It’s been a full-on finish to the year for both the football department and the administration, and we hit the Christmas break in a good spot.
Our men’s squad continues to put in the hard yards and the players will be working to specific individual programs while the industry shuts down for the next couple of weeks. It’s fair to say the genuine footy sessions have been fierce, and not only are the training standards up but so is the internal competition for spots.
Aside from continuing to ramp up our training in the New Year, there will be a focus on heading to areas outside of suburban Adelaide. We are aware members and fans in regional areas often face logistical challenges in getting to watch us at Adelaide Oval, so it’ll be nice to go to them.
Our internal trial game will coincide with our annual community camp, which next year will be held in Port Pirie, on February 14. That will be followed by a practice match against Port Adelaide at the Summit Sport and Recreation Park in Mount Barker on February 21, which as we’ve seen from Gather Round, is a quality venue.
Our final game before the real stuff begins will be in Brisbane against the Lions in the AAMI Community Series on February 27 and what better test than the reigning premier on the eve of the season.
It’s been almost a month since our AFLW preliminary final loss to Brisbane and while the frustration at that result still lingers, our attention had to shift to recruiting and list management, and things definitely went to plan and we’ve improved our squad.
Hannah Ewings and Grace Kelly joined us via the trade period. Hannah is a graduate of our Bridgestone Crows Academy program who won a rising star and best and fairest at Port Adelaide, while Grace comes to us from St Kilda and is the sister of our very own winger Niamh Kelly.
The League held its first truly national draft and we were rapt to select local emerging star India Rasheed, from Sturt, with Pick 13 and Georgia McKee, from Central District, with Pick 44. India is a talented midfielder/forward and the daughter of international tennis coach Roger Rasheed, while Georgia is a small forward with genuine goal sense.
Off-field, we continue to solidify what is already a strong commercial platform and the addition of a new partnership with Coopers Brewery has proven very popular. Proudly South Australian like us, Coopers will be served exclusively in our hospitality functions on game day, including The Bunker at Adelaide Oval. There’ll be another very exciting off-field partnership announcement early next year as well.
It’s full steam ahead on our Thebarton headquarters and like me, I’m sure you’re excited about the progress being made on the site. We’ll continue to provide you with updates when key construction milestones are reached.
Thanks to everyone who has renewed their membership and in terms of overall numbers, we are tracking well ahead of the same time last year. I also encourage you to think of any family and friends who have not yet signed up and urge them to join too.
And finally, I’d like to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and safe and happy New Year. May 2025 be a good one for us all, both on and off the field. Go Crows!
Tim
