Adelaide Premiership defender Chelsea Biddell’s 50th game will mean more to her than just a milestone match.
It will mark the first time since the Season Six Grand Final that her parents, Shane and Louise, have watched her play football live.
The South Australian’s parents have been living in Western Australia for the past two years, travelling around the state in a caravan.
Being able to notch her milestone game with her parents watching on from the stands will be a moment Biddell is set to cherish.
“I grew up in a caravan park and they owned the park,” Biddell said.
“About two years ago, they semi-retired, so now they’re travelling WA in their caravan and managing caravan parks over there, which is really cool.
“It (the milestone match) has lined up quite nicely, so it’s really cool to have them over there, and my sister is over there, too, so they’ll come to the game, which is really nice.
“Obviously they’ve been a big part of my journey, a big part of me being a footballer and the person I am and they’ve been very supportive along the journey, so it will be very cool to have them there.”
Drafted as a key forward in 2019, Biddell moved to the backline in Season Six, solidifying herself as one of Adelaide’s most reliable defenders and helping the Crows to a historic third flag.
The now 26-year-old’s success was hard-fought, after only playing 10 games in her first two seasons.
“Just to play one game for this Club is something I’m extremely proud of, so to be able to play 50 is pretty cool,” Biddell said.
“It’s (my career) had its challenges, like most other players have, I guess.
“The first couple of years were pretty tough, that’s part of coming to a good team, it’s really hard to break in.
“I had to work really hard and I had to change my craft and become a backline player. I worked really hard at that and I was able to cement my spot in the team, which was really good.”
Despite becoming one of the competition’s premier backs, Biddell spent some time during the pre-season training with the forwards.
The two-time All-Australian switched between both positions during the Crows’ Showdown win last Saturday.
“It does have its challenges, trying to flick from a forward-line mindset to a defensive one, but I was able to go down there and have a little bit of an impact, which was good.,” Biddell said.
“The thing with our team is that a lot of our players are really versatile and are able to play in different positions, as we showed on the weekend, so it was really good.”
Adelaide takes on Fremantle at Fremantle Oval on Sunday at 4.35pm (ACST).
The match will be broadcast live in Adelaide on 7Mate, Fox Footy and Kayo from 4.30pm.