Crows in AFLW finals
2017
Adelaide finished second at the end of the minor round to secure a grand final berth in the AFLW’s inaugural season.
Grand final, 25/3/2017
Adelaide 4.11 (35) d Brisbane 4.5 (29) at Carrara (Gold Coast)
Adelaide defied the odds to make history as the first AFLW premier, fighting off a late challenge to upset previously unbeaten Brisbane Lions by six points.
Co-captain Erin Phillips was inspirational in the midfield, finishing with 28 possessions and two vital third-quarter goals to win the best-on-ground medal.
Goals: Phillips 2, Gibson, Varnhagen
Best: Phillips, Randall, Marinoff, Cramey, Gibson, Bevan
2019
After a one-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in round one, the Crows produced an eight-game winning streak under first-year coach Matthew Clarke.
Preliminary final, 24/3/19
Adelaide 11.7 (73) d Geelong 1.1 (7) at Adelaide Oval
The Crows were dominant from the first siren to the last, holding the Cats scoreless until the 12-minute mark of the final term in the 66-point win.
The first AFLW game at Adelaide Oval was a match to savour for Crows fans, with the team kicking two goals in the first and second terms, another three in the third and finishing with a bag of four.
The usual suspects stood up for Adelaide, with superstar Erin Phillips breaking a tag to finish with 22 disposals. She was well supported through the midfield by Ebony Marinoff (27, two goals and 10 tackles) and Anne Hatchard (19).
Chelsea Randall, Sarah Allan and Marijana Rajcic controlled defence and clever forward Danielle Ponter kicked three goals.
Goals: Ponter 3, Scheer 2, Marinoff 2, Jones, Considine, J. Foley, Randall
Best: Marinoff, Phillips, J. Foley, Randall, Ponter, Rajcic
Grand final, 31/3/19
Adelaide 10.3 (63) d Carlton 2.6 (18) at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide won its second AFLW premiership in front of a record crowd for a women’s game of Australian football of 53,034 at Adelaide Oval.
The Crows lived up to their favourites’ tag, demolishing Carlton by 45 points.
But the victory was tinged with sadness after serious knee injuries to Adelaide superstar Erin Phillips – who won the best-on-ground medal – and promising teenage forward Chloe Scheer.
Goals: Ponter 3, Phillips 2, Hatchard, Considine, Martin, Thompson, Jones
Best: Phillips, Hatchard, Jones, Randall, Allan, Marinoff, J. Foley
2021
The Crows moved on from their 2020 struggles to rise to minor premiers.
Preliminary final, 10/4/21
Adelaide 5.3 (33) d Melbourne 1.9 (15) at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide booked its place in a third AFLW grand final with an impressive 18-point victory over Melbourne at Adelaide Oval.
Ebony Marinoff (35 disposals and 13 tackles) and Anne Hatchard (27 disposals and one goal) starred for the Crows in the win.
Erin Phillips kicked the only two goals of the first half.
Goals: Phillips 2, Scheer, Hatchard, Jones
Best: Hatchard, Marinoff, Phillips, Martin, Thompson
Grand final, 17/4/21
Adelaide 3.2 (20) lost to Brisbane 6.2 (38) at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide’s third AFLW grand final had a different ending to the first two, with Brisbane winning its first title.
The Lions led by five points at half-time and then took control of the contest by adding three unanswered goals in the third term.
Adelaide kicked the only goal of the final quarter but was unable to build any momentum, going down by 18 points.
The Crows were without co-captain Chelsea Randall (concussion) and then lost stand-in captain Ange Foley to a serious knee injury.
Goals: Thompson, Ponter, Jones
Best: Thompson, Hatchard, Considine, Marinoff, Allan
2022 (Season 6)
Adelaide finished as minor premiers, losing only one game.
Preliminary final, 2/4/22
Adelaide 6.4 (40) d Fremantle 4.2 (26) at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide advanced to its fourth AFLW Grand Final in six seasons after registering a 14-point win over Fremantle at Adelaide Oval.
The Crows dominated territory for much of the first three quarters, getting plenty of ball close to goal, but the Dockers’ defence stood up strongly to limit opportunities to score.
Chelsea Randall starred for Adelaide with 12 intercepts. Ash Woodland kicked two goals, also becoming the first AFLW player to kick 20 goals in a season.
Goals: Woodland 2, Phillips, Gould, Thompson, Ponter
Best: Marinoff, Thompson, Phillips, Randall
Grand final, 9/4/22
Adelaide 4.5 (29) d Melbourne 2.4 (16) at Adelaide Oval
Adelaide underlined its ranking as the most successful AFLW club by winning its third premiership, by 13 points.
The Crows controlled most of the first half but only kicked two goals, leaving Melbourne a chance to get back into the contest. The gap was only seven points midway through the final term but a running goal from Danielle Ponter was enough to clinch the title.
Midfielder Anne Hatchard was voted the best player on the field with 26 disposals, five clearances, six tackles and nine marks.
Goals: Ponter 2, Hewett, Phillips
Best: Hatchard, Marinoff, Ponter, Martin, Allan
2022 (Season 7)
Adelaide had another strong minor round to finish third but was unable to win a second premiership in 2022.
Qualifying final, 4/11/22
Adelaide 4.3 (27) lost to Melbourne 7.6 (48) at Princes Park
Adelaide kicked the first three goals of the game but Melbourne responded to win by 21 points.
Danielle Ponter’s first goal took only 19 seconds and the Crows continued to look dangerous in the first quarter before the momentum swung back Melbourne’s way.
