Adelaide winger Niamh Kelly says Captain Chelsea Randall is “working hard” in a quest to be fit for the upcoming AFLW finals series.
Randall missed Friday’s thrilling two-point win against Geelong after suffering a high-grade ankle sprain in the final quarter of the Round Eight game against Brisbane.
Club doctor Duncan Walker said the skipper would likely be forced to spend three to five weeks on the sidelines.
Speaking to the media on Monday ahead of the Crows final minor round match, Kelly said Randall would be missed again this weekend.
It was hoped Randall would be available to return at some stage during the finals series.
“Chelsea is obviously a huge player for us and a fantastic leader,” Kelly said.
“She’s working hard now in her rehab and hopefully it’s not long until she’s back out there again with us.
“She’s aiming to get back for finals but she’s just taking it one day at a time and seeing how things go with rehab.
“We definitely missed her out there on the weekend, she’s so courageous and I’ve learnt so much in my time here from Chelsea.”
The Crows were able to grind out a win against the Cats in the penultimate game and Kelly said that would provide plenty of confidence for Saturday’s game against the Saints.
“There were a few nerves but the girls were composed and were able to withstand that pressure,” Kelly, who was traded to the Crows from West Coast, said.
“They’ve (Geelong) been playing really well this season and they definitely had dominance over us in some parts of the game but it was really good how our girls fought back.
“We are really looking forward to it and hopefully we can build confidence from that.”
Adelaide sits third on the ladder and has secured another finals appearance but Kelly says players are refusing to look too far ahead.
“Doc (Matthew Clarke) always says to us ‘let’s focus on one game at a time’ and our goal at the start was to try and get six wins,” Kelly said.
“We’ve achieved that which means we are through to finals.
“Doc has been brilliant and he keeps a steady head on us as well, so we always just focus on one game at a time.”
Adelaide takes on St Kilda at RSEA Park on Saturday at 2.40pm (ACDT).
