AFLW: Adelaide Crows captain Chelsea Randall to miss do-or-die semi-final against Collingwood
Adelaide will have to keep its AFLW premiership defence alive without captain Chelsea Randall, who will miss Saturday’s crunch semi-final under the AFL’s concussion protocol.
Randall suffered a head knock in the final minute of last week’s qualifying final defeat to Melbourne but passed a concussion test at the time and was on track to face Collingwood this weekend.
Demon Kate Hore accidentally fell across the star Crow’s head and neck, leaving Randall briefly face down on the turf before she stumbled to the ground as she walked backwards to take her free kick.
That action raised fears Randall had sustained a concussion but she told News Corp afterwards that she “tripped over my own shoelaces” and that she felt “fantastic”.
But the 31-year-old, who just returned from a high-grade ankle sprain, won’t play in the do-or-die clash with the Magpies after Adelaide received fresh vision of the incident.
The Crows’ medical team, in consultation with the league’s own experts, decided Randall won’t be available.
The club’s head of women’s football, Phil Harper, said they were taking a conservative approach.
“Chelsea is the heart and soul of our team and we would obviously love to have her playing in such a big game, however, we must and will always prioritise the health and wellbeing of our people – it’s of paramount importance,” Harper said.
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“While she has not presented with any symptoms; we have now seen vision showing different angles of the incident that, according to club and league medical experts, gives grounds for her to not play under the AFL’s concussion rules.
“She is obviously very disappointed to be missing a final but, in typical fashion, she is getting behind her teammates and doing all she can to help us get the win.”
Randall also missed Adelaide’s 2021 grand final loss to Brisbane after suffering a concussion in the preliminary final.
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