Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall tells: Why I chose not to return home to Perth and instead stick with Adelaide

No one would have blamed Chelsea Randall if she’d decided to leave the Crows and head home to Perth to join AFLW expansion club West Coast. Instead she stayed. Now, she explains why.

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Only months ago, Chelsea Randall was making the biggest decision of her AFLW career so far: Should she head home to Perth and join expansion club West Coast? Or stick with the Crows where she was well on her way to winning her second AFLW premiership?

Her parents were adamant she’d return home and speculation was swirling in footy circles that the lure was too great.

Then came the phone call she wasn’t expecting.

“My dad called me and said: ‘I just want you to know that I love you and no matter what decision you make, we’re OK here. Don’t feel like you have to come home for us, I can see you’re happy there and that’s all we want you to be’,” she recalls.

Her parents’ endorsement or not, Randall had already made up her mind — she was staying at Adelaide — but it was comforting to know she had their support, particularly since both her mum Linda and dad Brett, had been so supportive of her football career from when she was a lanky 11-year-old being laughed at on the footy field for playing a “boys’ sport”.

Randall makes no apology for discussing her playing options with the Eagles, one of four new teams joining the AFLW in 2020.

“I think any elite athlete — AFLW or AFL men’s player — has to keep their options open because you don’t know what’s around the corner in this rollercoaster world,” she muses.

“It’s silly to not have a coffee and be open and listen with intent and just find out.”

For Randall, happiness came first. And she’s pretty happy in Adelaide and even happier to sign a two-year deal to stay at the Crows.

“As much as I miss my family and friends back home, I’ve made new friends and new challenges here and I’m loving my football and I feel like we’ve got an opportunity to continue to learn and grow,” she says.

Crows AFLW co-captain Chelsea Randall with her dog Koda. She’s happy to be staying in Adelaide. Picture: Sarah Reed

Chelsea Randall with fellow Crows co-captain Erin Phillips. Both players have re-signed with Adelaide for the 2020 season. Picture: Sarah Reed

“West Coast are a fantastic club with fantastic people and they were my childhood football club that I supported, so I still very much have a soft spot for them and what they’re all about and I wish them, truly and genuinely, all the best.

“It’s just that I’m happy where I am. Why change that, when happiness is so hard to find?”

Randall is one of 24 footballers who have recommitted to the Crows AFLW side for next season. It’s a formidable group, not only filled with experience with the likes of vice-captains Angela Foley and Courtney Cramey and former GWS marquee signing Renee Forth, but with youngsters who display football skills beyond their years including Ebony Marinoff, Sarah Allan, Eloise Jones and Anne Hatchard.

And it’s clear the club has the intent — and talent — to win back-to-back premierships. But the re-signing of Randall is particularly significant to these back-to-back hopes.

With fellow co-captain Erin Phillips rehabing her reconstructed knee and no certainty to return to playing next season, had Randall returned home, there would have been a major on-field leadership void left behind.

Crows head of football administration, Phil Harper, said the club was elated to re-sign Randall and praised her as a major influence on the positive team culture.

“Chelsea has made a huge impact on our club and also in the development of female football across South Australia,” he says.

“She is a fantastic, highly-respected player and an even better person, and we’re thrilled she has chosen to stay a Crow for two more years.”

The fact that clubs can now sign two-year deals with players (previously the AFL only allowed one-year deals), is not only significant for the burgeoning AFLW competition, but it offers individual female footballers a sense of security that hasn’t previously existed. It means a lot to Randall personally because she can now start planning for the future and she’s even contemplating buying a house in suburban Adeaide.

Celebrating her second AFLW premiership with the Crows, Chelsea Randall takes a selfie with a fan who has Randall’s playing No. 26 painted on her face. Picture: AAP/ Keryn Stevens

SHE might love the Crows tricolours now, but back in 2016 when she decided to join Adelaide as one of two marquee signings for their inaugural 2017 season alongside fellow West Australian Kellie Gibson, some of her footy mates shook their heads and asked why on earth she’d want to join a club in a state that was notoriously weak in the female footy stakes.

