Kerryann Rankine — sister of Izak — cries as she watches her brother achieve his childhood dream and be drafted into AFL

She was in New Zealand on a football cultural exchange with Port Adelaide’s Women’s Aboriginal AFL Academy, but long distance wouldn’t stop her watching as her brother Izak was drafted by Gold Coast

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As soon as she heard the name “Izak Rankine”, the tears came.

For Izak’s sister, Kerryann, who was watching the AFL draft on a live-stream from New Zealand, it was the culmination of years of supporting him as he strove to realise his dream of playing top-level footy.

“It was really exciting, I was so nervous for him, but I just felt really proud,” the 17-year-old said after learning her older brother had been drafted by Gold Coast at No. 3. “As soon as I heard his name get picked out, I started crying.

Gold Coast draftee Izak Rankine. Picture: Getty Images

“I’ve been speaking to my dad about it, he wasn’t with him, but he watched it and was happy for him. He started crying as well.”

As a member of Port Adelaide Football Club’s inaugural Women’s Aboriginal AFL Academy, Kerryann has spent the past week in New Zealand on a football cultural exchange.

In the hours prior to the draft, as her brother was nervously waiting in Melbourne, Kerryann spent the majority of the day trekking a mammoth 19.4km across the snow-covered Tongariro Alpine Crossing, before resting her tired legs in front of a live-stream of the draft at a nearby motel, surrounded by her academy teammates and Port Adelaide staff members.

Izak Rankine’s sister Kerryann, trekking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand as part of a cultural footy exchange with the PAFC’s Women’s Aboriginal AFL Academy. Photo: Mark Piovesan

Kerryann, who describes herself as her brother’s No. 1 supporter, said the broader Rankine family, including father Ronald, had supported Izak throughout the months leading up to the draft.

“He’s had a lot of pressure on him, having to play great every game, because if he didn’t, they (scouts) would look at him differently, so he had to keep up his performance all the time,” she said.

“We supported him by making sure he was all right and didn’t have any issues with himself.

“We’d go to all his football games and give him feedback if he wasn’t playing his normal game and ask him what’s up and try and fix it and help him out.

“If he’s down I always try to help him out, and if we have any issues together I’ll always try to fix them. I’ll message him and tell him I love him all the time and he’ll say it back.

“I think he was (grateful), but I just don’t know he knows how to say it properly.”