ADELAIDE coach Matthew Clarke predicts an even tighter AFLW competition, which makes him wary of rivals Port Adelaide in their season-opener.
The triple premiership-winning Crows enter Saturday night's women's Showdown at Alberton Oval as firm favourites against a Power side with just three wins in two seasons.
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But Clarke expects a much-improved Port side to evidence a narrowing of the talent gap between all AFLW clubs.
"They (Port) have had pretty good access to talent over the last two trade and draft periods," Clarke told reporters on Friday.
"They have got some exceptional young talent on their list and it's well complemented by their ability to acquire players through trade so their list profile looks really good and therefore they'll continue to improve.
"Our challenge is to make sure we improve just a little bit more."
Clarke said it was a pointer to a closely fought season.
"That is just going to be the natural evolution," he said.
"We will find all the expansion teams that have been in over the last couple of seasons will continue to improve because the mechanisms are in place to make sure that happens.
"Draft and trade availability provides greater access to talent and then additional weeks and months of preparation will allow them to continue to improve."
A dual AFLW premiership coach, Clarke's Crows topped the women's ladder in the last home and away season but lost a preliminary final by one point to North Melbourne.
Clarke said that result stung at the time but was now "ancient history".
Saturday night's clash is the first women's Showdown to be played at Port's home base Alberton Oval, with Adelaide winning the past two clashes by 60 points and 30 points.
"The (Showdown) atmosphere, there's no game like it really unless you're playing finals," Port coach Lauren Arnell told reporters on Friday.
The Power enter the fresh season without retired superstar Erin Phillips, with Janelle Cuthbertson taking over the captaincy amid Arnell's expectations of improvement.
"I have been quite bullish in the previous two seasons here of really attacking our offense," she said.
"A big part of that is you want to be a team that's exciting to watch ... and high scoring so that when you do eventually get to that point where you mature enough to play in finals, you score against good teams.
"We've had that and now we've added contest - contest has been a massive focus and I'm very excited for our group to show that off."
