SCOTT Camporeale is content, for now.

In the short term, the challenge of rebuilding the Adelaide Crows midfield after the loss of Patrick Dangerfield is driving the 40-year-old ahead of his sixth year at the club.

But in the back of his mind there is a voice, the same persistent voice that drove experienced assistants Ken Hinkley and Alan Richardson.

Camporeale wants to be a permanent senior coach.

Round 18

It may not be this year, or even next year, but the fire that was lit during the final 11 matches of 2015 continues to burn.

And he’s happy to admit it.

“I do, absolutely want to be a senior coach again,” Camporeale told foxfooty.com.au.

“It wasn’t the right time to put my hand up for that sort of role (last year).”

2nd Semi-Final — Adelaide Crows v Hawthorn at the MCG. Taylor Walker and Scott Camporeale stand for national anthem. Photo Sarah Reed. Source: News Corp Australia

With 11 wins, including a thrilling finals victory, and seven losses, Camporeale had every right to push hard for Adelaide’s senior job permanently. Many urged him to do so.

A building business on the side and a young family saw the Carlton premiership player rule himself out of the race.

The average age of an AFL senior coach is almost 45. Camporeale knows he has time on his side and he’s prepared to use it.

Working under Don Pyke, the man who accepted a job many thought was Camporeale’s, has accelerated his learning.

An egotistical coach may struggle to play second fiddle after reaching the apex. Not Camporeale, who appears as unpretentious as he is forthright.

“It was a pretty easy transition back to midfield coach,” he said.

“Obviously I’m helping out Don Pyke a little bit more with the players, having dealt with them a fair bit over the last five years. I’m just trying to be a good resource for him.

“I’m still really happy to be involved here at the club.”

Professionally, Camporeale concedes he still has plenty to learn. It was during his three month spell as senior coach last year he realised just how demanding the job was on his time and by extension, his family.

When asked what he’s learned along the coaching journey, he reflected on his time working under Kevin Sheedy and Matthew Knights at Essendon, before joining Neil Craig, Brenton Sanderson and then Phil Walsh at Adelaide.

“Having worked under five senior coaches now, they are all similar in terms of their time management and those sorts of things,” he said.

“You never underestimate how important that is.”

Neil Craig watches Scott Camporeale during Adelaide Crows training at Max Basheer Oval in 2011. Source: News Limited

When it was announced that Camporeale would be Adelaide’s senior coach in early July, he was adamant he would not try and reinvent the wheel.

The club would continue to uphold Walsh’s legacies, he said.

However the nature of football is that the game’s evolution has never been so rapid. Tactically, dozens of coaches around the country are constantly aspiring to get ahead of the curve.

Camporeale, like his colleagues, is no different. Nor are the Crows, who are in a “very good” position to improve on their 2015 position, according to the midfield coach.

“After a pretty thorough review we understand we need to improve in all areas,” he said.

“Unless you are a team like Hawthorn, who have won three flags in a row, you always have things to work on.

“There are certain things that we’ve kept and that we value as a footy club and other things we adjusted from last year.”

Scott Camporeale heads out at three quarter time with David Teague. Pic Mark Brake Source: News Corp Australia

If there was a trophy awarded for the most entertaining team of 2015, Adelaide would be a contender.

Its games produced a combined total of 187 points on average, ranked No. 1 in the AFL. Put simply, the Crows knew how to kick goals.

What proved there undoing was that they also knew how to concede them in equal bulk.

They were one of just three teams to average 100 points per outing, a statistic that Camporeale likes, but not to the detriment of the end result.

“We are all judged on wins or losses,” he said.

“So it’s great if we kick 100 points, but you have to do that and limit the opposition too. There is a balance in that.”

@tommorris32