New recruit Abbie Ballard will make her debut for the Crows in Melbourne on Saturday as Adelaide takes on West Coast.
Senior Coach Matthew Clarke said the West Adelaide product, who was selected with pick No. 34 in the 2021 AFLW Draft, had impressed over the pre-season.
“She's a local product and trained the house down during pre-season,” Clarke said on Friday.
“She was probably a bit stiff not to be (selected) in the first two rounds… she’s a great left-foot kick, a real ball hunter.
“She can play through the midfield, she will probably play forward initially for us, but long-term she’ll be a midfielder for our Club, which is great.”
Captain Chelsea Randall will miss Round Three due to a low-grade hamstring injury while Caitlin Gould is out with concussion.
Hannah Munyard will also miss the game under the AFL’s Health and Safety Protocols.
Clarke was confident there was plenty of depth built into his squad as it looked to secure a third win on the trot.
“We’ve talked about the depth of the squad and we've talked about how we are really comfortable and have a lot of players ready to go,” he said.
“Their training form has been really solid, they’re as well prepared as they can be and it’s that sort of season where you’re going to have to adapt and overcome some challenges.”
Adelaide will take on West Coast at Swinburne Centre Punt Road Oval, Victoria, on Saturday with the first bounce at 12.10pm ACDT (12.40pm AEDT).
Adelaide’s full Round Three side:
IN: Ballard, Considine, Hewett
OUT: Randall, Gould, Munyard
