CHLOE Bown thought Ebony Marinoff was kidding when she offered the draftee a room at her house.
But six months later they’re fast friends, and roommates, as Bown establishes herself as a bona fide AFLW player.
Bown was taken with pick No.5 in the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft, plucked from Victoria and sent to a new state to set up a life. So, having a mentor like Adelaide captain Marinoff to offer a safe landing was important.
It's not the first time Marinoff has welcomed a teammate or two into her home. Zoe Prowse and Lily Tarlinton took up residence last year, and recruit Grace Egan spent some time boarding with her new captain before finding her own place in Adelaide this year.
"I heard (about when) Travis Boak took in Sam Powell-Pepper, and I just remember being like, 'If I'm ever able to give an opportunity like that to someone, you know, living with someone is like, you never know how it’s going to go. So, if you're in my house, you're probably really lucky because I would be picky," Marinoff told AFL.com.au.
"But I've always wanted to be able to give back. And yeah, obviously Zoe Prowse left the nest last year and I saw it as an opportunity. There will be a day where I'll be like, 'My house is mine, it's time', but I just felt like Chloe, in terms of the story… very, very tight knit family, her sister Scarlett plays in the Vic Metro (team), and I just remember those conversations after the draft.
"I was like, 'Ah this kid can't go to a host family, this kid's got to come with me'. She actually thought I was kidding, just being nice. But she certainly knows that, no, she was exactly the person that I wanted to be able to bring into my home to make her life easy. And she's going to be a weapon."
Bown's presence isn't the only new thing for the Adelaide stalwart this year. Marinoff will be the side's standalone captain after two years sharing duties with friend and fellow inaugural Crow Sarah Allan.
"I don't think if it really has sunk in that I will be doing it solo. We've had a few match sims and I have been the solo captain, but nothing will really change for me. It's just more, I guess, responsibility and more solo decisions made by me and the leadership group," Marinoff said.
"I feel very blessed and privileged. It's something that I've never taken lightly in terms of co-captaining with 'Sezzy', but to be backed in by the group to lead them again, solely, it's just amazing and something (that makes me) pinch myself. 18-year-old 'Noffy' would be super proud."
Leadership at the club has experienced sweeping change, with Brisbane assistant Ryan Davis taking over from outgoing head coach Matthew Clarke, and former Brisbane head of footy Breeanna Brock taking the wheel at Adelaide.
Historically, the Crows and the Lions have been arch-rivals through the AFLW, so there was initially some unease to see a Brisbane contingent heading up Adelaide's program.
"It is so weird. I'd be sitting here lying to say it wasn't. Just because there's a few of us that have been here from the start at the Adelaide footy club, and they've been our number one rival since day dot. But there's so much respect there, and even over the last few years I've spent a bit of time up on the Sunny Coast training with Belle Dawes, and you get to know them as people," Marinoff said.
"And yes, we are rivals on the field, and there's been amazing battles that you could go back and watch and go, 'Wow, what a product', but at the end of the day we're all just people outside of footy… What I've seen from Bree in terms of when she came into the program, just her will and want to win.
"As soon as she came into the club, I was like, this woman just wants to win, which was so cool because we've always had that mentality at the footy club… It's great that we’re aligned because I'm a competitor and so is she."
