HANNAH Munyard has been sent to hospital following a nasty ankle injury incurred in Adelaide's round one loss to St Kilda on Sunday.

In a tackle on Paige Trudgeon, Munyard's left foot got caught awkwardly under the bigger Saints defender, and she immediately grabbed at her ankle. She then had to be carried from the ground, unable to put any weight through that side.

SAINTS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

"She's heading off to hospital to get some scans. So, it's ankle, not exactly sure what, but yeah reasonably significant, so I'd be pretty concerned for her," Adelaide coach Matthew Clarke said after the game.

It was a moment that further soured Adelaide's first match of the 2025 NAB AFLW season, after being soundly outplayed from siren to siren.

Around the contest the Crows struggled, losing the clearance count 28-18 and contested possessions 116-110, but they still managed to record 50 inside 50s.

Unfortunately, the side's trend of poor forward efficiency continued as it recorded just two goals from those 50 entries, while the Saints registered six goals from their 28 entries in a powerful attacking performance.

"Clearly the efficiency in the first half (hurt), and then I thought in the third quarter, St Kilda just beat us up at the contest, really went to work and owned the game in that little period and clearly they took their chances, and we didn't. So, yeah, pretty disappointing performance," Clarke said.

St Kilda coach Nick Dal Santo was tempered following the game, despite the win being arguably the best in the club's AFLW history. 

"We knew today would be a huge challenge, which it really was, but I'm pleased with the outcome," Dal Santo said.

His side's fitness levels were clearly superior across the game, able to run out the four quarters better than they have in the past.

"We believe in our running capacity. We know that there may be some teams that are equal to us, or probably better given the maturity of their list, and we are still young," Dal Santo said.

The Saints made some pointed calls at the selection table, leaving out defensive stalwart Bianca Jakobsson and the side's only pure ruck Rene Caris, and instead opting for youth and versatility. It paid off, with Bec Ott working well in the ruck battle against Jess Allan, while Nicola Stevens had an impressive game leading the backline.

"We have some selection dilemmas and it's, unfortunately, a really healthy thing to have, you know, integrity at selection, which we haven't always had," Dal Santo said.