IT'S GOING to be a different kind of Adelaide this year. Never before have the Crows experienced such upheaval between seasons.

Marquee signing Chelsea Randall's sudden retirement on Monday confirmed feelings rumbling around the AFLW following an off-season with plenty of change.

Three-time premiership player, and fan favourite, Anne Hatchard chose to head north to reunite with club champion Erin Phillips at Gold Coast, and club leading goalkicker Danielle Paredes (nèe Ponter) will also be absent for the season, having announced her pregnancy earlier in the month.

Another member of that three flags club, Stevie-Lee Thompson also chose to retire at the end of last year, exciting key defender Zoe Prowse got her wish in a trade to Essendon, and coach Matthew Clarke retired from his role at the conclusion of the 2025 season.

This quintet of players alone is 412 games of experience gone or unavailable for 2026, a significant chunk of leadership and talent out the door in one fell swoop.

Now, just two inaugural Crows remain – Ebony Marinoff and Sarah Allan – with the latter opting to step away from her co-captaincy position this year.

So, under new coach Ryan Davis, and new head of footy Breeanna Brock, the Crows enter a brand-new era. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Always known as the perennial contender, the only finals series the Crows have missed across the League's history are 2018 – where it was simply a top two reaching a Grand Final – and 2020 – where the season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic.

But in recent years they have become increasingly fallible.

Last year, they lost to both St Kilda and Richmond for the first time in AFLW history, both of which forced fans to understand they weren't the side they once were.

Since their 2022 S6 premiership victory, the Crows have struggled to break past the modern powerhouses of North Melbourne, Brisbane, and Melbourne deep in finals, and haven't reached a decider in the last four seasons.

That might sound a bit dramatic, particularly for sides who are yet to win a final in their AFLW journeys, but for Adelaide it has been a bit of a reality check.

Now, fresh off a semi-final loss in 2025 and with so much change, there is every chance the Crows will take a little step backward to make a big leap ahead in the coming years. The 2026 season will be crucial in the club's attempts to lay a strong foundation for the next dynasty.

Former Carlton and Richmond midfielder Grace Egan is the only experienced player to join the Crows over the off season, bringing 66 games of experience. While draftees Chloe Bown, Lucy Waye, Olivia Gorman, Alicia Blizard and Ava Stewart, alongside replacement signing Juliet Kelly, bring something new and exciting.

There has been a determined look to youth in order to create that next version of Adelaide, and it's a thrilling contingent that's ready to take that responsibility on, but there will no doubt be growing pains as the club establishes exactly what that new version is.

So, while you can never really write the Crows off, maybe in 2026 success looks a little different.