Adelaide AFL Captain Jordan Dawson and teammates Riley Thilthorpe and Josh Rachele have paid tribute to Crows AFLW star Ebony Marinoff, celebrating her profound influence on the Club and the game, as she prepares for her 100th match.
Marinoff will reach the milestone against Sydney this Sunday, after never missing an AFLW game since making her debut in Round One, 2017.
Speaking as a fellow Skipper, Dawson said Marinoff’s influence at the Crows, and across the competition, could never be underestimated.
“A couple of key qualities with Noff are her competitiveness, her professionalism and her diligence with her craft,” Dawson said.
“In the off-season when no one else is around, she’s at the Club doing extras, working on her body and trying to get better.
“She’s a real inspiration for all footballers.
“100 out of 100 games is pretty impressive and it goes for her durability, then also as a Club, how much of a star of the competition she is and how proud we are to have her in our team and part of our Cub.”
Dawson said Marinoff was a great role model for footballers coming through the ranks and showed just what it took to be a professional athlete.
“She brings a joyful energy, but coupled with a real competitiveness - she loves being here, she loves getting to work, and she loves competing with her teammates,” Dawson said.
“I love having Noff around, she’s an awesome human being.
“She’s an amazing role model, she’s paved the way for a lot of females coming through the sport, and she has a lot of fans looking up to her and wanting to be like her.
“We are so proud to have her as part of our Club and she’s such a fantastic leader as Co-Captain of our AFLW team, as well.”
Thilthorpe described Marinoff as “an absolute superstar,” and said her dedication and relentless work ethic set her apart.
“She works as hard as anyone I have ever seen,” Thilthorpe said.
“Ebony absolutely deserves everything that comes her way, we are all so pumped for her.
“I can’t wait to watch her and hopefully get the win in her 100th game.”
Fellow forward Josh Rachele said the achievement was even more remarkable, given the relatively short length of an AFLW season.
“The girls’ off-season is so long, it’s six-to-eight months, but to see her up in the gym for all that time training hard is amazing,” Rachele said.
“To see Ebony get to 100 games is a credit to her because it’s so hard to play 50-75 games, so for her to play 100 is amazing.”
Crows Members and fans are encouraged to head to Adelaide’s match against Sydney this Sunday afternoon to help celebrate Marinoff’s milestone, as well as the Club’s 100th AFLW game.
Be there and bring a friend for free, using the codeword AFLW20252FOR1 when you buy tickets here.
The Crows take on the Swans at Thomas Farms Oval (Unley Oval) on Sunday at 2.35pm.
