Izak Rankine pushes his case to be No. 1 draft pick as South Australia smashes Vic Metro to win AFL under-18s title
SOUTH Australian excitement machine Izak Rankine pushed his case to be the first player selected at this year’s national draft as the Croweaters yesterday won their first AFL under-18 division one championship in four years.
SOUTH Australian excitement machine Izak Rankine pushed his case to be the first player selected at this year’s national draft as the Croweaters yesterday won their first AFL under-18 division one championship in four years.
The West Adelaide midfielder/forward produced an electrifying five-goal display, including three in a spectacular first quarter, as SA thumped previously unbeaten Vic Metro by 55 points at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium.
Rankine, 18, stole the show with a blistering performance that might have taken him from a top-five draft hope to possible favourite to be the first South Australian selected at No. 1 since Carlton took Glenelg’s Bryce Gibbs, who is now at the Crows, in 2006.
Fellow Croweater, tall utility Jack Lukosius from Woodville-West Torrens, also is in contention to go at No. 1, along with Victorians Sam Walsh and Ben King.
Rankine turned the championship decider — both teams went into the match unbeaten — into his show.
He kicked 3.2, including two incredible snap shots, of SA’s 4.3 in a remarkable first quarter as the visitors raced to a decisive 26-point lead at the first change.
He then bagged two goals in the final quarter to seal the Croweaters’ third under-18s title and first under new coach Tony Bamford.
Compared to Adelaide’s dual Norm Smith Medallist Andrew McLeod, Rankine finished with five goals and 17 disposals and was the top-ranked SuperCoach player on the ground.
AFL talent manager Michael Ablett described Rankine as being similar to Adelaide’s games record holder McLeod and a future star of the AFL.
“I’ve always likened him to an Andy McLeod type because he just moves with ease across the ground and makes the game look simple, really, really simple,’’ Ablett said on Fox Footy.
“He kicked some great goals, took some terrific marks and set a couple (of goals) up for teammates. He’s still a young man but if he can do this at AFL level we'll be watching highlights of him for years to come.’’
Lukosius, 17, didn’t have the same impact as his Henley High School classmate yesterday but was still effective in attack and down back.
In the second half he spent time on King, who kicked four of Vic Metro’s nine goals, in a dream match-up for AFL recruiters.
SA won all four of its championship matches, also beating Western Australia by 89 points, Vic Country by 27 points and the Allies by 24 points.
Other standouts for the Croweaters yesterday were midfielders Jacob Kennerley, Jackson Hately and captain Luke Valente, who was named SA’s MVP, and defenders Martin Frederick and Jez McLennan.
andrew.capel@news.com.au
SCOREBOARD
SA 4.3 9.4 12.7 17.14 (116)
VIC METRO 0.1 2.3 8.5 9.7 (61)
BEST — SA: Rankine, Kennerley, Hately, Frederick, Rozee, Valente. Vic Metro: B. King, Smith, Ayton-Delaney, Rowell, Mahony.
GOALS — SA: Rankine 5, Jarvis, Chapman 2, Lukosius, Munn, Rozee, Chandler, Lochowiak, Valente, Siviour, Lewis. Vic Metro: B. King 4, Taylor 2, Rendell, Mahony, O’Halloran.