Crows won’t be distracted from being best team ever
THE hard work it takes to be the “most successful AFLW team ever” will be enough for the Adelaide Crows not to get distracted by the potential for courageous skipper Chelsea Randall to make a miracle return in Friday’s qualifying final against Melbourne.
It’s more unlikely than likely that Randall will be back from a “significant” ankle injury in time for the rematch of last year’s grand final and as an “uncontrollable” it’s not something star teammate Ebony Marinoff is concerning herself with.
A victory would mean progression straight to a preliminary final, giving Randall an extra two weeks to recover and rejoin the reigning premiers in their pursuit of two flags inside six months.
But even with a loss, Randall would get one more week to try and work her way back.
“She’s done a mountain of work over the past fortnight. It’s disappointing she’s not playing, but that’s footy and she handles it like a champ,” Marinoff said on Monday of the skipper’s injury battle.
“But it’s kind of an uncontrollable. The club will give her every chance to get up and hopefully she does. If she doesn’t, we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks we’ve been able to get it done.
“There’s no hiding the fact she’s a pretty important player, not only a player but our courageous captain.
“Having her not play, it sucks, but it does provide an opportunity for girls to step up.”
The Crows have long been the AFLW benchmark, having taken down the Demons in April to capture a third premiership in six seasons of the competition.
But Melbourne won the Round 1 rematch, en route to a nine-win season and second spot on the ladder and a final round thrashing of West Coast.
The Crows were only one spot behind in third, with eight wins, but haven’t been the same powerhouse performers as in recent seasons as they introduced new players.
Marinoff, however, who is a triple-premiership player, as are some of her teammates, said coach Matthew Clarke believed they played their best in finals, and now was time to show it.
“We’ve had about five of us who have played in a handful over the past few years but we’ll also have an opportunity for some girls to play in their first finals,” Marinoff said.
“I think what we’ve done pretty well over the past few years is shared our experiences and we can help those girls embrace the finals for what they are and stick to what they know.”
Marinoff said the Crows had “grown incredibly” since that Round 1 loss to Melbourne, who have not yet been able to win the premiership despite being annual contenders.
That should ensure the Demons have the “fire in their belly” to progress to the preliminary final.