AFL 2022: Gold Coast Suns launch desperate last-ditch bid to retain superstar Izak Rankine; SA teams
Desperate to retain their superstar Izak Rankine, the Gold Coast Suns have changed tack to warn him of the potential dangers returning to Adelaide could present. SA TEAMS
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Gold Coast will launch a last-ditch bid to retain Izak Rankine this week as teammates warn him of the enormous pressure he will face to perform as Adelaide’s million-dollar recruit.
The Suns have invited family members from Adelaide to the club’s home game against Geelong and are still hopeful he might reject the Crows’ huge offer.
Gold Coast believes that offer is $850,000 a season — well ahead of their offer of around $650,000 — and believes matching the bid would set a new mark for their own young stars when it came to negotiating future deals.
Rankine would have to sacrifice $1 million over the five seasons, but could alternatively sign a two-year deal at the Suns and secure a loftier contract at the end of 2024.
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The Suns will not match the Adelaide offer and would instead ask for multiple early draft picks and not players if Rankine officially requests a trade.
But Rankine has been warned by teammates and confidantes moving to Adelaide on such a massive salary would set him up for extraordinary expectations in his early years.
He is being counselled by senior teammates including Sean Lemmens on a list that has nine Indigenous players as well as an Indigenous player welfare manager Jarrod Harbrow, a former club stalwart.
Gold Coast has been able to shield Rankine from much of that pressure during early inconsistent performances with the 22-year-old seemingly settled in the area and having recently bought a house minutes from the club.
As a small forward playing in a position prone to inconsistency in a football-mad town he has been warned the highs will be stratospheric but the media attention after poor games impossible to ignore.
But he is keen to be in proximity to some of his close family and believes he cannot knock back a contract that would make him the highest-paid player on the Crows list.
Captain Touk Miller said this week the club was supporting Rankine and hopeful he might still remain at the club.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation around him and his future, but for us we really want him to be at this club. He’s a special person, special player,” Miller said.
“We’ve gone to him and had a few chats about how much he means to us and means to the club, so whether that plays a part in the decision, hopefully it does.”
SA teams: Crows young gun ruled out for season
- Matt Turner
Adelaide has ruled defender Will Hamill out for the remainder of the season as it takes every precaution on the back of his latest concussion.
Hamill was subbed out of last Sunday’s win over West Coast after copping a head knock during a marking contest, leading to a sixth concussion in just his 38th match.
The 21-year-old was already set to miss Saturday’s game against North Melbourne due to AFL protocols but the Crows also opted to rest him for next week’s final minor round.
“Whilst Will is recovering well, we need to acknowledge his concussion history and take every care with his management,” Adelaide football manager Adam Kelly said.
“It’s a disappointing end to what was another year of positive progression for Will.”
Hamill is one of two Crows outs for the Kangaroos clash, along with omitted forward Elliott Himmelberg.
Defender Tom Doedee and second-year forward Riley Thilthorpe return after missing the past two AFL matches.
Doedee was out with soreness.
Thilthorpe had rolled his ankle then played in the SANFL last weekend.
Kelly said Doedee was refreshed, while dropping Himmelberg was a difficult decision after playing in two consecutive wins.
“We have opted for Riley Thilthorpe, who was in good AFL form before being a late withdrawal for the Carlton game,” he said.
Adelaide enters Saturday’s match in 15th spot on the ladder with a 7-13 record.
Its medical substitute will be either midfielder Matt Crouch, halfback Ben Davis, goalsneak James Rowe and Himmelberg, who are the emergencies.
Port Adelaide has managed star veteran Robbie Gray and dropped mid-year recruit Brynn Teakle for its game against Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Forwards Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades have been added to a 26-man squad, along with midfielders Trent Dumont and Jackson Mead, and left-footer Riley Bonner.
Gray, who is out of contract at the end of the season and has been weighing up his future with the club, has battled a knee injury since round 1.
Teakle struggled in his second match, rucking against Richmond co-captain Toby Nankervis.
Marshall missed the loss to the Tigers due to Covid protocols, while Georgiades was named after booting 2.2 from 15 touches in the SANFL in response to being dropped last week.
The Power, which is out of the finals race in 12th spot with an 8-12 record, has won its past four games against Essendon.
Port Adelaide will trim its line-up to 22 on Friday afternoon.
Get Rankine: Why Crows must do whatever it takes
—Andrew Capel
Scott Camporeale believes $800,000 a year is too much to pay for a small forward.
That money, he says, would be better spent on a gun midfielder.
“My philosophy around coaching is build your midfield and then do your other pieces,’’ the Carlton premiership player and former Adelaide assistant coach said as speculation mounts that the Crows have offered South Australian speedster Izak Rankine a five-year contract worth $4 million to return to Adelaide.
