To help ease the burden of its long-term injury list, Adelaide has signed two SANFLW players as permanent train-ons for 2020
As the Crows deal with long-term injuries ahead of their 2020 premiership defence, the AFL has permitted the club to sign two SANFLW players to the squad as permanent train-ons.
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As Adelaide grapples with a significant number of injuries ahead of its AFLW round one clash against Brisbane on Saturday, the club has announced the signing of two SANFLW players as permanent train-ons for the remainder of the 2020 season.
With both Chelsea Randall (ACL) and Ruth Wallace (personal reasons) ruled out for the entire season, South Adelaide’s Czenya Cavouras and West Adelaide’s Rachelle Martin will now train full-time with the squad as it looks to become the first AFLW club to win back-to-back premierships.
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The AFL recently adopted a new rule for women’s football allowing clubs that have players ruled out for the season to sign replacement players to train with them full-time, but the players will not be available for selection unless the side has only 22 fit players.
The Crows are expected to go into round one with 24 fit players (if the likes of Erin Phillips and Chloe Scheer, who are both rehabbing torn ACLs, are not cleared to play).
Coach Matthew Clarke this week said he would like the AFL to alter the rule on 22 fit players, but accepted that the “rules are the rules and it’s okay because they are the same for everybody, so we’ll just play within them”.
Two-time SANFLW premiership winner Cavouras is known for her speed and power in the midfield, while Martin is a inside-mid who won the 2017 Dutschke Medal for best and fairest in the Adelaide Footy League.
She is also the sister of Crows premiership winner Hannah Button who is on the Crows’ inactive list in 2020 as she rehabs a torn ACL.
Cavouras has won medals of her own, including in the Southern Footy League playing for Flagstaff Hill, where she won the division one best and fairest, and her mother Catherine was runner-up.
Crows General Manager Football Administration Phil Harper said the club was pleased the AFL had allowed the players to train full-time with the squad.
“Should they be called upon to play, it is only fair that they are as well prepared as possible to perform at AFLW level and this will allow that to happen,” Harper said.
“We liked what we saw when Czenya and Rachelle played a half of match sim and we look forward to them increasing their knowledge of our game style and their teammates.”
Cavouras and Martin have already been training with the squad one day a week across the pre-season, and both played in the trial game against GWS in January.
The Crows will on Thursday release their round one squad that will take on Brisbane at Hickey Park in Queensland on Saturday afternoon.