Adelaide Crows off season news: Luke Nankervis, Josh Rachele, Zac Taylor and Jake Soligo arrive at West Lakes
Sporting a Jedi Padawan braid and a bucket hat, Crows draftee Luke Nankervis made a big impression on day one. Here’s his story and what his new teammates think.
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New Adelaide draftee Luke Nankervis might already have one of the best nicknames in the AFL.
A decision at the start of lockdown to grow a Jedi ‘Padawan braid’, fuelled by his love of Star Wars, has already gone down well with his new teammates at the Crows, even though he is a little unsure what senior coach Matthew Nicks thinks.
“He hasn’t said anything about it yet. I think they like it though, it’s a bit different,” Nankervis said.
“He hasn’t said anything but a few of the boys have been calling me Skywalker and Jedi so it’s not bad.”
But Nankervis has one issue with the braid he needs to find a solution to now he is in Adelaide.
“It’s something I started in lockdown I suppose two and a half years ago,” he said.
“And it started getting longer and people didn’t like it so it’s a bit different and people have a bit to say about it.
“My younger sister normally plats it so it will be a bit hard to find someone to do it for me but we will figure it out.”
That isn’t the only thing about Nankervis that might have impressed his new teammates, with his decision to go straight for a bucket hat on day one as a Crow potentially impressing a few.
“A few boys have asked me where I’ve gotten it from so I might be starting a new trend,” he said.
The braid isn’t the only reason why Nankervis is a fascinating prospect for the Crows.
Standing at 189cm and able to play as a half-forward and on the wing, Nankervis caught the eye of Crows recruiters in the first quarter of a Sandringham Dragons internal trial.
Long-term scout Steve McCrystal, who has now retired, pushed Nankervis’ case hard and after the Crows got wind that another club might take him in the rookie draft, they activated a spot on their list to snap him up in the pre-season draft.
Nankervis said it was a nice feeling to know how much Adelaide wanted him.
“It’s good to know a club wants you and really wants you to come join their club,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling.
“I really wanted to move out of home as well.”
Prior to the 2021 season, Nankvervis added seven kilos to his frame.
He has played senior footy for Bentleigh in Victoria, but conceded he still had a way to go now he was in the big league.
“I want to put on at least eight kilos this season... I’ll get there with the people we have,” he said.
Nankervis isn’t the only Crows draftee who has experienced what it is like to go up against senior bodies in footy.
Zac Taylor was able to represent boyhood club Oak Park in the seniors this year.
This, combined with a four week training block with Essendon’s VFL side, helped Taylor turn it on at NAB League level and win Calder Cannons’ best and fairest.
But last Thursday, he was somewhat surprisingly still on the board at pick 44, and the Crows snapped him up.
“It was a bit nerve racking towards the end,” he said.
“I had a few clubs interested in me early but yeah slipped down and I’m really happy to be at the Crows.”
An accumulator of the ball, Taylor averaged 34.3 disposals from his last three matches in the NAB League.
He said he still had to work on his fitness, however.
“Just going to try and get up on my fitness, and just work hard and hopefully play a game next year,” he said.
HOW ADELAIDE’S NEW ATTACKING THREAT LEARNT IN DEFENCE
He is set to give Adelaide the mercurial brilliance Crows fans desperately want but Josh Rachele wasn’t always the one with a bag full of tricks.
In fact, during his at, one point, highly promising soccer career, the Crows newest excitement machine was quite the opposite - a central defender.
“Funny thing is I was actually a centre back,” the No 6 draft pick said after his first training session with the Crows.
“So I was a centre back and played in the midfield a bit. I actually grew a bit early so I was bigger than the other boys so a solid centre back.”
Rachele was good enough with the round ball to get offered a scholarship and base salary with A-League club Melbourne City, and get chosen in an initial Australian Under 17 squad.
But after making the call to focus on footy, Adelaide fans get the potential matchwinner they have missed since, arguably, Eddie Betts departed.
And key to this will be some of the tricks Rachele, who will most likely slot into the team as a small forward at 180cm, has learnt from his crack at the world game.
“I get asked that question a fair bit actually. I think the main thing is that there was a very big focus on balance and keeping your feet,” he said.
“So that is something that I have transferred into Aussie rules, and simple things like kicking the ball around your body and snaps they are pretty similar movements.”
But as for the celebrations, despite revealing prior to the draft that he could do a round-off backflip, Rachele might not try anything too extravagant.
“I think early on I just need to focus on getting a game first,” he said.
“Nothing too strenuous, maybe a fist pump or something like that.
“It (the backflip) is not coming anytime soon, I think Nicksy (Matthew Nicks) will give me the arse.”
Rachele along with fellow Adelaide draftees Jake Soligo (pick 36), Zac Taylor (44) and Luke Nankervis (pick 2 in the pre-season draft) were thrown straight into the thick of the action at West Lakes on Monday.
“It was pretty overwhelming going straight away into the session,” Rachele said.
“We were only expected to do a little bit and we ended up doing six or seven ks.”
Soligo, a midfielder from Eastern Ranges, said he couldn’t wait to get fully into it.
“I’m just going to be hardworking and trying to put my best foot forward,” he said.
“I would say I’m a hardworking mid who is clean with the hands and can go down the other end and kick a few snags.”
Crows rocked by Covid drama involving board member
The Adelaide Crows are dealing with another vaccine drama after a board member told the club he does not want to have the Covid-19 jab.
The shock revelation that Adelaide Crows director Nick Takos’ won’t have the jab comes a month after the club put AFLW star Deni Varnhagen on its inactive list because of her anti-vaccine stance.
Dr Takos, a lecturer and researcher at UniSA’s business school, was elected to the Crows board earlier this year but won’t be allowed into the club.
Both Dr Takos and the Crows declined to comment when contacted by The Advertiser on Monday.
Adelaide had revealed this month that one of its staff members was reluctant to get the jab.
Under an internal club policy, formulated over several months and put out to consultation, employees and board members had to have had their first dose by the end of November 19.
This was built around the AFL’s timeline for the AFLW program and to cover everyone who might have sat outside the league’s mandate.
It is unclear what it means for Dr Takos’ future at the Crows, he still has one more year on his term as a member elected director.
Dr Takos previously worked at the Crows for 14 years starting in the 1990s.
He also filled a volunteer role with Adelaide’s past players and officials group.
Dr Takos has also worked in management positions in other sports such as cricket and netball, while his UniSA page says he is a “specialist in the areas of leadership, organisational culture, management, and sponsorship, particularly in the sport and recreation context”.
In a statement provided to The Advertiser a UniSA spokeswoman said; “UniSA has been strongly encouraging vaccination within the institution to the point where our recent poll on the subject indicated that 94 per cent of our staff are, or intend to be, fully vaccinated”.
Earlier this month Crows chairman John Olsen said he hoped they could come to a “satisfactory resolution”.
“But at the end of the day the AFL has made it clear, Adelaide Oval has now made it clear that double vaccination is a requirement to fulfil duties,” he said on FIVEaa.
“We’ve got to protect everybody’s interests in this, that means all staff and anybody involved in the club need to recognise that.
“It’s one in, all in.”
Originally published as Adelaide Crows off season news: Luke Nankervis, Josh Rachele, Zac Taylor and Jake Soligo arrive at West Lakes
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