The Crows have taken it up to flag fancies Fremantle on a historic night for women’s football.
Adelaide was left to rue missed opportunities in its 22-point trial game loss at TIO Stadium on Saturday.
After conceding four goals in the opening quarter of the club’s first-ever women’s game, Adelaide held the Dockers goalless in the second.
The Crows dominated possession early in the third term but weren’t able to take full advantage on the scoreboard, kicking seven straight behinds and still trailing by a goal.
The polished Dockers made Adelaide pay with two quick goals to finish the term, and kicked away to a game-high 34-point lead in the last quarter. But the Crows ran out the game strongly in the hot and humid conditions through goals to Chelsea Randall and first-round draft pick Ebony Marinoff.
Coach Bec Goddard, who wasn’t overly concerned about the scoreboard in the trial game, said it was an encouraging first-up performance from her team.
“We’re really pleased with the result,” Goddard said.
“We set a few goals before the game and we saw what we wanted to see from our group tonight. As a group, the effort they put in right until the end of the game was terrific.
“We’ve now got some tape to look at … and to show the girls the examples of where we need to be.
“In terms of our attack and defence, the girls get the concept of where we want to be and we’ve got some things to tidy up going into round one.”
West Adelaide forward Rachael Killian wrote her name into the history books by kicking Adelaide’s first-ever goal in a women’s game, and the first for the match.
The kamikaze Randall took a couple of strong grabs, and laid several bone-jarring tackles.
Fellow marquee signing Kellie Gibson, who also kicked a goal, was lively up forward. After a long layoff with a shoulder injury, Heather Anderson’s bright pink helmet was everywhere in defence and teenager Sarah Allan, daughter of former Central District player Keith, also had some nice touches.
Randall’s co-captain Erin Phillips and South Australian skipper Courtney Cramey didn’t take part in the trial as part of their management ahead of the season proper, which begins in early-February.
The match is part of a three-day camp for the Crows squad, which is in partnership with AFL Northern Territory. The entire group came together for only the second time in Darwin on Friday.
Goddard said Saturday night’s display was evidence the group was gelling.
“The girls, when they get together, are very committed,” she said.
“They’re committed to each other in their states and the performance they put on tonight was a team performance. It wasn’t a Darwin and Adelaide performance.”
An estimated crowd of 2,500 watched the match played in 32-degree heat.
Goddard said it was a great occasion for women’s football and the game as a whole.
“It was really exciting,” she said.
“(Personally) I wasn’t even used to having a security guard, it was like Yoko Ono hanging around my shoulder! It was great and the community support we receive in Darwin is fantastic.”
Adelaide’s first game of the inaugural AFL Women’s competition is against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday, February 4 at Thebarton Oval. See the full fixture
Adelaide Crows 1.2 2.4 2.11 4.12 (36)
Fremantle 4.2 4.5 6.5 8.10 (58)
GOALS
Adelaide Crows: Rachael Killian, Kellie Gibson, Chelsea Randall, Ebony Marinoff
Fremantle: Ashley Sharp 3, Lara Filocamo 2, Beatrice Devlyn, Gemma Houghton, Stephanie Cain
BEST
Adelaide Crows: Heather Anderson, Sarah Allan, Kellie Gibson, Ebony Marinoff, Chelsea Randall, Rachael Killian
Chelsea Randall takes a trademark grab
