Heather Anderson, a former AFLW star, died unexpectedly, leaving the Adelaide Crows ‘truly grieved’.
Heather Anderson, the Adelaide Crows’ AFLW premiership winner, died unexpectedly.
The club acknowledged the 28-year-old’s death in a brief statement posted on Monday and expressed condolences to her family and friends.
‘The Adelaide Football Club is very grieved by the untimely death of Premiership player Heather Anderson,’ read a statement from the Crows.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.’
In a separate statement, AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone added: ‘Words cannot express the deep sadness amongst the AFL and AFLW community at this time. Our sincerest condolences are to the Anderson family.
‘On behalf of the AFL, I would like to express my deepest compassion to Heather’s family, friends and colleagues.
An army medic, Anderson was selected by the Crows with pick No10 in the 2016 AFLW draft.
Originally from the ACT but stationed in the Northern Territory, she became the first Northern Territory-based player drafted by the Crows in the process.
The defender had to overcome a serious shoulder injury in her debut season, when she ended up playing eight games as the Crows won their maiden premiership by beating Brisbane 4.11 (35) to 4.5 (29) in the Grand Final.
The premiership triumph, however, came at a cost for Anderson, who dislocated her shoulder and eventually had to undergo career-ending surgery.
Anderson became a popular figure within AFLW because of her trademark pink headgear, which she started wearing early in her career to help her vision-impaired mum spot her on the field.