“Back in those days, we had state competitions and SA was always renowned for having the weakest football talent,” Randall recalls.

“And so everyone actually questioned me and said: ‘Why are you going to the Crows?’ They’d say: ‘Good luck with that one’ with all the sarcasm.”

But Randall, then aged 25-year-old and working as a regional manager in the East Pilbara town of Newman some 1200km north of Perth, saw the move as a huge opportunity.

“I actually chose (the Crows) because it had the weakest football talent and I felt that I could have a positive impact not just at the footy club, but in the state.”

While fellow marquee signing Gibson left the Crows after their 2017 premiership and returned to WA to join Fremantle where she played out the 2018 and 2019 seasons and has since been announced as a signing at West Coast, Randall has stayed and worked tirelessly with the club to develop SA’s community female football talent pathways.

Crows Chelsea Randall celebrates Adelaide’s grand final win over Carlton with teammates including Angela Foley. Picture: Tom Huntley

Crows AFLW co-captain Chelsea Randall plays her guitar to her dog Koda. She has signed a two-year deal to stay at the Crows. Picture: Sarah Reed

So, come March 31 when she ran out onto Adelaide Oval to play Carlton in the AFLW grand final — in front of a staggering and record-breaking 53,034 crowd — despite all the speculation that she’d sign with West Coast, in fact, she’d already decided to stay put.

But she kept her decision a secret from teammates and surprised them a week later at the Club’s Best and Fairest night by reciting a poem she’d written revealing her decision to stay a Crow.

She loves Adelaide: the dog-friendly beaches, the camping sites on both Yorke and Eyre peninsulas, the hiking trails close to the city. And she has goals still to achieve, including finishing her teaching degree through UniSA.

She’s also keen to continue challenging herself and as such is doing more media work including special commentary for Channel 7’s SANFL coverage.

“We’re all like trees,” she muses. “The moment you stop growing, you die. It seems quite brutal and blunt, but at the same time, we’re forever growing and I think that’s a vital component of us challenging ourselves to step outside the comfort zone.”

For Randall, the significance of what the Crows side achieved this year — including drawing the record crowd for a female sporting event in Australia — probably won’t sink in for years yet.

“I struggle to find the words not just for what it means to us, but to the people who watch us, and what it means for the people who never had the same opportunity as we do and I don’t know if it will fully sink in until I’ve finished my footy career and I can reflect back on that and maybe I’ll have my own kids one day and be like: ‘Yeah, that was me back then’.”

CHELSEA’S POEM TO THE CROWS

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I like writing poems,

So here’s one for you.

We have all come into each other’s lives for a reason,

And all played a significant role in this incredible season,

I speak on behalf of the players because it’s important you know,

We appreciate all the time and effort you give … so …

To all our staff, executives and board,

You have very much been a part of this success and we must applaud.

Thanks to all our sponsors, we are lucky to have you,

You continue to help make our dreams come true.

…(This is the part where I thanked everyone individually with inside jokes) …

And finally to our main man Doc,

What a journey we’ve had on a time-restricted clock.

You made training engaging and fun,

Always demanding a higher level to get the job done.

Your quirky “dad jokes” never get old,

Thanks for keeping us calm and reminding us of

passion and pride and gold.

Thanks for your time

And listening to my lil’ rhyme.

I love this club, I love these girls and that’s the pure reason …

That I’ll be signing for another season.

An extract from Chelsea’s poem in which she announced at the club championship night that she’ll be re-signing with the Crows.

Chelsea Randall, front left, surrounded by her Adelaide teammates with the premiership cup after they beat Carlton by 45 points in the 2019 AFLW grand final at Adelaide Oval in front of a record crowd of 53, 034. Picture: Tom Huntley