Izak Rankine is one of the AFL's premier damaging inside midfielders, graduating years ago from a small forward role to provide dash away from contests in the centre and cut through defences like butter. However, Adelaide has just lost the services of Josh Rachele to a knee injury, which has tended to mean Rankine has started in the Crows front six more often in recent weeks. His forward designation makes him very popular in fantasy circles, but Rankine's role has taken him to more of a quality rather than quantity area, an anathema to fantasy coaches.
Izak Rankine is one of the AFL's premier damaging inside midfielders, graduating years ago from a small forward role to provide dash away from contests in the centre and cut through defences like butter. However, Adelaide has just lost the services of Josh Rachele to a knee injury, which has tended to mean Rankine has started in the Crows front six more often in recent weeks. His forward designation makes him very popular in fantasy circles, but Rankine's role has taken him to more of a quality rather than quantity area, an anathema to fantasy coaches.
Izak Rankine carries a lot of expectations from fantasy coaches this year, with a dearth of high-floor scoring options designated as forwards. His role has gradually shifted from deep forward to rotating in midfield, and the Crows are desperate for him to put in a full season and escape the injuries that plagued him at times in 2024. Fantasy coaches, too, want to see his line-breaking speed out of packs and goalkicking class to become the new Dustin Martin, or if not those lofty heights then at least the new Robbie Gray. Someone has to be in the top six forwards!
Izak Rankine was one of the younger Crows thrown into the midfield mix last week to engineer a close win over Carlton, who had taken Collingwood's mantle of the squeaker specialists in a string of victories by a kick or two since late last season. With Jordan Dawson having a poor start and Rory Laird not much better, Matthew Nicks has pulled the lever marked Kids and rotated Rankine, Jake Soligo and Josh Rachele through the centre for bounces, albeit Soligo has had many more CBAs than the other two so far in 2024. Will that change over the season?
Izak Rankine has been a long, slow burn for the Gold Coast Suns, struggling in his early years at the club with injury and copping some criticism for looking unfit or disinterested when he did appear on the park in the ones. He is currently in the best vein of form in his still-budding career, and is starting to back up of the quality evident from his junior days with the work rate required of a top-level AFL footballer. As a fantasy asset he is going to have great days and quiet ones as most small forwards do, but he's becoming worth a look in daily formats.
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In a debut season derailed by persistent hamstring injuries, Izak Rankine was eventually limited to three NEAFL appearances. He had little effect in the NEAFL in averaging 12 touches, three tackles and a goal per outing. With a penchant for the mercurial throughout his junior career, Rankine will have bums off seats in 2020. Keep on the watchlist, though it would be a long shot for a player in his deep position to be startable in year two.
Izak is top rank
Not since Steele Sidebottom has a small forward made a name for himself at junior level like Izak Rankine. Five goals against Vic Metro at the Championships put his stamp on South Australia's win, ending with 12 from his four games at a disposal rate of 16. His visits to the centre are fleeting as he builds his tank, with his lightning effect more on the burst than in endurance running. A hamstring injury in the JLT will put him out for at least the first month of 2019. Rankine spent most of his junior career starting deep forward and though his eventual fate may be to move up the ground like Rusty did at Collingwood, he is highly likely to begin his senior career in the same spot for the Suns, who have been gagging for a genuine specialist small forward for years. This will limit his fantasy scoring, making him a salary cap special with little draft league currency, even before the unlucky injury in preseason.
