Izak Rankine is a 25-year-old forward for the Adelaide Crows. The Hunter actually had an AFL investigation hanging over him for an alleged homophobic slur. Rankine came to Adelaide at the end of the 2022 season after three years with the Gold Coast Suns. Now, he is relishing the prospect of taking part in his first finals series.
Down the road, the Crows are intensifying efforts in advance of a major anti-campaign. After their 2017 grand final loss in heartbreaking circumstances, they can’t wait to be playing football again this September. If Rankine is suspended as a result of the investigation, Adelaide’s prospects of going deep into the finals will be severely impacted. From their end, they might be staring down the barrel of having to host both finals should they go deep. Past suspensions for similar offenses have been in the range of three to five games. This would put Rankine’s availability for potentially finals-deciding matches in grave doubt, including the opportunity to play in a likely grand final.
Teammate Darcy Fogarty emphasized the importance of awareness among players.
“Yeah, I reckon we definitely get enough. Yeah.” – Darcy Fogarty
He highlighted the importance of AFL players as community role models. Second, they need to use their hands-off influence wisely.
“We’re massive role models for the community. We’ve got to be really careful in terms of how we use that power,” – Darcy Fogarty
Further down the list of over 650 players, fellow Crow Jordan Dawson discussed the developing situation, including the importance of allowing space for the investigation to unfold.
“But it’s in the AFL’s hands, it’s being investigated and we will see what happens.” – Jordan Dawson
Rankine’s exuberance just last week at being selected for the finals now makes the emotional weight of what happened next even heavier. The Crows hope to take advantage of their newfound momentum. Even the threat of disciplinary action against Rankine would put their future dreams in grave danger.
“We will wait and see and leave it up to the AFL to go through what they have to go through.” – Jordan Dawson
Rankine had expressed excitement last week about the upcoming finals, which adds an emotional weight to the situation. The Crows are hoping to capitalize on their current momentum, but any disciplinary action against Rankine could prove to be a hammer blow to their aspirations.
