Izak out to prove ranking after wait to debut
IT is a question South Australia’s under-18 coach Tony Bamford was often asked: who is a better prospect, Jack Lukosius or Izak Rankine?
“I always said Izak’s small, Jack’s tall, you take your pick,” Bamford said.
“I couldn’t split them really. “The only way I did in the end was that Jack will probably give you a bit more consistency early but you could counter that by saying Izak could win you a grand get there.”
The 2018 AFL draft will go down in history as one of the best after the starts of players such as No.1 pick Sam Walsh, Lukosius (No.2), Max King (No.4), Connor Rozee (No.5), Bailey Smith (No.7) and Tarryn Thomas (No. 8).
And the player widely considered the most talented of that draft class has not played, although No.3 pick Rankine debuts for Gold Coast against Melbourne on Saturday. final if you
A SANFL debut for West Adelaide at 16, and likened to Adelaide great Andrew McLeod in the way he plays, the hype has been around Rankine for years.
An outstanding under-18s national carnival as a 17-yearold increased the hype and in his final year in the SA underage program his performance for the Croweaters in their championship-clinching win over Vic Metro — five goals and 17 disposals — put him in the mix to go No.1.
“It was almost like he was saving himself for the big show,” Bamford said.
But hamstring and hip injuries meant he did not get a chance at AFL level last year.
Bamford said this might be a positive for the forward.
“And the fact he has to wait for it is going to be good for Izak. It would have been a long time for Izak to have been waiting to be picked because he has always played above himself in SA,” he said.
“It would have challenged him sitting out and watching games and he would have seen what people like Sam Walsh and Jack Lukosius would have done in their first years.
“That would have lit a fire in his belly and he will be hellbent on coming out and showing the AFL world he is good as those two and Connor Rozee.
“Even sitting back now and watching what Matthew Rowell has done in his first few games, Izak would be wanting to have a similar impact as to what he had I would imagine.”