Adelaide AFLW Senior Coach Matthew Clarke says Irish recruit Amy Boyle Carr will add plenty of excitement to the team when she makes her debut against Essendon on Sunday.
The Crows revealed on Thursday that Boyle Carr would play her first AFLW game, just nine months after the Club selected her as a rookie.
Clarke said the Club was impressed by highlights of her playing Gaelic football and although she had never played Australian Rules, he believed her skills would be transferrable.
“Amy came out from Ireland about eight weeks ago and she played in the trial games and also in a number of our scrimmages,” Clarke said.
“She’s learnt how to kick the footy… We are really looking forward to her playing, she’s got lots of really strong attributes although she’s only been with us for a short period of time.
“She’s been playing Gaelic almost through the whole year, so in terms of her conditioning and preparation to play the game out, she’ll be no worries.
“Amy just worked really hard at her basic skill development, and she’s just come along really quickly, it’s exciting and the speed to which she has adapted to the game has probably been the highlight.”
Boyle Carr was told she would be making her debut by teammate and fellow Irish star Niamh Kelly, with Clarke hinting the pair could feature alongside each other on either wing.
“Amy probably spends a little bit of time on the wing, she’s also played half-back, so those are the two positions that she’ll play this weekend,” Clarke said.
“I’d imagine at some point in the game we might have two Irish wingers.”
The Crows will be eyeing off a fourth straight win when they host the Bombers and Clarke says the side will not be taking Essendon lightly.
“I think the last time we played at Unley (against Essendon) last year, it was a really tough game,” Clarke said.
“Some of their contest stuff looked good in Round one… They were pretty even across the whole ground.
“It will be a tough game I think they will be well balanced and I envision it’ll take a four-quarter effort to get over the line.”
Adelaide takes on Essendon at Unley Oval on Sunday at 12.35pm.
Tickets available here.
