In many ways, AFLW Crows captain Ebony Marinoff’s extraordinary talents on the football field are mirrored in the way she moves around her kitchen – she is focused, high energy and always passionate about delivering the goods.

Ebony, or “Noffy” as she is affectionately known, is one of the most decorated players in the AFLW. The standout athlete was selected as the Crows’ first pick in 2016, and she has never missed a game since her debut in 2017.

But the four-time Crows club champion and seven-time AFLW All-Australian is also best on ground when it comes to her outstanding cooking and entertaining skills.

Last year, in a social media clip made by the AFLW, a group of players were asked: “What is something we don’t know about Ebony Marinoff?”

Almost all of them referred to her culinary prowess.

“I cook every night – that’s kind of the deal, besides Saturday night,” Ebony says. “I just love to cook; I love having people over and feeding my flatmates. It’s my love language.”

Ebony’s sporty household includes her partner Nick Patterson, who is captain of the A grade team at local club Colonel Light Gardens.

Her other three flatmates also happen to be Crows teammates. Queenslander Lily Tarlinton moved into Ebony’s stylish western suburbs home after being drafted in 2023.

More recently, two new interstate recruits have also moved into the share house as they pursue their AFLW dreams with the Crows.

Grace Egan, who hails from Shepparton, was traded to Adelaide from Richmond last year, while young gun Chloe Bown is an 18-year-old draftee from Melbourne, and one of the most exciting prospects in the competition.

Tonight, as they all mill about the kitchen chatting, laughing and cooking together, it’s clear that Ebony has become a mentor to these sportswomen both on and off the field.

The star 28-year-old midfielder has intentionally created a communal homelife that is built on friendship, support and camaraderie.

“The moment we took on Chloe at the club, I knew I wanted to help her,” Ebony says. “The excitement for a 10-year player like me to have the chance to have a generational talent come into our program was super exciting.

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“Taking Chloe under my wing has been something that has been really important to me. The first car ride we took, I offered my place to stay. She thought I was just being nice, but I was deadly serious.

“I’ve had some amazing mentors throughout my career, and I know how valuable it is to have someone in your corner when you’re finding your feet, so I wanted to be that person for her.”

As tonight’s meal preparations continue, there is plenty of team work on show as everyone lends a hand.

Nick heads outside to get the barbecue fired up (lamb cutlets with chimichurri sauce and rib eye steak), Chloe and Grace put the finishing touches on dessert (Biscoff cheesecake), while Lily is the general kitchenhand, helping out where needed.

“We often play ‘sous chef’ alongside Ebony,” Lily says, as she checks on the potatoes in the air fryer.

In designing her home, which was built in 2022, Ebony says she was particularly hands-on when it came to the kitchen.

“I designed my kitchen myself with Farquhar Kitchens,” she says. “I wanted a big island bench, which is about three metres long. I also didn’t want a sink in the island. I wasn’t going to have a sink in the kitchen at all, just in the butler’s pantry, but my mum said, ‘I’m not letting you do this without one’. She was right. There is a sink in the kitchen.

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“I also wanted a really ‘open’ butler’s pantry; I didn’t want a door, so the kitchen wraps around into the butler’s area and it all works really well.”

It’s all working well tonight as Ebony darts between the kitchen and butler’s pantry, overseeing several dishes on the go.

Tonight’s menu includes a lamb ragu, chicken pesto pasta with broccolini, roast potatoes, and a roasted pumpkin, spinach and feta salad with pine nuts.

Then, just when you thought there couldn’t be any more football talent in the room, the doorbell rings and the remaining guests arrive – longtime women’s Crows player and vice-captain Eloise Jones is here, as is 18-year-old Crows draftee Ava Stewart, who has moved to Adelaide from Perth.

Also on tonight’s invite list are two of the biggest names from the men’s Crows camp, players Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo.

The AFL stars are also flatmates and live nearby, and Ebony says, “Word spread around the club about tonight’s dinner so I told the boys to come along”.

Everyone huddles around the expansive island bench as talk quickly turns to footy, with Josh and Jake revealing that their other flatmate, Crows defender Luke Nankervis, is a late scratching for tonight’s event.

“He broke his nose at training today,” Jake reveals.

It’s a slight relief for Ebony, given Luke is coeliac, and while she had created several gluten-free options on tonight’s menu, the pressure is off.

