SARAH Allan and Ebony Marinoff form the perfect captaincy partnership.
Now in their second year in the role, the extroverted Marinoff and introverted Allan balance out each other beautifully, the yin and yang of Adelaide.
That’s not to say Allan isn’t fiercely competitive, as evident by her match-winning turn in defence in Sunday’s must-win final match of the 2025 home-and-away season.
“I think we’ve spoken about it, but we’re probably the opposite ends of the spectrum of personality,” Allan told AFL.com.au with a grin.
“Sometimes when you are the opposite personality, that can complement each other. The biggest thing is like working through our strengths together and when the team needs probably a bigger pump-up, you just get her and do it, or if they need a calmer approach for a chat (then it’s Allan). You just work through your own strengths and make sure we’re using that to help the team.
“I’m probably more leading by example, and sometimes what I say probably means a bit more when I do say something, because I don’t always voice everything, so it makes it a bit bigger in the moment. I probably do a bit more of the off-field and care for players, and making sure everyone’s feeling comfortable.”
The 2025 season is the second in charge for Marinoff and Allan, having taken over from inspirational leader Chelsea Randall.
“We didn’t select the leadership group until really late last year, and it felt like we went straight into the season,” Allan said. “So it was good that already had that relationship from playing footy with each other for so long. But this year, we had more time to work together in the off-season to make sure we were on the same page as co-captains, working towards the same goal.
“For us as co-captains, it was reflecting on how our first season went and then whether we there is room to grow for us individually, and then together as well. And then where we want to take the leadership group to start with, but then the group as a whole.”
Across the league, captains utilise various techniques, driven both by their personalities and that of the playing group. Ruby Schleicher at Collingwood is loud and rambunctious, but also puts her body on the line every time. Jas Garner at North Melbourne is much quieter, with her words having a strong impact when she does speak up, and she can take a game by the scruff of the neck.
Fremantle’s Ange Stannett is caring and has very strong connections with her teammates, with Hannah Priest at St Kilda in a similar mould.
Much like Essendon’s combination of Bonnie Toogood and Steph Cain, Adelaide has the best of both worlds in Allan and Marinoff.
They even take it in turns to toss the coin each week.
“Our ability to understand each other and be on the same page – no matter what – I think that’s really important. Especially when you’re in that (co-captaincy) role, you have to be able to understand each other and be on the same page,” Marinoff said on Monday.
“Even though people do think that we’re so different, in fact, 99.9 per cent of the time we are thinking the same thing, which is really awesome and that we can naturally be in that space is really important.
“Also, our ability to connect with different players … to really understand what makes them tick and then navigate that. I think that’s important in our game, especially for a list of 30, to make sure that we’re covering across that.”
Ebony Marinoff in action during Adelaide’s clash with Sydney in AFLW round seven, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
The pair’s friendship extends back before they were drafted by Adelaide at 18, ahead of the first season of the AFLW, having come through school footy and the junior talent pathway.
“Getting to know her and her family throughout the younger years was amazing. When you have an understanding of where they come from and what’s important to them, I think that’s also been crucial, in terms of us understanding each other,” Marinoff said.
“I’d like to think that I know a lot about her story and where she’s come from and her family and what’s important to Sez. And I’d like to think that she understands and knows how I work as well. And you don’t get that if you don’t know each other.
“We’re very lucky that we have fallen into this pathway here at the Crows and prior to that our junior journeys. I feel lucky reflecting back, just that we were drafted to Adelaide together.
