The Adelaide Crows’ colours are flying proudly on the other side of the world, with the Club’s American namesake - the Austin Crows - cementing itself as a powerhouse of US Australian football.
The Austin Crows secured a remarkable seventh-straight Division One USAFL Nationals title, beating New York by 56 points.
Donning the same tri-coloured guernsey as their AFL counterparts in South Australia, the Austin Crows dominated the tournament and capped their run with a 9.4 (58) to 0.0 (2) grand final win against New York in Tucson, Arizona.
The victory followed earlier wins against Golden State, Sacramento and New York, and delivered the club its 10th championship in 12 years - the most successful run in USAFL history.
Vice President and Treasurer Hamish Pellew said the triumph carried extra meaning, given the challenges the group faced throughout the season, and the decision of several older players to stay on for one last tilt.
“We played a tournament mid-year which we lost in the final, and it really helped our club focus on where we needed to improve, and build a key strategy to beating those clubs at Nationals,” Pellew said.
“A couple of our more senior players were contemplating retiring this year, but they stuck around for another year to help ensure we could continue to grow our skills and push for our 10th flag.
“We love to celebrate successes on and off the field, and support each other however we can - we had a few senior players who had illnesses and injuries this year, so dealing with that adversity and working together to lift everyone up where we can was very important.”
Formed in 2002, the Austin Crows boast a diverse squad featuring Australians including Ben May - son of former Test cricketer Tim May - Americans such as Nolan Cox - brother of Collingwood premiership ruck and Fremantle recruit Mason Cox - and players from a range of other nationalities.
Pellew said the club’s sustained success stems from a strong culture and a shared sense of purpose.
“We expect all players to show respect to each other and our opponents, we support businesses and our sponsors, and give back where we can to the community,” he said.
“We love teaching new players, and even other clubs in the US, the game of footy and how we have built our success. We work hard to offer the opportunity to play at the highest level here, and hopefully continue to taste success.
“We love to share our knowledge and help grow the game here in the US to hopefully allow more US players to grow and play professionally in Australia.”
The Club’s women’s program continued its impressive rise this year, stepping up to Division One for the first time after winning the Division Two grand finals in 2022, 2023 and 2024 - a milestone Pellew said has energised the entire organisation.
The connection with Adelaide, he said, was also felt strongly within the group.
“We love messages from the Adelaide Crows fans - we read the messages and our playing group always gets a little buzz whenever we see those,” Pellew said.
“If any Adelaide fans travel to the US and come through Austin, we encourage them to reach out to us for any hot tips on the best places to see while here.
“And if anyone ever moves to Austin and wants to play footy, there is no age, gender or skill restriction. We encourage anyone to come out and join the club in any capacity they can.”
