When Stevie-Lee Thompson and her Crows teammates came to training last Friday, it signified the beginning of a new era in the Club’s women's program.
For the first time in the competition’s seven-season history, players from all 18 teams will spend one full day a week at their respective Clubs throughout the pre-season, in what is a substantial step towards becoming full-time athletes.
As a result of this change, players from across the competition have had to scale back in their professions from full-time to part-time, a statement which shows they are invested in the growth of women’s football.
Thompson, who has worked full-time at Adelaide High School since she began her AFLW career in 2017, has made that shift to part-time to accommodate this new schedule.
Speaking to AFC Media, she said there was no hesitation when it came to embracing the new format of pre-season training.
“I’ve done full time work for the last seven years while footy season has been on, so this is a massive change for me going back to four days a week,” Thompson said.
“But I just did it with no hesitation, like any athlete you do it for the fun of it, so being able to dedicate a full day of my week to footy is incredibly exciting.
“Being able to have that full day of training, it goes to show as a competition we are willing to sacrifice parts of our other careers to fully commit to footy and get better.”
On their full training days, the women’s program mirrors that of the men’s, as they undertake a standard main training on the oval, before experiencing education, gym and craft sessions.
Thompson said the benefits of this would be significant for the growth of women’s football.
“It’s huge, we now get to experience what the men experience when it comes to full-time training,” Thompson said.
“We get to come to the Club in the morning and train, experience those education sessions in the afternoon as well as have gym sessions.
“You get to understand what that elite level of training is like, and expands our opportunities to get better.”
For the Crows, a chance at redemption will be fuelling them throughout this pre-season, as they look to better their Preliminary Final finish in Season Seven.
“You definitely get the feeling there is a great connection between the group, which will go a long way to us being successful this year,” Thompson said.
“We are all chasing the same thing and that is the premiership cup, but that can only come through building a great culture and working hard, and I feel like we are on that path.
“It’s an exciting time for us, and we can’t wait to get into Round One.”
The 2023 AFLW Season will kick off in the first week of September, with the full fixture to be released soon.
2023 Crows AFLW Memberships are available here.
