippett will be likely to shoulder a little more of the centre square ruck work than he has in recent weeks.

"Kurt does ruck training with us every week, and he takes the stoppages in the forward line," Maric said.

"So he's in good nick in that area and he knows all the set-ups, so the group and coaches and myself have a lot of trust in him."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP