Crows Head of Football David Noble expects elite women from other sports to seek opportunities with AFL clubs competing in the inaugural national women’s competition.

South Australian and Northern Territory female footballers will fill many of the remaining spots in the Crows’ inaugural squad but Noble confirmed interest in recruiting from outside the current talent pool.

“We now become an elite sport, we can attract girls to our game as well as all the other sports that are available, so we will certainly be on the search for other talent,” he said.

“A lot of girls play football to a certain point, then they have had to select a different sport. But we’ve had a number of girls from different sports that have shown some interest.”

Noble said securing West Australian “marquee” recruits like Kellie Gibson and Chelsea Randall was vital to help create the foundation Crows squad.

“Right here in the backyard is really important,” he said. “The venture with AFLNT has been great … and is really important to us,” he said.

“To put out a really good competitive team we had to have a real honest look at where the talent was across the board.

“We had to take some good advice from the AFL … and we’ve been able to secure two top-line marquee players.

“They are both great characters. We want to continue to grow our Club from a cultural perspective and to bring two great people into the club like that is really important.

“Early on Adelaide Football Club has been seen as a choice of destination for the women’s team with two girls from WA so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to grow the talent.”

Noble said expectations on women entering the AFL system would be high.

“We want to put together an elite program and shift the thinking from where it is now,” he said.

“We’ve got to fast track some athletes and get them up to that level where we can be competitive and win some games.”