Erin Phillips and Chelsea Randall will continue on as the Crows’ AFLW captains for 2020 season
The Crows’ AFLW side is eyeing off its premiership defence with a month to go until round one. On Monday, Adelaide announced who will lead it into battle in 2020.
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As the Crows continue to plan their AFLW premiership defence, the club has announced it will go into its fourth season with unchanged captains, naming Erin Phillips and Chelsea Randall as the team’s natural leaders.
Despite both star footballers tearing their anterior cruciate ligaments in 2019, Phillips and Randall will again co-captain the Crows, which the pair has done since the team’s first AFLW season in 2017.
They led Adelaide to two premierships and while Randall has been ruled out of the 2020 season has she rehabs her knee, Phillips is still eyeing off a stunning round-one return to football.
Phillips, 34, revealed that despite tearing her ACL in the third quarter of last year’s AFLW grand final in March, she never considered retiring.
“There’s a few more premierships to win … I’ve always loved the game and that was the ultimate reason to go back through this rehab again.”
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Randall tore her ACL at training in November and underwent a knee reconstruction just before Christmas and while her on-field leadership will be sorely missed, the much-loved figure will captain from the sidelines.
She said she was honoured to lead the team.
“It was overwhelming the belief that they have in me … I will be able to provide some vital off-field leadership and more importantly be able to provide some guidance to our on-field leaders as well throughout the season.”
The decision to stick with the co-captaincy was made by head coach Matthew Clarke in consultation with the coaching group and team leaders and was ratified by the Adelaide Football Club Board.
He said while the co-captains would provide terrific support off the field, their absence out on the ground created an opportunity for others to step up.
“The decision that the group would be best served by retaining the co-captains was made on exposed form, three years of outstanding leadership and the fact that Chelsea and Erin are the natural leaders of this group,” Clarke said.
Phillips said it was an honour to again captain the club.
“Not having Chelsea on the field there will be a void, but it’s also an opportunity for someone else to step up and take on that on-field responsibility alongside me,” she said.
Adelaide opens its season on Saturday, February 8 when it takes on Brisbane at Queensland’s Hickey Park.
In the lead-up to that game, the team will vote for a leadership group that will support the co-captains.
Last season’s co-vice-captains were Courtney Cramey and Angela Foley.