The Crows will begin their AFL Women’s premiership defence at Norwood Oval on Saturday night.
Ahead of the Grand Final rematch, get up to speed with the AFLW news you may have missed in the offseason.
FIXTURE
The Club’s AFLW season-opener against the Brisbane Lions starts at 6:45pm (SA).
It’s one of four ‘home’ games for the Crows Women’s team, which is in partnership with AFL Northern Territory, in Season 2018.
The Club will host three matches at Norwood Oval, with the fourth home game to be held at TIO Stadium in Darwin. The Crows will also travel to Melbourne twice and Sydney once.
At the end of the seven-game home and away season, the top-two teams will again play off in the Grand Final.
Entry remains free to all of Adelaide’s AFLW games.
Download the AFLW Crows Fixture as a PDF
LEADERSHIP
Premiership co-captains Chelsea Randall and Erin Phillips will lead the team again in 2018.
The pair will be assisted again by Northern-Territory duo Sally Riley and Angela Foley, while former South Australian captain Courtney Cramey has been added to the leadership group.
PLAYING LIST CHANGES
The Crows welcomed nine new faces in the offseason.
Adelaide secured its first-ever set of sisters, selecting Under-18 All Australian ruck Jessica Allan with the Club’s first pick in the AFLW Draft. Jess is the younger sister of Crows premiership defender, Sarah.
Athletic utility Jasmyn Hewett, x-factor forward Eloise Jones, Norwood SANFLW premiership players Ruth Wallace and Marijana Rajcic and Army electrician Rheanne Lugg also joined the Crows in the draft.
Read up on all the new AFLW Crows on the 2018 player profile page
The Crows also signed former Olympic beach volleyballer Becchara Palmer, and rookie-listed crafty smalls Calista Boyd and Brianna Walling.
West Australian forward Kellie Gibson, who sought a trade to Fremantle, headline the departures from Adelaide’s inaugural AFLW squad.
IN:
Jessica Allan
Jasmyn Hewett
Eloise Jones
Ruth Wallace
Marijana Rajcic
Rheanne Lugg
Becchara Palmer
Brianna Walling
Calista Boyd
OUT:
Kellie Gibson (Fremantle)
Heather Anderson (delisted)
Monique Hollick (delisted)
Tayla Thorn (delisted)
Lauren O’Shea (delisted)
Jasmine Anderson (delisted)
From top left: Jessica Allan, Jasmyn Hewett, Eloise Jones, Ruth Wallace, Marijana Rajcic, Rheanne Lugg, Calista Boyd, Brianna Walling and Becchara Palmer
PLAYING NUMBERS
The No.32 will be in action for the Crows Women’s team for the first time in 2018.
Soccer convert and Mark Ricciuto fan Marijana Rajcic will don the famous Adelaide number.
Several other new Crows have retained their junior playing numbers.
Download the AFLW Crows team sheet, including numbers, as a PDF
COACHING STAFF
The Crows re-signed flag-winning coach Bec Goddard and bolstered the coaching team with two experienced football figures, Andrew McLeod and Peter Caven.
Dual-premiership players McLeod and Caven were added to the 2018 coaching panel, joining last season’s coaches, Andrew Hodges, Mark Moody and Brooke Copeland.
RULE CHANGES
A number of rule changes have been introduced for the 2018 AFLW season.
Teams have been reduced to 21 players for each game, with 16 on the field and five on the bench – down from the six interchange players in the inaugural competition.
A last-touch rule has also been introduced, where a free kick will be paid against the last player who touches the ball before it goes out of bounds.
Two minutes of time-on in the 15-minutes quarters have also been added.
