After only making one appearance at AFL level in the 2017 season, two-time club champion Scott Thompson decided to retire.
Though Adelaide mainly played depth players rather than a top-level squad, experienced trio Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Curtly Hampton and Kyle Cheney, all of whom had missed much of 2017 due to injury, had opportunities to perform well.
In addition, midfielders Brad Crouch and Hugh Greenwood were left out of the team for the first game due to better manage their recoveries from injury.
[18] In the absence of both Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane, Tom Lynch was named the captain for Adelaide's match against Fremantle.
[22] During training for the match, defender Daniel Talia rolled his ankle and was withdrawn from the team, replaced with draftee Darcy Fogarty.
[20] Talia returned from injury and joined the team for the first time of the year, along with Sloane, Greenwood, Eddie Betts, Richard Douglas and Kyle Hartigan, with the Crows fielding 25 players in the pre-season derby against crosstown rivals Port Adelaide.
Despite the loss, there were impressive performances from new players Fogarty and Sam Gibson, a recruit from North Melbourne, both of whom put themselves into contention for a debut for the Crows in round 1 of the regular season.
According to Daniel Talia, the Crows were taking a cautious approach, unwilling to risk using players who had not had a full pre-season,[47] and as a result neither played in round 1.
[26] In the first half Josh Jenkins had an impressive performance against All-Australian defender Alex Rance, kicking four goals against him, followed by a fifth later in the game.
Due to strong performances in the forward line from both Jenkins and Walker, the Crows led at the end of every quarter and finished off with a 36-point win.
During the half time break, coach Don Pyke instructed the players to be more predictable in how they passed the ball to each other and as a result the Crows were able to control the game more and finish the match 49-point winners.
The unfurling of their premiership flag took place in round one in a 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final rematch against the Brisbane Lions.
[60][61] In the absence of co-captain and reigning club champion Erin Phillips due to a quad injury, along with other key players, the Crows lost their first two matches to Brisbane Lions and Melbourne, delivering a heavy blow to their chances of defending their premiership.
This damaged the Crows' ability to win the ball through the midfield and left gaps in their team structure, allowing Lion Sabrina Frederick-Traub to dominate in Brisbane's forward line.
Melbourne's midfield trio of Elise O'Dea, Daisy Pearce and Karen Paxman dominated the game, collecting 54 possessions between them.
The Crows lost by 32 points, and senior coach Bec Goddard emphasized after the match that it wasn't solely due to the team missing Phillips.
[63] Phillips returned from her quad injury to play her first game of the season against the Western Bulldogs and dominated the match, kicking four of Adelaide's six goals.
In addition the Crows moved forward Sarah Perkins into the midfield with great effect after she had struggled to make an impact in the first two rounds.
After being at the bottom of the ladder after their draw against the Giants,[65] the Crows needed to win in order to keep their premiership defense alive.
After a tight start to the game, the Crows broke free in the second quarter, scoring three goals in just two minutes to extend their lead to 23 points by three-quarter time.
The win took Adelaide from eighth to fifth on the ladder, only half a game below second, the spot they needed to finish to make it into the Grand Final.
Fremantle player Dana Hooker kicked a goal with less than five minutes to go to ensure a close finish, but the Crows held on to win the game by 4 points.
Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall suffered a head knock late in the second quarter and was forced to sit out the rest of the match.