KUWARNA forward Danielle Ponter and her team will run out against North Melbourne in Indigenous guernseys designed by men’s player Izak Rankine over the next fortnight.

All three of Kuwarna’s (pronounced goo-wun-na) sides; the AFL, AFL Women’s and the SANFL teams, have worn the club’s design over the last few seasons, bringing a sense of unity within the walls of West Lakes.

Ponter spoke this week about what it means to celebrate Indigenous culture, and the club’s past and current Indigenous players. As an Anmatyerre, Marranunggu and Tiwi woman, Ponter is very honoured to wear Rankine’s design.

“I think it’s awesome that the Adelaide Crows [for a] few seasons now have brought in the guernseys that all three teams wear, so our AFL, obviously us and our SANFL team,” Ponter explained.

“It’s really special that we look as one coming into rounds like this, and I’ve had my share of designing [the] guernsey and being able to tell my story, [and] for Izak to have the opportunity.

“It’s a really special guernsey that tells the story of his connection to Adelaide and coming back home from where he was [on the] Gold Coast for so long so [I’m] really grateful to be able to wear this.

“It’s just a really proud moment for all of us to be able to go out there and celebrate who we are with the girls around us and the team.”

After their 43-point win against Collingwood, heading into the match on Friday against the high flying Kangaroos, the Crows are confident that their best football can beat the first-placed side.

“It’s going to be a really tough challenge,” Ponter said.

“They’ve been playing some really good footy, but so have we, we will look at their play and how they go about it and we’ll see how we can counteract that.

“I back in the way we play every week, it will be a good challenge and I’m hoping we get a good crowd out there on Friday night.”

Top form could see the Crows beat the Roos, but anything less could see a performance akin to their showings against the Saints and the Demons. Having been the most successful club in the league, they showed some vulnerabilities that could see a blueprint being formed on how they are best defeated.

After turning around some disappointing patches of form throughout the season, which included a compressed fixturing period, Kuwarna are set to ride some winning momentum into a finals series.

When asked about that stretch of time and how the team has turned the tide, Ponter was very honest.

“I think we’ve had our moments throughout different seasons and that was just one of those,” Ponter said.

“I think Doc’s (Matthew Clarke) handled it really well, he doesn’t get too angry too often but when he does, the group does know how to respond to it.

“You have these moments throughout that time and we were able to take that in a really good way and be able to bounce back from it.

“I think it was the girls, the majority of the group of girls that came together in those hard moments and really took on those lessons that we need to learn and how we need to improve and we got on the track and got on from there.”