Eloise Jones concedes she did not have the smoothest pre-season.
The winger/forward underwent shoulder surgery and trained with the ‘non-contact’ group for the first month.
Like her teammates, she also missed out on the opportunity to play a trial game heading into season 2022 due to COVID-19.
But Jones was determined not to let that get in the way of a strong Season Six performance, which showed in Adelaide’s Round Three win against West Coast on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was a standout, amassing 20 disposals alongside a three-quarter time buzzer-beater goal.
Speaking to the Media on Monday, Jones said she was proud of her individual and the team’s performance, with Adelaide’s 3-0 record pushing the side into top spot.
“It was actually a bit of a shock - 20 disposals is the most I’ve ever got in my life,” Jones said.
“I was obviously pretty happy with that result.
“I kind of came off the back of shoulder surgery a couple of months ago and I think I just worked really hard in rehab with that.
“I wanted to get back and just play some good footy.
“I called Mum and Dad after the game and mum goes ‘why can’t you play all the time? And I said ‘I don’t know, Mum’.
“I’m surrounded by even better people around me as well, so it makes my job a little bit easier when you have people like that around you and on the field.”
Jones said the side was pleased with its strong start and was looking forward to playing fellow undefeated side Melbourne at home this weekend.
“Coming off the back of last season and the Grand Final loss, it ignites a bit of a fire,” Jones said.
“We wanted to come back a bit stronger and I know a lot of our girls have worked really hard in the off-season to get where they are and it’s definitely shown in the last three games.
“There’s still a long way to go but I think we are building pretty well.
“Melbourne has always been a fantastic team and they’ve started really strong this year.
“I’m just excited to come up against them… it will definitely be a fight… and we are fortunate that we get to have another home game and be back in our Pride guernsey.”
The Crows will look to continue their winning form when they take on Melbourne at Norwood Oval on Saturday, with the first bounce at 2.40pm ACDT.
