Narelle Smith and Tim Weatherald announced as new assistant coaches for Crows’ 2019 AFLW season
NARELLE Smith broke a sporting glass ceiling this year becoming the first woman to coach an SANFL men’s team. She has now joined the coaching ranks of the national AFLW competition.
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NARELLE Smith broke a sporting glass ceiling this year becoming the first woman to coach a SANFL men’s team, but you get the feeling she’s not done yet.
She has now joined the coaching ranks of the national AFLW competition, announced yesterday as an assistant at the Adelaide Crows who will concentrate on the forward lines.
Smith, who was appointed senior coach of the Glenelg Reserves side this season, was announced as an assistant alongside Sturt Magarey Medallist Tim Weatherald, who will oversee the team from the Northern Territory.
Smith said she was looking forward to working alongside her fellow coaches, including assistants and former Crows players Andrew McLeod and Peter Caven and opposition analyst Brooke Copeland.
But she saved highest praise for newly appointed head coach Matthew Clarke, lauding his wealth of knowledge garnered over his 25 years in the AFL system.
“I can’t play it down about how important that is and what I will learn from him,” she said.
Clarke similarly had nothing but praise for Smith and her two decades of playing and coaching.
“What she brings, that I lack, is that knowledge of the women’s game … having someone to draw on with that background has been really good,” he said.
Clarke also welcomed Weatherald, as a key cog because of his strong knowledge of players through his work with the NT Thunder’s VFLW side.
Crows head of football administration Phil Harper said Smith and Weatherald would provide valuable expertise as the club continued to build on its women’s program. Harper also thanked Andrew Hodges and Mark Moody, who were departing to pursue other opportunities.
Smith shook off any talk of the low-goal scoring criticism of the women’s game.
“It’s an easy way to criticise women’s footy (but) I don’t think you can ever improve, if you’re not being critiqued,” she said. “If you look at the men’s game versus the women’s game there is a lot of difference in speed, but that will develop. as will women’s IQ of footy, which will improve all facets of the game, not just the scoring.”
Smith said this year the coaching panel would look to improve that player IQ and further athletic development.
Clarke said there had been a bit of player turnover in the off-season, with the loss of the likes of ruck Jess Allan and forward Ruth Wallace, which had created opportunities for the club leading into the AFLW Draft on October 23.
“Clearly we’ve got some highly talented players, but we want to try and broaden out our talent base, so that we become a bit more rounded,” he said. “Talent in any position in our first priority, but a little bit more midfield depth would be our second priority.”
Pre-season for the Crows AFLW side gets underway in mid-November.