“Rankine is a finisher. There is no question he is a super talented player but the ball’s got to get in there (inside 50).
“At the moment Adelaide gets it in there 45 times (a game on average) and we’ve seen some Crows forwards struggle because it doesn’t go in there often enough.
“Rankine may develop some midfield traits but he’s still mainly a finisher so, for me, he’s an icing on the cake type player in your list management strategy.
“Adelaide needs genuine A-grade talent through its midfield to help Rory Laird, Sam Berry and Jake Soligo.’’
Camporeale says the Crows, who pulled off a recruiting masterstroke last year when they signed long-kicking utility Jordan Dawson from Sydney, should save their money and draft picks for a crack at another Croweater, North Melbourne midfielder Jason Horne-Francis, who falls out of contract at the end of next season.
“Where is Adelaide’s focus point in terms of list management,’’ Camporeale argued on ABC Grandstand.
Horne-Francis – last year’s No. 1 draft pick – has shown signs that he is unhappy at the Kangaroos and might want out.
But will his attitude change if four-times Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson takes the vacant coaching job at North?
He also is contracted for another year, adding to his trade value.
This is why the Crows must strike while the iron is hot and do what it takes to bring Rankine home from the Gold Coast Suns.
Understood to have been close to inking a new deal with the Suns last month, the West Adelaide product – out of contract at the end of the season – has had his head turned by the Crows massive offer, which will pay him an average of $800,000 a season for five years.
The Suns’ contract offer stands at about $650,000 a year and they say they won’t budge on that because of salary cap restraints.
Adelaide’s offer will make the 22-year-old Rankine its highest paid player.
It is a ridiculously high figure for a player who has played only 47 AFL games and kicked 55 goals.
But after three so-so seasons after being made the No. 3 pick at the 2018 national draft, Rankine has this year illustrated his class in a breakout campaign.
He has kicked a career-high 27 goals in 17 games, including bags of four against West Coast and Collingwood and three hauls of three.
While a blue-chip midfielder like Horne-Francis would slot superbly into Adelaide’s line-up, Rankine would also be a wonderful pick-up, giving the team a major injection of speed, class, polish, excitement and goalkicking power – ingredients that coach Matthew Nicks’ largely blue-collar team lacks.
As dual Crows premiership captain Mark Bickley pointed out, the club would not have won the 1997 and 1998 premierships with 22 players of his blue-collar ilk.
It needed some class and magic in the form of dual Norm Smith Medallist Andrew McLeod and ace goalkicker Darren Jarman.
Adelaide’s former recruiting manager and list management expert Matt Rendell described the possible recruiting of Rankine as “perfect for Adelaide’’, although he noted that the Crows would have to “pay overs’’ to sign him from the Suns.
“He’s a class act. He’s got more talent in his little finger than most have got in their whole body,’’ Rendell said.
Apart from the huge financial package, Rankine would likely cost Adelaide its first-round draft pick this year (currently No. 4) and another key draft pick (perhaps future selection) or player.
As Camporeale noted, the deal might hurt the Crows in their attempts to sign Horne-Francis or another top-notch midfielder down the track.
But Adelaide needs to strike while it can.
If Rankine is tempted by its mega-offer, which appears to be the case, it needs to try to seal the deal.
Players of his undoubted quality don’t often become available.
Sign him and Adelaide’s 2023 forward line looks dynamic, with a nice blend of quality talls and smalls.
It could read:
F: Darcy Fogarty, Riley Thilthorpe, Izak Rankine
HF: Josh Rachelle, Taylor Walker, Shane McAdam
Only former skipper Walker is nearing the end of his career.
Rankine, Fogarty, Thilthorpe and Rachele are all aged 22 or under.
McAdam, who has enjoyed a career-best season, is 27.
After showing more dare and courage in the trade market by successfully beating hometown rival Port Adelaide for Dawson’s signature last year, the Crows are in a position to make an even bigger recruiting statement this year.
The potential reward outweighs the risk.
Exciting Crow on ice, defender return in limbo
— Jason Phelan, Marc McGowan
Crows fans have seen the last of exciting youngster Josh Rachele this season after he suffered a setback in his return from a hip injury, while no timeline has been set for luckless defender Will Hamill’s return following his latest concussion.
The club also confirmed on Tuesday that defender Luke Brown has run out of time to with his recovery from a knee injury and is done for the season.
Rachele, taken with pick No. 6 at last year’s draft, burst onto the scene with five goals in his AFL debut in Round 1 and went on to boot 17 majors in 13 senior appearances before succumbing to a hip injury.
