Adelaide Crows premiership pair Andrew McLeod and Peter Caven join Bec Goddard’s coaching panel

ADELAIDE’S dominance of the AFLW will be boosted next season with the support of two Crows AFL premiership players

Crows AFLW head coach Bec Goddard with new assistants Peter Caven and Andrew McLeod.

ANDREW McLEOD is so enthralled with elite women’s football that the Norm Smith Medallist is returning to the Crows football program to join AFLW premiership mentor Bec Goddard’s expanding coaching panel at Adelaide.

McLeod and AFL premiership team-mate Peter Caven are the new AFLW assistant coaches at West Lakes, stepping up skill and tactical coaching after the league’s successful launch in February-March.

McLeod will join Andrew Hodges in working Adelaide’s midfield. Caven will command the Crows’ defence.

Crows AFLW head coach Bec Goddard with new assistants Peter Caven and Andrew McLeod.

McLeod’s return to the Adelaide system - after being an SANFL reserves coach at Norwood, assistant to Redlegs premiership coach Nathan Bassett, the AFL under-age indigenous Boomerangs team and this year coaching in the college system with St Michael’s - coincides with the Crows games recordholder (340 AFL matches) completing his coaching accreditation.

McLeod calls this resume “dabbling” in coaching. But he is fully committed to Goddard’s AFLW program after noting the women’s league players have “real” passion for Australian football.

“They want to learn,” said McLeod, who has taken four training sessions with the Crows women recently. “They want to get better. And they soak up everything you put before them.

“But I’ve also enjoyed how the AFLW has taken footy back to what is was years ago. The way the girls play, you can see they love it. It is a breath of fresh air when the AFL game does not have the players being up close the fans like the AFLW does.

“And I enjoy being involved with people who want to develop their skills and their game. I love their excitement.”

Adelaide’s premiership defence will continue with a squad working from two bases - West Lakes and Darwin, from where McLeod started his extraordinary football journey more than 20 years ago.

Adelaide on Wednesday will enter the AFLW draft in Melbourne with seven picks on the running sheet - Nos. 8, 16, 24, 32, 38, 42 and 46.

The AFLW squads will increase to 30 for next season - 27 plus three rookies - while the competition will remain at eight teams with expansion to 10 in 2019.

The AFLW rookie draft will be on Friday, October 27.

Off the field, the Crows have taken their men’s and women’s programs to the University of SA with a three-year partnership.

The upgrade of the link between the club and the university is designed to “drive excellence in sports science and sports business research.” The university will gain practical sports science knowledge from the elite programs at West Lakes. The club will take on UniSA graduates working across a wide range of disciplines from business development, finance and football.