Four Crows will pull on the tri-colours for the first time this Sunday afternoon, as Adelaide takes on St Kilda in its AFLW season opener at RSEA Park.
As announced on Thursday, 2024 first round draft pick India Rasheed and Irish recruit Kayleigh Cronin will make their AFLW debuts.
They will be joined by club debutants Hannah Ewings and Grace Kelly.
After featuring in the Crows Academy as a junior, Ewings will play her first game for the Club after crossing over from Port Adelaide last off-season.
Kelly, the sister of All-Australian wing Niamh, will play her first game for the Crows after joining the Club from St Kilda in last year’s trade period.
Adelaide’s four Round One debutants will be the most the club has featured in a game since seven new players took to the field in its 2020 season opener.
“I think it’s brilliant to have four debutants this Sunday, all of them deserve their spot in the team after great pre-seasons,” Crows Head of AFLW Phil Harper said.
“In the past couple of years we’ve been good but unable to get over the line, so we’re hoping all of those four will help make a difference to our team.
“India Rasheed is a high-end talent who’s done all the pre-season and shown off her excellent skills.
“Kayleigh Cronin is a hardened, athletic player from Ireland who will be able to play down back and in the ruck for us.
“Grace Kelly played really well against us last year, and has been excellent throughout the pre-season and Hannah Ewings is a high-end talent that has trained really hard and hasn’t missed a beat since she got here.”
The Crows will also welcome back Eloise Jones, who returns after suffering a ruptured achilles in Round Three of last season.
Harper said it was exciting to welcome Jones back into the side.
“It’s a fairly major injury to have a ruptured achilles like she did, so it’s a credit to her hard work and dedication that she has been able to return for this Round One game,” Harper said.
“Given the seriousness of the injury she is returning from, we aren’t expecting her to be at the peak of her powers at the moment, but she is certainly fit enough to play and play an important role for us.
“We know it’s going to take some time for her to build into the form and player we know she has been and will be, our expectations are for her to just play her role and not do anything more than that.
“She is a very talented player and will be a very handy addition to our forward line on Sunday.”
Adelaide begins its AFLW campaign against an experienced St Kilda line-up on its RSEA Park home deck.
Harper said the squad would welcome the challenge and was keen to start the new season in a positive manner.
“We’ve always had great battles with St Kilda, they are a good side and whether we play them over there or over here it ends up being a great contest,” Harper said.
“They’ve got a lot of excellent players with a lot of experience under their belt so we will have to be right at the top of our game to get a win.
“But we know that our girls will be super determined to come out on top, and put in a solid four quarter performance.”
Adelaide begins its 2025 AFLW season against St Kilda at RSEA Park on Sunday afternoon, with the first bounce at 1.40pm (ACST).
Adelaide's Round One team is:
