New Adelaide AFL Women's coach Matthew Clarke has been involved in top-level football since 1992 but believes the rise of the AFLW competition is one of "the most exciting developments" he has seen.

Clarke has big shoes to fill, taking up where inaugural AFLW premiership coach Bec Goddard left off when she returned home to Canberra.

Clarke joked he had applied for the job because "there was a vacancy", but said he was keen to be involved.

"I had been watching it pretty closely and was genuinely interested in seeing them get better. I've been in footy for a fair while and (AFLW) is one of the most exciting developments I've seen in a long while," Clarke said.

"It's still developmental, but the opportunity to help with the progression over the next little while is going to be awesome. It was a really attractive role."

The 44-year-old South Australian was drafted initially by Richmond at the end of 1991 but didn't play a game. He made his AFL debut for the Brisbane Bears in 1993. A classic tap ruckman, he played 130 games for Brisbane and 118 for Adelaide from 2000-06 before finishing his career with 10 matches for St Kilda in 2007.

Clarke, who won the Brisbane best and fairest in 1997, headed home and joined the Crows as a ruck coach in 2008 and he is still in the same role.

He said he would be able to manage combining the two jobs.

"That'll be a good challenge. Ultimately there's no overlap – except when (pre-season AFL matches are on) – which allows me to be involved in both programs.

"When the women's season is underway and in full flight, all my energy will be directed to that. But because of the (players' contract) rules, we're only able to access them for nine hours a week, so that leaves a few extra hours to spare to spend some time on the AFL program.

"The role will be heavily weighted towards the women's program in summer, then that'll flip in winter."

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Adelaide has made very few additions from other clubs to its AFLW list over the last two off-seasons, but one player it has brought in is former Greater Western Sydney midfielder Renee Forth.

Forth, from Western Australia, was signed by the Giants as a marquee player, but wasn’t on the field in the first year of the competition as she recovered from a knee reconstruction.

"We're rapt to get her into the program. She has great footy 'intel', she understands the game really well and in the little bits I've seen of her playing for (VFLW side and Adelaide affiliate) Northern Territory Thunder, she's been instrumental in organising and educating other players," Clarke said.

Forth will add some support to a side which had the second-lowest average disposal count in 2018 (174), ahead of only wooden-spooner Carlton (160). The Crows were first for inside-50s in 2017 but dropped to fifth this year.

"We want to strengthen our midfield from within as well, so some of our players who have been playing both forward and back will do a little bit more midfield time," Clarke said.

"We clearly want to have greater depth, so we don't have the reliance on a few.

"We'll see what the AFLW competition committee comes back with (as part of its charter to work with the AFL on rules and how the game could be played).

"You might find the quarters might go a little bit longer. And if that happens, then we'll need greater capacity to move people through there."

Clarke is forecasting a rapid change in standard and game-style over the next few years as the competition matures.

"Our challenge is to try and get ahead of the curve a little bit. We'll have a really strong emphasis on skill development, because of where the game's come from. That's probably the biggest upside for everybody," he said.

"Teams that adapt most quickly in that space will be the ones that gets the advantage."

The Crows stormed to a premiership in the competition's first year on the back of physicality and tackling pressure, but finished fifth in 2018 after a slow, injury-affected start to the season.

"We had a really successful run in the first season and a fair chunk of that was built on having a really healthy list and also having the physical capacity to get up and down the ground and create pressure at both ends," Clarke said.

"We'll try and maintain the physicality – which I see as our strength – and add some skill.

"We're probably not in the top two of skilful teams and we won the first year on effort and energy. If we can maintain that and add a little more skill, we'll be in pretty good shape."