FAMILY is at the core of everything Sarah Allan does, and that includes becoming co-captain of Adelaide this year.
Allan, who will lead the Crows alongside Ebony Marinoff, is also joined by younger sister Jess in the six-player leadership group. And it's fitting.
"We've got an older sister as well, we're all quite close in age, so we're all really close," Allan told AFL.com.au.
"It's just great to be able to have that relationship with a sibling and then to be able to do that at your workplace. That's also pretty cool."
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Despite the captaincy announcement being such a huge milestone for Allan, her first thought was concern for taking the limelight away from Jess' inclusion in the leadership group for the first time.
"I feel bad because I think my week overshadowed hers," Allan said.
"It's pretty special for her. I can remember when I first got voted into the leadership group. It's always an honour, but that first time being voted in and really being seen as that by your peers I think is really special.
"That's a credit to her leadership."
As kids, their dad was their Auskick co-ordinator and as they grew older, they played footy with the boys. But a time came where that was no longer possible, and things had to change.
The family was based on the Limestone Coast in south-east South Australia, which meant plenty of hours in the car throughout their teen years. The regular eight-hour round trip to Adelaide was a sacrifice the whole family was willing to make, if it meant the pair were able to pursue their footy dreams.
They were dreams that, at the time, didn't quite have an end goal, with no elite women's footy competition to aspire toward. But that didn't stop them.
"For a lot of our sport there was a lot of sacrifice, time, and money spent, which we are very grateful for," Allan said.
"Obviously (our parents) are going to be proud of us no matter what, but for us it's really important to make the most of what opportunities they gave us. But what we're hearing as well is that they were grateful for the time we spent with them.
"So, to them it was a great sacrifice, but they were fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in the car with us growing up, so they really cherish that."
Since being named as co-captain, Allan has taken time to reflect on not only those sacrifices her parents made, but also their refusal to dampen aspirations.
"A lot of people have asked me 'Did you see yourself being captain of the Crows (growing up)?' and I'm like, to be honest, it wasn't a possibility to play football at an elite level. So, for me as a five-year-old, my parents didn't stop me from aspiring to be something that wasn't even possible," Allan said.
"It's just a pretty cool feeling to know that we continued to push for something that wasn't a possibility, and now it is for all those younger girls."
Last year Allan was cruelled by injury, missing the first eight games of the season with a hamstring injury. But it ultimately set her up for the captaincy, offering her a different perspective on the game.
"A big part of my personality is turning a negative into a positive. For me, it was the first time in my life actually missing games for injury … I really pushed to still be around the team, so I was able to travel and sit on the bench and mentor the younger defenders coming up," Allan said.
"It was obviously a negative that I didn't get to play, but I used it as a positive to just take a step back and see from a different perspective … it just helped me develop a lot as a person.
"I'm very empathetic for people who don't get selected, because I went through that my first season, but I never really had that relatability to missing games through injury, because I personally hadn't experienced that. So, for me now, I feel very well-rounded to be able to support my teammates."
And under the fresh guidance of Allan and Marinoff, the Crows are focused on redemption after last year's one-point preliminary final loss.
"To go down my one point, especially when that's the difference in your season, it can be quite hard to deal with," Allan said.
"The AFLW is improving dramatically, the standard is going up, and we want to be a part of that wave."
