Justine Mules-Robinson has expressed her immense pride at being named Port Adelaide’s captain for the 2025 NAB AFLW season. 

Speaking to media at Alberton Oval on Thursday alongside senior coach Lauren Arnell, Mules-Robinson shared an emotional story about her late father, who once told her she would “be captain one day.” She reflected on that moment and spoke about the leadership values she hopes to bring to the group in Season 10. 

Arnell addressed a range of topics, including the makeup of the refreshed leadership group, the team’s progress through pre-season, and how the club plans to manage performance expectations heading into 2025. 

You can read Lauren Arnell’s full press conference opening address below. 

Mules-Robinson on what it means to be captain  

“Geez, it means a lot. I shared with the group earlier this this week, when I found out that I was voted captain, my late father said to me, before he passed away, he said when I moved over to Port, that I'd be captain one day. And I never bloody believed him, because he would, he would say a lot of things, and I was just laughing, but he believed in me, and that really pushed me to go above and beyond here, and in my career, my legacy, and my journey within football. So, it means a lot. And I absolutely love this club. I love the girls so much and willing to do anything for them.”  

“Oh, geez, I can't probably say it (what her father would have said to her) on camera. In short, he'd be bloody proud.”  

“It means a lot, I am absolutely so grateful for my experiences at the Crows. I had a really good run there, but moving over to Port, I wanted to be a leader, and to step outside of my comfort zone.”  

Mules-Robinson on how she found out  

“Grimmy (Shane Grimm, Port Adelaide’s Head of AFLW), and Loz (Lauren Arnell) told me Monday afternoon. There were quite a few girls who put their hand up into the leadership, and to be fair all the girls are leaders in their own way. So yeah, Monday afternoon, and Grimmy set me aside, and told me the good news. I just bloody cried.”  

Mules-Robinson on informing her loved ones  

“My wife (was first), and then I FaceTimed my family - my mum and my two sisters. And like I said before, we never really believed much of what my dad said because he would tell a lot of porky pies. But I think the belief that he had in me, just like I was just telling the girls, the belief that someone else puts on you, you start to take that yourself. I now want that to pass that onto our group. Mum was over the moon. She was bloody crying. My other two sisters aren’t really sports fans, so they don't actually understand what it means. Maybe, with all the media today, who knows, they might understand that it is a big deal.”  

Mules-Robinson on her leadership development and key role models   

“I learned a lot being vice-captain last year with JC (Janelle Cuthbertson) as our captain. I absolutely idolise JC. Her impact already from last year's season and pre-season, she was just an instrumental leader. Some things that she started to implement, I will also use as well. So, when she went down with the injury, I was like, ‘oh, bugger all right, I’ve got to start doing all the pre-game speeches’, and that was overwhelming for me. I'm not the best talker on a good day, so definitely felt like I was throwing the deep end there, but I learned quickly how to swim. I’ve had guidance from JC, Ange Foley, and Erin (Phillips) as well. I’ve been surrounded by such great leaders from early in my football career. I just learned little bits of them, and now just feel really comfortable myself to pick and choose (those lessons) and use my own little my little suave as well to form my leadership style.”  

“She (Janelle Cuthbertson) has reached out, and I am just so grateful that she is going to continue to lead by example. There's no second guessing what she is going to do on and off the field here. She is a leader, and that will never change.”  

Mules Robinson on her leadership style  

“I’ll have a focus on just how privileged we are to be in this environment, and to not take that for granted. You know, every day on the track is a new day, a new day to grow, and a new day to learn. So just always train the way we want to play and be consistent. But also love what we do as well. I think that's a key pillar for me - to be enjoying what we're doing. We are here (at the club) a lot of the time. We're surrounded by such great, incredible human beings. So, we want to enjoy every moment here as much as we can.”  

“I want to create an environment that the girls enjoy and thrive. I think early on in my career, I wasn't really enjoying it so much, and now I've been able to flip my mentality on that. So that's one thing that I really want to help with the young girls coming through the system now, to make sure that they enjoy as much as they can.”  

Mules-Robinson on expectations ahead of Season 10.  

“With the group that we've got now, we've got incredible talent and incredible human beings. It would mean so much to see us go that next step further, but we're just going to trust what we can control right now, and trust that we get better each day out on the track and see where we go.”  

