Unwavering belief has defined Adelaide’s 2025 AFLW campaign, even through challenging moments, according to wing Niamh Kelly.
The Crows’ kept their premiership hopes alive with a 44-point win against St Kilda in their elimination final at Norwood Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The commanding victory helped get Adelaide’s finals campaign off to a strong start, after enduring an inconsistent minor round, finishing sixth with a 7-5 win/loss record.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Kelly said Senior Coach Matthew Clarke had reinforced the team’s belief that their best football is good enough to compete with anyone.
And the four-quarter performance against the Saints helped boost the coach’s message.
“It was a great win,” Kelly said.
“We always had the belief that our time would come and I think Doc (Clarke) is such a good motivator, the way he can build that belief in all of us, and just believe that our time will come, and we will get that four-quarter performance.
“It has been up and down this season, with Caitlin Gould going down with an injury, and Hannah Munyard, but for Caitlin to have such a good game yesterday as well, it gives her a confidence boost, and her presence alone gives us a boost, too.
“I think when you look across the whole team, it was such a good team performance and I think it’s that confidence that we need to go into a really tough game this week against Melbourne.”
Kelly was back in the Crows’ line-up for the elimination final, having missed the last minor round against Fremantle with concussion.
The 30-year-old’s return came alongside that of former Captain Chelsea Randall, who had missed the past seven matches due to concussion symptoms.
“I was very grateful to be back out there again after having a week off the week before,” Kelly said.
“We are very lucky with the staff we have here with the strength and conditioning, the physio and the doctors, and everything like that, they got me right.
“Chels is such a leader to the group, so it was great to have her back out there.
“Her calm in the backline is incredible, so it was lovely for us both to come back at the same time and incredible for Chels to come back in.”
Adelaide’s win, coupled with Melbourne’s preliminary final loss to Brisbane will mean the Crows will face the Demons in a semi-final at Ikon Park this Saturday afternoon.
The Crows have not played the Demons since Round Seven last year, with Melbourne taking home a two-point victory.
Kelly said the team was ready for the tough challenge ahead.
“If you look at the performance yesterday, we had such a good performance from all the girls – even the young girls stepping up – like India (Rasheed) kicking two goals in her first final.
“Then you have Zoe (Prowse) who is so versatile, she played in the backline all year but then to come in and play in the forward line to give us that aerial presence has been unbelievable.
“We are going into a really tough game against Melbourne and they’ve had an incredible season, but we know if we put in a performance like yesterday and bring that pressure, and play to our strengths, it can fall our way.
“We are very aware going into the game where their strengths lay, they play as a high-pressure team. It will be a good contest, and we are ready for the challenge.”
Adelaide faces Melbourne in a Semi-Final at Ikon Park this Saturday afternoon, with the first bounce at 12.35pm ACDT.
