Adelaide lost a tight match against Port Adelaide in the inaugural SANFLW Showdown, going down by two points on Saturday.
The exhibition match was played at Richmond Oval, with the best SANFLW players representing the two clubs.
It was a close contest all game, with the teams trading goals.
The Crows were on top at three-quarter time, leading by five points, but Port Adelaide ran over the top of them in the last term and finished two-point winners.
Former Greater Western Sydney player Britt Perry was impressive for the Crows, having 17 disposals, five tackles and four rebound 50s.
Caitlin Gould (13 disposals and six tackles) and Amber Ward (10 disposals and five rebound 50s) were strong in the Crows’ backline.
Jane Altschwager dominated in the ruck with 18 hit-outs, giving first look to midfielders Leah Tynan (15 touches and three clearances) and Georgia Bevan (12 disposals and four tackles).
Crows coach, and AFLW vice-captain, Courtney Cramey said while the team was disappointed to not get the win, there were plenty of positives to take into the next match.
“It was a tight contest, they probably got the better of us at the start of most quarters which had us chasing our tails a little bit,” Cramey said.
“But we were really happy with our contested work around stoppage and our tackling pressure.
“We’ll be able to take some learnings from the weekend and put them into practice over the next six sessions leading into game two, and hopefully level up the series.”
Cramey said a big part of the game was exposing the players to an elite AFLW environment.
“We are doing a lot of work on and off the track to help expose them to what they might dream to be a part of,” she said.
“Those girls that might not have AFLW aspirations can take those learnings back to their SANFLW clubs.”
Rachelle Martin, the sister of Crows midfielder Hannah, played well for Port, having 17 disposals and tackling hard while former Crows-listed player Monique Hollick kicked a goal for the Power
The second match in the exhibition series will be held at Alberton Oval on Sunday, July 21.
ADELAIDE 2.0 3.0 4.4 4.5 (29)
PORT 2.1 2.4 3.5 4.7 (31)
GOALS:
Adelaide: Ballard 2, Castle, Tynan
Port: Charlton 3, Hollick
BEST: Perry, Tynan, Ward, Bevan, Gould, Altschwager