Arnell on the refreshed leadership group  

“We’ve seen Kirsty Lamb last season come across from the Western Bulldogs with some leadership experience behind her, and that complements the experience Justine has as captain. We’ve got some exciting young people stepping into the vice-captain role who are in the room now, and Emelie Borg and Julia Teakle, who have been here since day one. We’re entering our fourth season and we’re now seeing some young people who've been here from the start step into a more senior leadership role. So, to have them as co-vice-captains and key pillars of our team, and they’ve been very consistent performers over the last couple of years, is really exciting for us.” 

Arnell on Janelle Cuthbertson’s decision to step down as captain 

“I think it's been a period of time for Janelle where she's had such significant challenges with injury over the whole course of her career. And obviously the most significant you'd expect in AFL and in many sports is that ACL injury, and that's been obviously really challenging, and she's not the only one in our playing group working through that. I think with that injury history, and the challenges that have come with that, it's been a conversation (the club has been having with Cuthbertson) over a period of time.” 

Arnell on Cuthbertson’s injury rehabilitation progress 

“She’s been out there (at training) this week with some non-contact work, which is exciting. And we're expecting some progress. An ACL journey is never linear, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks we see her out there with the group more and more during training, and not just needing to run around the boundary and get her load up in that sense. So that's an exciting step forward for JC.”  

Arnell on the captaincy appointment process 

“We have a pretty chunky process in the leadership of our whole program, not just in how we appoint a captain. It’s incredibly thorough, and something that we've been working on for the last three years as a whole group. I guess the key aspects of the process is that the players vote, and then as a football club, it goes through a process with the coaching group, the board and the AFLW football committee.”  

Arnell on how the group is tracking this pre-season  

“I think we're week six now of pre-season, and I'd expect every coach in the competition to tell you the same thing - I'm really proud of the progress our young group is making. We'll continue to work hard, and we've got a nice little block of hard work coming up for our crew in the next couple of weeks.” 

Arnell on performance expectations  

“My expectations as coach right now are that we refine and continue to get better in our consistency, and in our processes, as a playing group and as a whole program. I think coming into our fourth season, the most important element of what we do this year, regardless of who we play or our wins and losses, is that we better in everything that we do, and we're consistent in our approach. We saw some benefits to beginning to do a lot of that last year. I think the process and how we go about our hard work this year will hopefully pay off, and we saw that success last year, but the process is the focus.” 

Arnell on managing expectations  

“I think speaking to all of you (the media) over the last few years, I haven't had questions like that (on finals expectations), so it's nice to have them to be honest. I think it's an exciting thing to have expectation on us. But we’re going to continually remind ourselves and each other that it’s about the process. And with Justine's experience as a three-time premiership player, we can continue to focus on what really matters, and that's what we do each day.” 

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Arnell’s press conference opening address   

Good morning everyone, and thank you for being here. 

It’s a privilege to announce and officially introduce our AFLW captain for the 2025 season – Justine Mules-Robinson. 

Before I speak about Justine, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank two outstanding leaders who have helped shape the foundation of our AFLW program. 

Firstly, to Erin Phillips — our inaugural captain and a true icon of the game.  

Erin led with strength, humility and an unwavering passion for this club.  

Her retirement at the end of 2023 closed a remarkable chapter in her career, and we are deeply grateful for everything she gave to not just our AFLW program, but to the game more broadly.  

Erin’s recent induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame reflects her impact on the game, and I’d like to publicly congratulate Erin and her family on such an incredible achievement.  

I’d also like to acknowledge Janelle Cuthbertson, who wore the number one guernsey with pride last season. 

Janelle stepped into the captaincy with courage and composure and guided our young group through an important phase in our development.  

She has now made a brave decision to step aside from the role to focus on her return from injury, and her continued leadership presence in our group remains incredibly valued. 

That brings us to today — and to Justine. 

Justine Mules-Robinson is a three-time AFLW premiership player, a founding member of our Port Adelaide side, and a leader known for her energy, grit, team-first approach, and iconic laugh. 

She’s a tough player that never shies away from the hard ball, and she thrives in the contested aspects of game.  

Her fierce competitiveness and skills are topped only by her experience, and authentic and caring leadership qualities.  

She served as vice-captain in 2024 and stepped up seamlessly to lead the group when Janelle was injured — a period that showed just how naturally leadership comes to her. 

Justine was voted in by her teammates to officially take on the captaincy this season, which is a clear reflection of the respect and trust she’s earned within our club. 

She connects deeply with those around her, works relentlessly on and off the field, and upholds the values we want our program to be known for. 

It is only fitting that she now leads us as captain.