Adelaide forward Teah Charlton says the youth in the Club’s list will give it an exciting edge in the upcoming finals series.
The Crows relied on the depth of their squad in the 26-point win over West Coast on Saturday, as they managed six players for the home and away season finale.
In the absence of stars Chelsea Randall and Anne Hatchard, the young-brigade stood up in the West, as Charlton, Hannah Munyard, Taylah Levy and Maddi Newman all thrived with extra responsibility.
The development of Adelaide’s youth has been pivotal to its success in 2023, and is something Charlton said sets this group apart from the Club’s previous premiership winning squads.
“We are probably one of the youngest AFLW lists the Club has had in its history, and that young energy has really shown in our game this year,” Charlton told the media on Monday.
“While we have plenty of finals experience on our side, it is exciting to see the young girls coming through get an opportunity to play finals footy, and I think that has made us a lot hungrier leading into the finals than in years past.
“The depth in our team has been strong all year and that’s been driven by our youth.
“The weekend was a great example of that, as all our inclusions played their role and helped us get a win without some of our best players.”
Along with securing its ninth win of the season, the Crows also claimed the minor premiership at the weekend, courtesy of Brisbane’s win over Melbourne.
Charlton said finishing the season in top spot gives the squad an extra confidence boost leading into the finals series.
“We are super excited (to have finished on top), we were all watching that Brisbane, Melbourne game nervously on Saturday night and were thrilled the result went our way,” Charlton said.
“It does give us confidence going into the finals series, knowing that we will have a home ground advantage the whole way through, but we do know that finals are a whole different game.
“We all know that the real stuff starts now, and we are thrilled to be in the position we are in.”
Adelaide will begin its sixth AFLW finals campaign when it hosts Brisbane at Norwood Oval on Saturday in the First Qualifying Final.
Having suffered its only loss of the minor round against the Lions in Round Eight, Charlton said the squad was determined to exact some revenge.
“Brisbane are a great side, they showed that against us a few weeks ago, so we are expecting a fierce challenge on Saturday,” Charlton said.
“We acknowledge that we had a few lulls in that game against the Lions and that cost us in the end, so the focus will be playing a consistent brand of footy over the four quarters.
“Having our supporters behind us will be huge this time around too, so hopefully we can get as many people as possible down to Norwood to see us over the line.”
The tickets for Adelaide’s Qualifying Final will go on sale on Monday, November 6, from 2pm for Members and 4pm for the general public.