While Ebony has been hands-on with all aspects of tonight’s dinner, she was happy to outsource one job – dressing the table.

She enlisted the help of Adelaide stylists Le Createur, who specialise in small, intimate events. For tonight’s gathering, the team drew inspiration from the natural tones and curated interiors of Ebony’s beautiful home, opting for natural linen napery, textured crockery and delicate florals in soft whites and fresh greens. The effect is chic, understated and stylish.

As guests take their seats for the main event, and an array of dishes appear on the table, it’s clear that this is a healthy bunch.

When asked about the origins of her culinary talents, Ebony says she had a knack for cooking even as a child.

“My brother Daniel, who is two years older than me, would have his friends around for sleepovers and I’d make bacon and egg sandwiches or pancakes for them all,” she says. “I just loved to be in the kitchen and create.”

Then, as a teenager, Ebony’s first job was in the deli section of a Fulham Gardens supermarket, not far from her home now.

“I loved it,” she says. “I’d slice the ham, make up the platters, put the chickens in the warmer. I did that job for about four years.”

In more recent years, Ebony’s culinary talents saw her take a cooking course in Italy.

“I spent two days in Tuscany learning how to make pasta and gnocchi,” she says. “I loved it. Pesto was my favourite.”

These days, feeding this group of elite sportspeople most nights of the week means the menu in the Marinoff household is always nutritious. Regular dishes on the rotation include pasta, steak, schnitzel, vegetables, salads, plus a few other crowd favourites.

“The guys love my ‘Slovakian night’ with roast lamb and chicken, and I also do a teriyaki chicken bowl, which everyone loves – you can’t go wrong with that,” Ebony says.

“It can be a bit stressful when I don’t have time to cook, when I’m coming home from training and rushing, but I always try to make sure that I’m cooking a good meal.

“I’d say 90 per cent of the time I really enjoy cooking; I find it relaxing. I don’t ever feel like it’s a chore. I get a lot of mindfulness out of it.”

Watching Ebony create tonight’s meal with such cohesion and good cheer, you get the feeling that this elite footy champion would have excelled at anything she put her mind to.

Ebony got her start in footy at age eight at Lockleys and Morphettville Park football clubs, going on to represent South Australia in the under-16 and under-18 open age teams.

In 2015, she was named in the youth all-girls Australian team and was selected as Adelaide’s first pick in the inaugural AFLW draft in 2016, making her debut in the opening season of 2017.

A standout star and leader, Ebony won the inaugural AFL Women’s Rising Star award during that first year, going on to dominate year after year as an all-round midfielder known for her intensity and athleticism.

She is also a three-time AFLW premiership player (2017, 2019 and 2022) and last year the star midfielder celebrated the milestone of her 100^th AFLW game, making her the first AFLW player in the competition’s history, alongside Brisbane’s Ally Anderson, to mark the significant achievement.

“Nothing will ever compare to winning a premiership, though,” she says.

It is never about singular accolades for this standout star who has a gift for bringing people together and inspiring through example, be it at the club or at home.

“Building these relationships matters because football is only one part of the journey,” Ebony says. “When a player feels safe, connected and supported both on and off the field, they are able to grow with confidence.

“Being able to play a small part in that, like I am with Chloe, has been incredibly rewarding and I can’t wait to see her shine.”

As guests tuck into their dessert of cheesecake and gluten-free brownies, Ebony looks a tad more relaxed.

“This cheesecake is elite,” she announces, as dogs Duke and Luna make themselves known looking for crumbs.

“I love having big groups here because you can create a variety of dishes and it’s fun.

“I cook for big numbers about once a fortnight, with girls from the team, family, school friends, there’s a bit of a rotation.

“In summer, when we’re not in pre-season as much, we hang outside by the pool and do a lot more barbecues. I’m a real homebody.”

It’s a relaxed vibe as the night comes to a close and guests say their goodbyes as flatmates get busy on the clean-up.

“I built this house for me but also as a place for people to gather,” Ebony says. “No one ever leaves here hungry, and they always tell me the food was good.”

Tonight, there’s no denying that Crows captain Ebony Marinoff is player of the match, but the natural leader has also ensured that everyone here knows they are a vital part of the team. 

This article first appeared in the August issue of SALIFE magazine.