Riding high off a week of emotion, Crows women’s coach Bec Goddard used her post-match press conference on Saturday as an opportunity to thank all those who turned out to Thebarton Oval in support of women’s football.
Despite conditions more akin to football in the middle of July, huge crowds right across the country saw history made in the opening weekend of the inaugural AFL Women’s competition.
But it wasn’t only the weather that made this past weekend different from that of a wintery one in July, as women’s footy took centre stage, with fans, players and pundits alike emphatically embracing the new competition.
“It’s been a big week. To have so many people come out and watch in the rain – I’m told it was close to 10,000 people – was really special,” Goddard said.
“It gave us the wings to travel, so I want to say thanks to the fans, our family and friends for turning up today.”
How about those Crows?! Glad everyone knew the words ð! #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/UCyoEZWNSx
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) February 4, 2017
The Club's 36-point win over the Giants was the second game of the AFLW season, following off the back of Friday night’s blockbuster season-opener between Carlton and Collingwood.
Over 22,000 turned out to Ikon Park to see the Blues defeat the Magpies by 35 points, with AFL Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLaughlin personally apologising to the more than one thousand fans who were locked outside the venue due to capacity restrictions.
While Goddard acknowledged it was a hard act to follow Friday’s spectacle, she was rapt with the support from the Adelaide faithful, who did more than just fill seats, actively supporting the new adventure into the world of women’s footy.
“I don’t like to compare numbers like that but I think when you get 10,000 people to a ground and I’d say 9,990 of them were Crows supporters, that’s about the percentage (of support) you would’ve had (for each team) at the Collingwood v Carlton game last night,” she said.
“We’re really happy. We could hear them. It was hard to get through actually, from the box down to the breaks through the crowd. There were people talking to you about the game as you were going through. It was just terrific to be a part of it.”