Top-five draft prospects Izak Rankine and Jack Lukosius hope to help Henley High beat powerhouse Prince Alfred College
SA’s top-five draft prospects Izak Rankine and Jack Lukosius will team up tonight for Henley High in the SA school knockout competition’s grand final. Henley is hoping to end college powerhouse Prince Alfred’s two-year unbeaten run.
CAN two potential top-five draft picks help their high school beat a college powerhouse that has not lost in almost two years?
That question will be answered tonight when Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine feature for Henley High against Prince Alfred College in the SA school knockout competition’s grand final at Norwood Oval.
Henley is aiming to win the title for the first time since 1980, while PAC is seeking to claim consecutive knockout crowns after beating Henley by three points in last year’s decider.
Princes’ most recent loss in a competitive game was August 16, 2016 when it fell to Sacred Heart in that year’s knockout final.
Henley football manager Ben Kane said having Woodville West-Torrens forward Lukosius and West Adelaide speedster Rankine would boost his team’s chances of causing an upset tonight, in a game set to be watched closely by AFL scouts.
But Kane did not want to rely on the SA under-18 stars to win the game off their own boots.
“I”m just looking for them to play their role,” said Kane, a former Glenelg and Sturt midfielder.
“I know they are excited and keen to do the right thing by their teammates.
“We truly believe we can get the job done. It’s not going to be easy.
“But our preparation has been good, our group is really close-knit – they have genuine care for each other.”
Lukosius, 18, has been touted as a possible No. 1 pick in November’s AFL National Draft after kicking 11 goals in nine league games for the Eagles, including four majors in last year’s SANFL preliminary final.
Rankine, 18, improved his draft stocks after kicking five goals against Vic Metro at Etihad Stadium in July to help SA secure its first national under-18 championship in four years.
Kane said Lukosius was “100 per cent” fit to play tonight despite not featuring in the Eagles’ past two league games or Henley’s eight-point preliminary final win over Rostrevor last week due to illness.
Prince Alfred’s squad is headlined by SA under-18 players Tom Sparrow, the college’s captain, and Will Gould, an all-Australian.
PAC coach Marty McKinnon said his squad was keen to take on two of the brightest young talents in the state.
“There’s a lot of excitement around the fixture because we are up against Henley who we respect and have a lot of talented players with quite a high profile,” McKinnon said.
“We have players we think will be best suited to play on a match-up on them, but we will be focusing more on what we are doing as an overall team rather than being too individual focused.”
The SA school knockout competition grand final is at Norwood Oval tonight at 7.30pm.