Adelaide star says team has old spark

ADELAIDE midfielder Justine Mules says the Crows must regain their early-season passion and play without fear to beat Collingwood and gain entry to the inaugural AFLW grand final.

Mules, 22, said the team had been fuelled by the disappointment of consecutive losses and vowed to return to the firebrand type of game that brought four straight wins to begin the season.

Her promise comes as Adelaide today enters their closing home-and-away clash with theirback against the wall when they face an expected large and parochial crowd at Collingwood’s Olympic Park Stadium.

Win, and the Crows will qualify for next week’s grand final against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday.

Lose, and their season is over, ushering in Melbourne for a premiership tilt at the Lions.

But Mules was confident the Crows had regained their spark with the knowledge their grand final destinywas in their own hands.

“The last couple of weeks have just given us a bit more passion,” Mules said. “We’re a bit more passionate.

“We’ve had the two losses and we’re more determined to come away and feel great about ourselves.

“To play the type of footy we played in the first couple of weeks.

“The vibe this week has been lifted. We’ve had those two bad games and we’re just so ready to go and get this win.

“I feel like we’ve been a bit timid and a bit shy about our style of footy.

“But with the two losses, the fire is back with us this week. Watch this space. Look out; we’re as determined as anything.

“This is a brand new thing for all of us and we just want to bring it back this week.”

Mules said as much as the Crows wanted to return its early-season form, the competition had been evolving each week.

This was a distinctly different Adelaide than the one that met for its first preseason late last year.

“It’s a great learning experience for a lot of the girls,” Mules said. “We’ve just learnt so much over the past six months, being around different types of people and being in this elite environment we’ve grown up so much already.”

Coach Bec Goddard has urged her players to concentrate on their own game rather than being spooked by the Magpies.