Another twist has emerged in the clubs' push for places in the Australian Women's Football League, with the Adelaide Crows joining forces with the Northern Territory in a bid for a seventh licence.

With the AFL Commission having approved the launch of the women's national competition in early 2017, the cream of Australian Indigenous female talent could help form the Crows' team in a partnership with AFLNT.

Erin Phillips has been signed and will possibly lead a potential Power women's team. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The increasingly competitive climate around the national league saw Port Adelaide, which had shown little interest in forming a foundation team, this week sign basketball star Erin Phillips to lead a potential Power women's team.

And on Friday Adelaide CEO Andrew Fagan told Fairfax Media he had met the AFL to propose the joint venture with AFL Northern Territory in a bid to overcome the relative dearth of talented women footballers in South Australia. "We see this as a compelling way to create significant talent pathways," said Fagan.