Crows star Chelsea Randall fed up with ‘hurtful’ AFLW trolls

The Crows captain says trash talk from people with misguided views of Aussie rules needs to stop.

Adelaide captain Chelsea Randall says she is “really over” trolls on social media down playing the AFLW product and the work she and her fellow players put into their careers, revealing how for 16 years she was “told you don’t belong” in the game.

The 31-year-old has won three AFLW premierships with the Crows, two of them as co-captain with Erin Phillips and one as sole captain, to be a trailblazer of the competition.

But despite the AFLW coming so far in just seven seasons, with now all 18 teams represented, Randall said she was still annoyed at some of the misguided views of the game.

Speaking along with Phillips at The Advertiser’s Finals Footy Lunch at Adelaide Oval, Randall said she was over the negativity some people had for the AFLW.

Crows captain Chelsea Randall and Power star Erin Phillips. Picture: Russell Millard

“It really annoys me because I’m not one to read the comments but I am really over it,” she said.

“Even when we launched our Disney documentary around Fearless and around giving the inside story of our athletes and just how amazing they are and you just read a comment or two that say “oh this is just Auskick” and just some of these comments are really hurtful.”

Growing up in Western Australia, Randall was the only girl in the under 11’s team when she first started footy, with some of the boys laughing at the prospect of playing with her.

She said this type of negativity and exclusion had been hard.

“We put hours and hours into our sport and for me personally I probably spent about 16 years being told that you aren’t good enough or you don’t belong and what that does or can do to a human being I am being quite vulnerable with that and it does need to stop,” she said.

“It is not just women’s footy, some of the comments our men’s players get and athletes in general, just can we be a bit kinder and if you don’t have anything kind to say don’t say anything at all.”

Her former teammate, now captain of Port Adelaide’s inaugural women’s side, Phillips said people needed to appreciate AFLW for what it was rather than put it up against the men’s competition.

“I think we have a problem where we are always going to be compared to the men’s game, it is something that we need to deal with,” she said.

“But I often say to people, there is value in the women’s game people value Serena Williams and Roger Federer, they play the same game and they play it differently and you can absolutely respect them even though they are different genders.”

Other speakers at the lunch included former Port Adelaide and Hawthorn premiership player Shaun Burgoyne, inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes, Power 2004 premiership star now defensive coach Chad Cornes and Adelaide’s leadership development manager Dan Jackson.

Originally published as Crows star Chelsea Randall fed up with ‘hurtful’ AFLW trolls