{"id":32285,"date":"2016-03-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/uncategorized\/adelaide-crows-will-field-sa-women-s-team-as-port-adelaide-pull-out-of-race-2\/"},"modified":"2016-03-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03T00:00:00","slug":"adelaide-crows-will-field-sa-women-s-team-as-port-adelaide-pull-out-of-race-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/show\/adelaide-crows-will-field-sa-women-s-team-as-port-adelaide-pull-out-of-race-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Crows will field SA women\u2019s team as Port Adelaide pull out of race"},"content":{"rendered":"
Image | PAFC<\/a><\/h6>\n

The Adelaide Crows will field South Australia\u2019s team in the national AFL women\u2019s league next year as Port Adelaide pull out of the fight for the license, reports Caroline Wilson.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI can tell you the Adelaide football club are not only the frontrunner, but they will be the Adelaide team fielding a women\u2019s team next year,\u201d Caro told Rowey and Bicks on FIVEAA on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy understanding is that Port Adelaide will announce over the next few days that, while they will field a women\u2019s team, they are going to continue to run the Port Adelaide team with the old Port Adelaide jumper in the amateur league that they\u2019ve been playing in already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A statement on the club\u2019s website<\/a> confirms that there will be no Port Adelaide team in the first year of the national women\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir approach to women\u2019s footy \u2013 while very concerted and still very determined \u2013 they\u2019re going down the grassroots path,\u201d Caro said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not going to apply to have a women\u2019s team in the newly formed national league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelaide and Port Adelaide were expected to fight each other for the right to field SA\u2019s women\u2019s team in the national league, but Caro said the SANFL\u2019s decision to give Port Adelaide access to the state\u2019s juniors was pivotal. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any sour grapes here or bad blood here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that Port Adelaide, given that they now have access to the best juniors in South Australia, that will be their focus\u2026 a grassroots women\u2019s team, and build them up from the bottom and be part of a bigger and more expanded national league in coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SANFL previously announced that the Adelaide Crows would have access to the state\u2019s senior women\u2019s players.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO CAROLINE WILSON HERE:<\/h3>\n