Hamill sustained a concussion, the sixth of his 38-game career, when he was cannoned into by West Coast power forward Jack Darling in a marking contest in the second quarter of the Crows’ thrilling win at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Rachele, 19, last featured against Melbourne in Round 16 with the club taking a cautious approach with his return.
He played his first game for the club at SANFL level at the weekend, but the hip issue quickly reared its head.
“Unfortunately, Josh reaggravated his hip in the first quarter of the SANFL,” Crows high performance manager Darren Burgess said.
“He had a scan yesterday and he’s done a little bit of damage to that tendon there.
“He’ll be out the rest of the season and we’ll start his pre-season a couple of weeks early.”
Hamill showed typical bravery when he put his body on the line with Darling steaming out from the goalsquare.
At just 21, the defender has suffered a concerning number of concussions with the club intent on taking a cautious approach to his recovery with an eye on his long-term health.
“Will is in concussion protocols but he feels really good,” Burgess said.
“We’ll just assess him on an ongoing basis.
“Obviously, it’s not ideal for him but he’s in a great space, he really is positive about it, and we expect him to make a full recovery.”
Riley Thilthorpe also featured at SANFL level as he made his return from an ankle injury sustained at training ahead of the Round 20 clash against Carlton.
He finished with 11 possessions, six marks, a behind and 11 hit-outs, but his push for an AFL return was hampered by back spasms.
Exiled midfielder Matt Crouch had a game-high 42 possessions in a 40-point win against Woodville-West Torrens, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough to win back a spot in the AFL side.
The Crows will be gunning for a third win in a row, a feat they have achieved just once before under Matthew Nicks, when they host last-placed North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Darcy Fogarty will look to continue his rich vein of form against the Kangaroos after he starred with four goals against the Eagles to take his season tally to a career-best 26.
“I think that he’s super confident in his ability now,” forwards coach James Rahilly said.
“I think his ability to compete in the air and on the deck makes him pretty hard to play against.
“He’s going at the footy a lot better, no more wrestling, he’s jumping at the ball so that’s the pleasing thing then with his second and third efforts on the deck, which we’ve always thought were a strength of his.
“I think it’s just about mindset and confidence with him.”
Suns plea for Rankine to reject Crows’ offer
Gold Coast’s leadership group has made an impassioned plea for out-of-contract young star Izak Rankine to reject Adelaide’s advances and remain a Sun.
News Corp revealed last week that the Crows were making a major play for Rankine, offering him a five-year deal worth as much as $800,000 per season to return to his home state.
Gold Coast is highly unlikely to match that financial offer and will instead rely on convincing him that his best chance of realising his potential is at the Suns, while still being willing to pay him about $650,000 a year.
Adelaide is increasingly confident that Rankine will request a trade to play for Matthew Nicks’ side but that wouldn’t come until after Gold Coast’s season ends.
Suns chairman Tony Cochrane told News Corp on Monday they would do “all we can to retain him”.
“I think the club has proven over four years we’re doing everything possible to keep him there and obviously he’s a required player,” Cochrane said.
“We’ve got a great association and relationship with Izak, as has everybody around the club. He’s bought a house up here, he’s very much settled in up here, so that’s just our position for the moment.
“He’s an incredibly popular person around the club. I know first-hand how much time and effort people like (coach) Stuart Dew have put into him and, importantly, I know how highly Stuart rates him.
“He’s got that message loud and clear at the Gold Coast footy club.”
Co-captain Touk Miller also made clear that convincing the “special” small forward to stay was a top priority, having already re-signed Ben King, Jack Lukosius, Ben Ainsworth, Elijah Hollands and Mac Andrew this year.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation around him and his future, but for us we really want him to be at this club. He’s a special person, special player,” Miller said.
“We’ve gone to him and had a few chats about how much he means to us and means to the club, so whether that plays a part in the decision, hopefully it does.
“As a leadership group; that’s part of what you have to do. This club wants success, and he can be a key part of that.”
Miller sympathised with Rankine’s situation as he weighs up a career- and life-changing decision, especially with the Suns looking to have turned the corner as a club.
“I know speculation like that can make it really hard around the club and can make things awkward and nervous, but we want him to feel as comfortable as possible, feel like he can still be himself and play his best footy,” he said.
“He’s human. I can say it’s not easy for him and you probably do have your head down a bit more. In saying that, we’ve still got a lot of good things out of him on game day.
“I’m not in his head, I can’t exactly say what he’s going to do, but we really want him to stay. He’s such a special part and key part to our club going forward. We’d love to have him.”
Miller was famously forthright with ex-Gold Coast co-captain Tom Lynch when he revealed in 2018 he was exercising his free agency rights to join Richmond after meeting with several Melbourne-based clubs.
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