Goals: Gould 2; Ponter, Woodland
Best: Marinoff, Allan, Gould, Ponter, Hatchard
Semi-final, 12/11/22
Adelaide 3.5 (23) d Collingwood 1.5 (11) at Unley Oval
Adelaide kept its back-to-back premiership dream alive for one more week, defying both the elements and a determined Collingwood to prevail by 12 points.
A 30-minute delay to the start of the game due to lightning was followed by another 43-minute delay at quarter-time as a severe thunderstorm caused havoc.
Adelaide kicked the only two goals of the opening term and then another in the second to lead by 18 points.
Collingwood kicked the only goal of the second half but the Crows held off the challenge.
Ruck Caitlin Gould completely dominated her individual battle finishing with 28 hitouts to go with 14 disposals, including 12 contested possessions and seven clearances.
Goals: Jones, Whiteley, Hatchard
Best: Gould, Hatchard, Charlton, Newman, Allan, Biddell
Preliminary final, 18/11/22
Adelaide 3.5 (23) lost to Brisbane 7.4 (46) at Carrara (Gold Coast)
Adelaide’s brave start after an emotional week was not enough to challenge Brisbane.
The Lions blew the game open with four unanswered goals in the second quarter.
The Crows battled tirelessly after trailing by 35 points early in the third quarter but were unable to connect between midfield and forward often enough to trouble their opponents.
Goals: Gould, Ponter, Randall
Best: Hatchard, Randall, Biddell, Newman, Marinoff
2023
Adelaide finished top of the AFLW ladder after losing only one of their ten minor round games but then suffered two narrow losses in three finals.
Qualifying final, 11/11/23
Adelaide 5.7 (37) lost to Brisbane 6.3 (39) at Norwood Oval
Brisbane took the lead with the only goal of the final term to win a thrilling final by two points.
After a hot start, the Lions were largely dominated in the second and third quarters, but later stunned the home Crows crowd.
Dangerous Crows forward Eloise Jones produced a career-best performance with a quartet of exciting goals.
Goals: Jones 4; Kelly
Best: Jones, Marinoff, Hatchard, Randall, Biddell
Semi-final, 18/11/23
Adelaide 12.10 (82) d Sydney 2.3 (15) at Norwood Oval
Adelaide kept its season alive with a stunning 67-point win over Sydney.
The Crows dominated the first half to lead by 23 points and then held the Swans to just three behinds in the second half.
Adelaide was lifted by a record-breaking performance by Anne Hatchard who recorded an AFLW Finals record 38 disposals.
Goals: Hatchard 2, Randall 2, Bonner 2, Waterhouse 2, Gould, Bonner, Ponter, Jones
Best: Hatchard, Marinoff, Randall, J. Allan, Ponter, Kelly
Preliminary final, 26/11/23
Adelaide 4.7 (31) lost to North Melbourne 4.8 (32) at Ikon Park
North Melbourne reached its maiden AFLW Grand Final, defeating Adelaide by just one point in a tense preliminary final.
It was a see-sawing affair, with an outrageous pack screamer and goal by Crows star Anne Hatchard cutting the margin to one point with around 2.30 minutes left on the clock.
Danielle Ponter kicked Adelaide’s three earlier goals, including two in succession to give the Crows the lead early in the third quarter.
Crows coach Matthew Clarke said: “It’s not much fun, getting rolled by small margins, but in the end, I thought North Melbourne played an outstanding game.”
Goals: Ponter 3, Hatchard
Best: Marinoff, Ponter, Thompson, Biddell, Hatchard
2024
Adelaide finished fourth after the minor round and then reached another preliminary final.
Week One, 8/11/24
Adelaide 5.1 (31) lost to North Melbourne 5.8 (38) at Ikon Park
Unbeaten minor premiers North Melbourne came from behind to defeat Adelaide by seven points.
At half-time it looked as though the underdog Crows were going to cause a massive upset. They had dominated inside 50s but failed to convert enough opportunities, leading by five points.
Adelaide veteran Chelsea Randall played arguably one of the best games of her career, finishing with 22 disposals and two goals, but her heroic efforts weren’t enough to get her team over the line.
Goals: C.Randall 2, Gould 2, Ponter
Best: Randall, Marinoff, Gould, J. Allan, Ponter
Semi-final, 16/11/2024
Adelaide 7.7 (49) d Fremantle 1.6 (12) at Norwood Oval
Adelaide won through to its sixth preliminary final, comfortably accounting for Fremantle by 37 points.
After an extended quarter-time break – the heat policy in place for the 35-degree conditions – Adelaide flexed its muscle.
Like they’ve done all year, the Crows locked the ball in their forward half, but finally, they were able to convert, piling on four goals to take a game-winning 29-point lead into half-time.
Ebony Marinoff led from the front, finishing with a game-high 32 disposals, 23 contested possessions, 11 tackles and eight clearances.
Goals: Randall, Levy, Munyard, Martin, Ballard, Marinoff, Ponter
Best: Marinoff, J. Allan, Newman, Prowse, Randall, Hatchard
Preliminary final, 23/11/24
Adelaide 4.8 (32) lost to Brisbane 7.8 (50) at Brighton Homes Arena
Brisbane stormed past Adelaide to win by 18 points after breaking the game open in the third quarter.
Trailing by 13 points late in the first half, Brisbane went up a couple of gears after the break and Adelaide simply couldn’t go with them.
The Lions kicked four unanswered goals in the third term to overturn a half-time deficit and qualify for a sixth decider.
Adelaide’s only goal of the second half was kicked in the dying minutes of the game.
It was Brisbane’s sixth-straight win over the Crows.
Goals: Randall 2, Gould, Kustermann
Best: Marinoff, Randall, Biddell, Hatchard, Ponter