Crows joint vice-captain Courtney Cramey on what makes her team the premiership favourite

Crows joint vice-captain Courtney Cramey might have snapped the AFLW’s Goal of he Year last week, but for now she has more important things on her mind.

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Crows vice-captain Courtney Cramey will be forced to wait until April to find out whether last week's impressive goal from a boundary snap will be named this season’s AFLW Goal of the Year.

But she’s got other things on her mind for now.

Including Sunday afternoon’s preliminary final against Geelong at Adelaide Oval.

Cramey returned to the Crows team last week after two weeks sidelined with a grade 1-2 hamstring tear, and was instrumental in Saturday’s 10-goal win over Melbourne and booking themselves a home preliminary final.

Crows players celebrate the Goal of the Year contender from Courtney Cramey (right), during their round seven AFLW match against Melbourne. PHOTO: AAP Image/Daniel Pockett

The utility notched up 18 disposals, including six contested possessions along with her one bending goal.

Pleasingly, for the 33-year-old, the hamstring didn’t worry her during the game.

“Given my age, previous injuries, you always do worry that little bit for a split second and then you’ve just got to realise that you’ve done the work and trust in that,” she said.

“As soon as that siren sounded it was all about footy and didn’t pop into my mind at all.”

The same will apply on Sunday when the Crows take on Geelong in the preliminary final at Adelaide Oval.

Cramey said the success of the Crows outfit came down to meticulous and detailed game planning.

Like I wasn’t going for goals guys! #practiceeverytraining 🤷‍♀️ https://t.co/PDkm4euaVh

— Courtney Cramey (@cjcmedway) March 17, 2019

“I think the way we’ve gone about it this year, under (coach Matthew Clarke’s) leadership, we’ve just been focusing on what we can control and all the hard work that we’ve put in, playing our system, playing our way, respecting our opposition, but knowing that we play the way we want to play, that’s our main focus and the results will come,” she said.

“That we’re going into a final coming off a really good win, I think it’s a really positive thing and makes us see that if we continue to play the way we want to play, then those results will come.”

At 33, Cramey said she was playing the best football of her life.

Crows joint vice-captain Courtney Cramey in action during the AFLW round seven match between the Melbourne Demons and the Adelaide Crows at Casey Fields. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media

“Every year that’s gone on, I’ve got fitter, I’ve got stronger, my football’s got better,” she said.

“I feel really confident about how I’m going and as long as the body holds up I’ll keep playing.”

As for last week’s Goal of the Year contender, Cramey will have to wait until the end-of-season W Awards to find out whether her classy kick from the boundary will land her an accolade.

Her snap from the right pocket bounced once in front of the posts before sneaking through the square, beating a rush of players running on to it.

“I saw the goals and gave it a crack,” she said.

“We practice bending the ball in craft pretty much every training session.

“I have practised it a few times and gave it a go, I saw nothing but the goals after I got that handball from Stevie, so it was just fortunate that it kept bending and went through.”

The W Awards will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday, April 2, when the All-Australian team will also be named, along with the league’s best and fairest.