IN an early look at the upcoming AFL Women’s 2021-22 season, Draft Central checks out each of the 14 clubs over the next three weeks ahead of preseason commencing. Up first is Adelaide, the 2021 grand finalists set to be another contender in the new-look season.

LAST SEASON:

Position: 1st (Runners-up)
Wins: 7
Losses: 2
Draws: 0
Points For: 446 (1st)
Points Against: 214 (4th)

Adelaide came agonisingly close to a remarkable third premiership, narrowly going down to Brisbane in the 2021 AFL Women’s Grand Final. The Crows were the most potent scoring team all year, and were able to pile on scores quickly in some big wins. From Round 1 through to Round 9, the Crows were in the top four spots all year, picking up three consecutive wins mid-season in their best run until winning the final two games of the season, grabbing top spot and then winning its semi-final against Melbourne to book their place in a home grand final. Whilst it did not go their way, the Crows were once again an entertaining team to watch.

OFF-SEASON:

Ins: Jasmyn Hewett (Gold Coast), Jasmine Simmons (basketball), Zoe Prowse (Sturt), Brooke Tonon (Glenelg), Abbie Ballard (West Adelaide)
Outs: Chloe Scheer (Geelong), Renee Forth (delisted)
Inactives: Jessica Sedunary, Angela Foley, Rhiannon Metcalfe

The Crows did not need to make many changes to their list given the strength of it, with Chloe Scheer‘s defection to Geelong the biggest talking point coming into the off-season. The Crows will be without a trio of inactive players with Jessica Sedunary (cycling), Rhiannon Metcalfe (work) and Angela Foley (ACL), whilst Renee Forth was the club’s sole unforced cut. Going to the draft, they picked up AFL Women’s Academy ruck Zoe Prowse, as well as smooth moving half-back/wing Brooke Tonon and tough nut mid-forward Abbie Ballard to accompany a returning Jasmyn Hewett, and basketballer Jasmine Simmons.

2021-22 TEAM LIST:

Sarah Allan
Najwa Allen
Abbie Ballard
Chelsea Biddell
Hannah Button
Teah Charlton
Ailish Considine
Dayna Cox
Nikki Gore
Caitlin Gould
Anne Hatchard
Jasmyn Hewett
Eloise Jones
Ebony Marinoff
Rachelle Martin
Montana McKinnon
Hannah Munyard
Justine Mules
Maddi Newman
Erin Phillips
Danielle Ponter
Zoe Prowse
Marijana Rajcic
Chelsea Randall
Jasmine Simmons
Brooke Tonon
Stevie-Lee Thompson
Deni Varnhagen
Ashleigh Woodland
Lisa Whiteley

KEY QUESTIONS:

• Can Adelaide blood some new youngsters in 2021-22 and avoid Port Adelaide raiding the list too much at season’s end?
• Will Erin Phillips play permanent forward?
• Who replaces Chloe Scheer inside 50?

PREDICTION:

Adelaide will once again be thereabout around the mark, with Scheer the key loss from the side that reached a grand final. The Crows have stocked up with some serious talent who all add something different, and it would be great to see all of Prowse, Tonon and Ballard getting their chance at some stage despite it being such a hard team to crack into. Expect them to be there at the pointy end again.

Picture credit: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos