CHELSEA Randall nearly didn't play in the NAB AFLW competition.

Nine years on, she's a decorated champion of the game, a three-time premiership player and a four-time All-Australian who captained Adelaide up until this season.

Not only does she have a swag of football achievements under her belt, but West Australian Randall is now firmly ensconced in Adelaide, planning a wedding with partner Marijana Rajcic, while son Tomi is about to turn one.

And it wouldn't have all happened without her grandma, Rose Pember.

"I don't think I'd ever be able to ever repay the competition and the club for what they've been able to do for me and the opportunities. It's changed my life. AFLW has changed my life," Randall told AFL.com.au.

"In 2014, I played the Melbourne exhibition game against Western Bulldogs. Five days before that, my gran had passed, and she was a massive supporter of female footy. She never got to see what it's all developed into.

"Gran was at every single (junior and state league) game, and she would sit in her camping chair, rain, hail or shine. Everyone would be huddling under cover, and they'd say, 'Rose, come into the dry', and she'd say, 'if my granddaughter is out there, I'm staying'.

"She'd always keep her own score – even though you weren't meant to score in under-11s – and tell me how many times I'd had the ball, or this and that. During that time, 20-odd years ago, when society was saying 'no' – to not only have my parents on board, but my grandparents as well, it's the power of sport and footy to bring people together." 

Rose's death rocked the then 23-year-old Randall. 

At the time, she was working as a community programs officer, as well as playing and coaching. She was living and breathing football.

"I was a little bit lost; I didn't really want to play footy without her. I got to a stage after I lost her that, I was just like, 'I think I need a breather from footy'. I missed her a lot," Randall said.

"I jumped on Seek and became a motorbike postie down in Esperance, in the south of WA. I lived in a caravan, me and my dog, playing Ultimate Frisbee.

"That gave me the courage to take a job as a regional manager up in the Pilbara in Newman, working in a high school and delivering footy and netball programs.

"Then when AFLW got announced, I thought, 'I think Gran would really want me to be a part of that', so I took a gamble and moved away from family again, to Adelaide.

"I thought I'd see how I go for six months, and eight years later, I've got a young baby, a fiancée and a house."

Now 33, Randall stepped down from Adelaide's captaincy at the end of last year, with Ebony Marinoff and Sarah Allan appointed in her stead.

The pair were part of the very first AFLW Draft in 2016, signed at the age of 18.

Like Randall and her previous co-captain, Erin Phillips, the boisterous Marinoff and more reserved Allan have formed a firm partnership, their differing styles proving valuable when working with a squad of 30 players who all respond and learn in a variety of fashions.

"They've just absolutely taken the reins and driven this team to a new space as well. That was my advice to them: 'Do it your way. There's no right or wrong way, but just do it your way. It doesn't have to be done the way that it's always been done'," Randall said.

"I get excited by the emerging group of leaders under our leadership group as well – when you can empower players and teammates to be part of the decision-marking, it's essential.

"For me personally, it was time to step away and just be able to focus on footy. I've had a leadership role in some capacity since I was 17, whether that was amateur or state footy. It allows me to be able to do my own thing as a player, be myself and help others along the journey, which I'll continue to do.

"It's been an absolute privilege to watch [Marinoff and Allan] grow into the leaders and people that they are today. One, they're just beautiful souls, but two, when they joined, they were just these young babies. I was quite jealous, being drafted at 25.

"They've grown so much in terms of their leadership, they're such compassionate, caring and driven individuals who are highly competitive, and they're just soaring. I'm so unbelievably proud of them."

Randall doesn't show any signs of slowing down despite the years of wear and tear, nearly winning a game against Melbourne off her own boot (and strong-marking hands) a few weeks ago.

A development coach in Adelaide's men's program, she credits the role in fast-tracking her own football knowledge and execution.

"My body actually feels the best it's ever been, I joked to the girls that at 33, it's just onwards and upwards from here," she said.

"I enjoy the problem-solving and challenge of playing a variety of roles. It might mean that you sacrifice a bit of your game to hold shape and hold positioning, but that's just what’s required, and then in other spaces you might be able to play at a different role. It's great fun to mix it up, and I like that variety.

"Last year I was probably in a space where I was overthinking everything out on the field. Now [after time in men's program], I see it just so much more clearly, I can action it rather than just overthink. Everything I've learned from the players and coaches over on that side of the program has definitely paid off.

"It's situational awareness or game sense, I can see it unfolding a lot faster. Problem-solving is a slow-processing mechanism, but it helps in the long-term when it comes to decision-making, which is a fast process. Because I've been able to practice that problem-solving through training, watching vision and other players, it's definitely helped my footy and my teammates around me."

Football and life are inextricably entwined for Randall and Rajcic, who became an assistant coach at Adelaide after her retirement from playing.

The arrival of Tomi last year – Randall joked Rajcic had to be cajoled away from kicking a footy at training while 37 weeks pregnant – has thrown up a few challenges, but nothing that the pair can't handle.

"I just fully respect, admire and was so inspired by her, because of what she was doing with coaching while being pregnant and everything else," Randall said.

"Family life is great, we're so lucky with Tomi, he's got 29 aunties straight away, and we love bringing him to the footy club.

"Sometimes we get a bit stuck, with MJ coaching and me playing, and it's actually a massive thanks to the players' partners, sometimes we get a bit stuck and have to do a call around to see if anyone's available to come and babysit him for two hours.

"It's a logistical nightmare sometimes, but we're very lucky. We've got MJ's family as well for support (Randall's being in WA), but the players, their partners and the staff at our footy club have just embraced Tomi as their own. We're very lucky."