The Crows AFLW squad enjoyed a victorious return to the field on Saturday, defeating reigning grand finalist Brisbane at its Brighton Homes Arena training facility.
In the second edition of The Noffy Diaries, three-time premiership star Ebony Marinoff gives fans a behind the scenes look at the weekend trip to Brisbane.
After months of tough pre-season training it was great to finally be back on the field with the girls on Saturday.
The Queensland sun proved a great escape from the Adelaide winter, and over five hard-fought periods we played an excellent brand of footy against a Lions side fresh off a grand final appearance.
We got a good idea of how our side might look this season, but also saw some girls trialled in new positions which was great.
Off the field, a group of us were also lucky enough to attend the Matildas World Cup Quarter Final against France, with the penalty shoot-out win capping off a great weekend up north.
Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from the trip.
Forward line flourishes
For me, the biggest positive from the match was the way we moved the ball offensively.
That’s been a big focus point this pre-season and to see it come together against a quality opposition was really promising.
It gives the girls a lot of belief that our style of play stacks up with the best, and we are capable of kicking big scores.
There were plenty of individual performances that fans could get excited about.
Chellie (Rachelle) Martin was looking hungry, EJ (Eloise Jones) and Gouldy (Caitlin Gould) were dangerous around the sticks and new recruit Yvonne Bonner impressed with her toughness and work rate.
And then there was of course our skipper Chelsea Randall, who once again led from the front.
Jess Allan makes an impressive return
Jess Allan impressed around the ground throwing her body at the contest and showed she will be a great addition to our ruck stocks this year.
We all love having her back among the group, and she will without doubt add another dimension to our group both on and off the field.
Youngsters show huge growth
The likes of Kiera Muller, Brooke Tonon and Keeley Kustermann look to have reaped the rewards of another year in the system.
All three had their moments of brilliance, looking more and more at home at the level.
It was also exciting to see Sarah Goodwin, Taylah Levy and our newest Crow Brooke Smith in the tricolours for the first time, while Deni Varnhagen played her first game in a couple of years.
Deni’s daughter Hallie travelled with the team and was well looked after by her 30 babysitters!
Surreal night at Suncorp
Following the game against the Lions, a group of us headed straight to Suncorp Stadium to watch the Matildas World Cup Quarter Final win over France.
It was honestly such a surreal experience, to be in the stadium watching our girls play on the global stage, we couldn’t believe how lucky we were.
The families of Matildas players Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross were sitting right in front of us, and to see their emotion just made the night even more special.
The match itself was so tense, we rode every single second, and for it to come down to that penalty shoot-out, we couldn’t have asked for a better script.
Walking out of the stadium, all we could think of was how big of a night it was for women’s sport in Australia and how lucky we were to be in Brisbane on that night.
Get excited Crows fans!
Every single player contributed to the win over the Lions, which was the most pleasing outcome of the day.
We’ve still got a lot to learn and improve on, but I think Crows fans should be really excited about what this group is driven to achieve in 2023!
We are looking forward to another solid hit-out against Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a double header with our AFL team, so hopefully our members and supporters can pack the stadium and get both teams over the line!
Trial v Brisbane final score
Adelaide Crows 14.9 (93)
Brisbane Lions 8.5 (53)
Goalkickers: Bonner 2, Jones 2, Gould, Martin, Marinoff, Ponter, Whiteley, Charlton, Randall, Ballard, Hatchard, Tonon
