Adelaide AFLW three-time Premiership star Ebony Marinoff is confident the side has a perfect mix of experience and youth to match it with the best in the competition this coming season.
The Crows’ women’s side officially started its pre-season on Monday, ahead of the 2023 season kicking off in September.
Despite losing Premiership forward Ash Woodland during the off-season to Port Adelaide, the Crows picked up talented youngsters Taylah Levy and Sarah Goodwin, as well as former Crow Jess Allan during the Sign and Trade period.
Adelaide also gained Irish forward Yvonne Bonner, after selecting the former Gaelic footballer during the AFLW Supplementary Draft, while two-time Premiership star Deni Varnhagen has rejoined the team, after spending the past two seasons on the inactive list.
The Crows will also head into this campaign with 13 players from its Season Six Premiership side, leaving Marinoff confident the Club was in a strong position.
“It’s going to be super exciting, there were a few changes in the off season,” Marinoff told AFC Media.
“I feel like we’ve got an opportunity to change the way we move the footy and how the forward system works.
“I am really optimistic about what this group can do and I’m super excited that our younger girls have had a couple of seasons now and they’re really finding their feet and being more confident and talking at training.
“We’re here to win a premiership and we’re here to strive for the best… That’s one thing that’s led us to be competitive no matter what and even when we are challenged with losing players, we are always giving that opportunity to the next person in line.”
After winning the Season Six flag in 2022, Adelaide went on to play in a second AFLW campaign that same year and fell to Brisbane in the Season Seven Preliminary Final.
Marinoff said the loss had brought the squad closer and made players hungrier to get better.
“I think winning and losing last year gave us places to improve in,” Marinoff said.
“We are still up there, and we’ve got areas to improve in, losing provides reasons to improve rather than winning when it’s all happy days.
“That’s just the whole rollercoaster of elite sports, when your highs are pretty high, and your lows are pretty low.”
The Crows AFLW side will train during the day on Friday for the first time in the Club's history, in a step towards the players becoming full-time.
Marinoff, who was part of the side’s leadership team, said players were ready to sacrifice a day at their full-time job, committing to the Club’s new training schedule.
“We are doing a full day at the footy club on Fridays and my biggest dream is being a full-time athlete and this is a small taste of what that is,” Marinoff said.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for us to evolve as a program and as a team, how we play, there’s going to be more time to educate and teach fundamentals, as we have more time.
“The girls are super excited about it… The biggest thing for us is the buy-in to take that next step.
“A few of the girls have had to rejig their other job and are really committed to make sure that this program can evolve and be the best footy club we can be.”
The AFL confirmed last month that Season Eight would start on the first weekend of September, with the full fixture set to be released in the coming months.
Crows 2023 AFLW Memberships available here.
