When Jack Madgen reflects on what he loves most about being part of the Crows’ AFLW coaching cohort, his answer is simple.

“It’s their thirst for knowledge and wanting to get better, they really want to be coached, and that really impresses me,” Madgen said.

“It’s something I find really great because I know sometimes even when I was playing you think you have all the answers.

“I just love the vibes and how happy they all are - when the ball goes up, it’s business - but they have so much fun, which is really cool to see.

“It’s refreshing to see that sport is fun. The players love what they do and they’re not serious 24/7 - it’s probably something I wish I knew during my career about 10 years ago, I might’ve played a bit longer.”

Madgen, who Captained Adelaide’s SANFL side this year, was appointed the Club’s AFLW forwards coach ahead of the 2024 women’s season.

His coaching journey with the side, however, began last year in a development coordinator role.

Speaking to AFC Media ahead of the Crows’ AFLW clash against Collingwood on Sunday, Madgen said he had no hesitations about joining the team’s coaching ranks.

“I had a little bit of a taste (of coaching) with the W team last year, helping out a bit and it was a bit of personal development for me,” Madgen said.

“I really enjoyed the limited exposure I had with the W program and I got some good feedback from Harps, (Head of Women’s Football Phil Harper), the girls, as well as Doc (Senior Coach Matthew Clarke).

“I also have a real deep appreciation for female athletes, spending the past 30 years of my life watching my older sister Tess (former Australian women’s basketball team Captain) play professional sport.

“I understand the difficulties and the extra hurdles they have to jump over to perform at the elite level, so I guess that’s one of the reasons I love it.”

Madgen spent five seasons with Collingwood and played 49 AFL games for the Magpies after making the switch to football from basketball, where he played with Cairns in the NBL.

He said being able to draw from his experience as a player had so far held him in good stead in his coaching journey.

“It might sound pretty cliche` but there’s a saying in football and I have definitely lived it, ‘it’s definitely not as good or never as bad as it seems’,” Madgen said.

“After the Melbourne and the Brisbane losses, we just had to get on with it because we had a game four days later and we ended up playing really well (against GWS).

“The other one is you’ve got to do the hard stuff, so when you do have a game where you perform personally under-par or the team performs under-par, you’ve got to learn from it.

“It’s always good to watch your highlights when you’re playing really well, kicking goals and defending really well, but I think there’s more to learn from those tougher games.”

Madgen said working alongside two-time Premiership Coach Matthew Clarke had taught him a lot, not just about coaching, but also about life.

“I know Doc coaches on the bench and we are up in the box but his game day calmness is incredible,” Madgen said.

“His willingness to change mid-game is something I really like and admit, he’s adaptable.

“For those who have been lucky enough to work alongside Doc, he gives awesome life lessons and stories, that might not even be football related, might just be life related, but I’ll remember for a long time.”

Madgen said he was looking forward to helping the side as it looks towards the last three minor rounds of 2024.

“The girls have some serious belief and so they should,” Madgen said.

“I definitely think we can match it with anyone on our day and I am really excited for the next few weeks and hopefully finals.”