Why Josh Rachele needs to be true to himself and remain the Crows ‘fire starter’

Under-fire Crow Josh Rachele owned his moment and needs to be celebrated, not torn down, as Showdown 55 looms, writes Andrew Capel.

Don’t change, Josh!

If you kick a goal against Port Adelaide in Showdown 55 on Thursday night, celebrate like you have always done.

Get your passionate home crowd involved and inspire your teammates with your unbridled joy and playful and bubbly personality.

Football needs more colourful characters like you.

That’s my advice to Crows young gun Josh Rachele after he last week questioned whether he needed to “chill out on the celebrations a little bit’’ following the heavy criticism he copped for dropping two overhead marks, despite having nobody near him, late in Adelaide’s narrow Round 6 loss to Essendon at Adelaide Oval.

Rachele bravely admitted to dropping his head in one of those instances in an act which might have cost his side the game.

He walked off the ground a dejected man and the pain remained on his face the next day when he cut a forlorn figure at Glenelg Oval while watching Adelaide’s SANFL team play.

A shattered Josh Rachele (right) is consoled by Crows teammate Darcy Fogarty after the Round 6 loss to Essendon at Adelaide Oval. Picture: James Elsby

But, despite copping enormous criticism for a 21-year-old still finding his way in the game, he didn’t shirk the issue and courageously publicly admitted he wasn’t “brave enough’’ in one marking contest.

“It’s a tough one, they’ve definitely repeated over and over in my head,’’ Rachele told Channel 9 of his missed marks when he could easily have claimed the bright lights got in his eyes.

“The first one was just more about, I thought someone was coming right over the top of me, and completely honestly, I wasn’t brave enough in the situation.

“I’m going to have to take that, move on and learn from it.

“The other one was just a complete misjudge, the ball just sailed over and I thought it was coming a bit closer.

“It’s a bit disappointing that’s what everyone remembers from the game, because 20 seconds earlier, if I kick that snap, everyone’s forgotten about those couple of little errors.

“I know it’s not a flaw in my game, it’s just something that I didn’t execute. It’s just about practising those moments, which I’m definitely going to do.’’

It was a refreshingly honest admission from Rachele – a dynamic small forward/midfielder with a rare bag of tricks who the Crows drafted at pick 6 from Victorian NAB League club Murray Bushrangers at the 2021 AFL national draft.

Josh Rachele celebrates kicking a goal against the Bombers. Picture: Sarah Reed

Josh Rachele drops a crucial mark close to goal against Essendon. Picture: Mark Brake

He could easily have gone into hiding – former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes said “it’s gonna take some resilience for him to get over” – but instead he showed great maturity and courage for a young man and he deserves great plaudits for it.

Respect for him went through the roof.

Rachele is no lone ranger when it comes to having a moment or two in a football career a player would love to have back.

Most of the greats are in the same boat.

Concerningly though, Rachele then told FIVEaa that he was thinking of reining in his animated goal celebrations that had become one of his calling cards.

“I had a lot of discussions with people (after the Essendon game) because when you are going to celebrate like I do, and show that passion, you can be put on a pedestal quite quickly when you are doing well,” he said still reeling from his game-changing mistakes.

“But when things aren’t doing well, it goes down quite quickly.

“(Hawthorn’s) Jack Ginnivan is a prime example of it. Everyone loves watching him play, I love watching him play, but to see when he’s not doing well, he gets put down as quickly as anyone.

Josh Rachele’s celebration style in full swing following a goal against Carlton. Picture: Michael Klein

“I’ve had conversations about, do I just chill out on the celebrations a little bit and things like that, which I am thinking about at the moment, just taking a little bit of a step back and just letting my footy do the talking a bit, just for a little bit.

“But it is hard because that’s how I’ve always played as a junior.’’

Legendary Geelong midfielder Joel Selwood – one of the toughest players to ever play the game – sympathised with Rachele’s plight but also urged him to stay true to himself.

“If I was at the Adelaide footy club and I’m (captain) Jordan Dawson, I’m grabbing (coach) Matty Nicks and we’re bringing him into a room and saying ‘don’t you change’,’’ Selwood told Channel 7.

“We can work on a couple of little things but we need you out there celebrating and giving us energy.

“We saw it the week before in Melbourne against Carlton, when they do play their best, he’s a big part of it, so we need him up and about.’’

Port 2004 AFL premiership ruckman Dean Brogan, who was renowned for his toughness, also urged Rachele to continue to play with emotion and be a free spirit while forgiving him for his missed marks.

Crow Josh Rachele tries to evade Kangaroo Harry Sheezel during last Saturday’s 57-point win in Tasmania. Picture: Dylan Burns

“We love that about him,’’ Brogan told ABC Grandstand, noting that many of the game’s most electrifying small forwards, including Crow Izak Rankine, Swan Tom Papley, Giant Toby Greene, Lion Charlie Cameron and Ginnivan play with great passion and flair.

“There are a couple of things to this, every player has had a moment like Rachele and he’ll learn from it.

“I’ve done it, (Crows star) Taylor Walker has come out and said he’s done it, we’ve all done it at a young age.

“He has super talent, we don’t want to take his one-wood away and that’s his flair.

“He brings energy to the team and I think he’s at his best when he’s giving it to the crowd and tapping his chest, so please don’t take that flair away from your game.’’

We haven’t seen Rachele’s goal celebration since the Essendon match after he failed to kick a major against North Melbourne last Saturday.

But he contributed strongly to the win, having a season-high 22 disposals and producing a spectacular nutmeg before dishing off a goal to teammate Luke Pedlar.

Rachele shines brightest when he is just being himself.

Long may it continue.

NUMBERS GAME

90

Consecutive games played by Adelaide’s Ben Keays – the sixth-most by a Crow and only nine behind club record holder Scott Thompson’s 99.

27

Career-high disposals for Port Adelaide’ Jase Burgoyne against St Kilda – six more than his previous best.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“We got back to what we stand for, that pressure, getting at the opposition. That looked more like us for four quarters.” – Crows coach Matthew Nicks after the 57-point win against North Melbourne.

“There was a little bit of carnage (with three game-ending injuries), so it was a fitting day for our club to play on Anzac Day again and to play with courage right through to the end and find a way to get over the line.’’ – Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley after the 10-point win against St Kilda.