Adelaide Premiership defender Chelsea Biddell admits to struggling with fitness in her first AFLW season.
But she quickly turned that around and, combined with a positional switch from the forward lines to defence, Biddell has cemented herself as one of the competition’s premier backs.
The 24-year-old was recognised for her hard work when she received a maiden selection in the All Australian team, which was announced at Season Seven’s W Awards on Tuesday night.
Biddell enjoyed a stellar Season Seven, in which she averaged career bests in disposals (12.9), marks (2.8) and rebound 50s (5.8), across 10 minor rounds.
Speaking to AFC Media on Wednesday, Biddell, who was selected at the 2019 AFLW Draft, said working on the “little things” was behind her form rise.
“I worked really hard, especially on my fitness initially,” Biddell said.
“When I first started at AFLW level, I wasn’t exactly the fittest player, so I went away and worked really hard on that to get that to a good level.
“Just working on the little things in my game that I needed to so I could play consistent footy and the positional switch really helped, too.”
Biddell’s move into defence happened in Season Six, due to a selection squeeze in the forward line.
She played every match during that campaign, including the flag win against Melbourne and then never missed a beat in Season Seven, taking her game to another level.
“There are some absolutely talented defenders out there, so to be considered one of the best and be selected in the All Australian team is a huge honour,” Biddell said.
“I was a little bit surprised and it was a bit surreal.
“I was able to learn a lot from Sarah Allan and Chelsea Randall, when she played back there, as well.
“It’s a bit of relief that all the hard work is paying off as well and I’m sure over the coming days and weeks I’ll reflect on what I’ve been able to achieve in my not so large career so far.”
Biddell said she was looking forward to a break after completing two gruelling AFLW seasons in one year and was confident the Crows would come back bigger and better next year.
“We are disappointed with losing the prelim and I feel like we still have a great team,” Biddell said.
“Team success is what we want, it’s what I want and I think there’s just some small tweaks that we need to make to get back up there again next year.
“Having a break is really important, though, because having two seasons in one year definitely takes its toll.
“I just love being around the girls and I love running out there with them every week so that really helped.”
