Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks using online ladder predictor to predict final finishing place

Online ladder predictors can throw up all sorts of scenarios, but one AFL coach has revealed he’s using one to see if his team can make the finals.

Taylor Walker has been in scintillating form. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says the management of superstar veteran Taylor Walker towards the back-end of the season will not include a rest from three crucial games during which the Crows hope to break free of a ladder logjam and make the finals.

As he confirmed electric forward Izak Rankine had made an impressive recovery from a hamstring injury and could play against the Lions in Brisbane on Saturday, Nicks said he had cast his thoughts forward to what his team needed to do to feature in September.

He’s done that by way of an online AFL ladder predictor and while his optimism painted a positive picture for his team, which sits in 11th, one game out of the top eight after back-to-back wins, it’s not a subject he discusses with his players.

“We’ve got KPIs we’ve looked at all year and we’re sitting in a spot where we’ve still got to do a bit more work to get what we’re after,” he said.

“It aligns with the ladder – and we‘ll just keep working to those KPIs.

“It‘s the way we play our footy. We’ll get what we’re after, we will get the results, if we continue to play that way.

Matthew Nicks is hoping to have Izak Rankine back from injury. Picture: Graham Denholm/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“And we‘ve done it the last couple of weeks and been very strong in that space, so that’s where our focus is at the moment.

“We don‘t necessarily look at the ladder at all.

“I’d be lying though if I said I haven’t done the AFL (ladder) predictor on the website. My issue is I predict us to win every week.”

More positive training from Rankine, who has been sidelined by a hamstring injury suffered against Melbourne on July 23, gave Nicks optimism for a potential return in Brisbane for a player whose importance it not lost on the coach and his staff.

“He moved really well today, I was watching him closely. It will be a decision we make later in the week,” Nicks said.

“He‘s a good healer … but he’s done a hell of a lot of work as well, he’s a real professional.

“He’s very important to our side … he’s a very, very good player and impacts games.

“He’s in our best 18. I said that to (fitness boss) Darren Burgess who might have corrected me and said he’s in our best five.

“But we want to make sure that we make the right decision around that because it’s not just about the week, it’s about the next three weeks and hopefully beyond.”

Taylor Walker won’t be rested. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The importance of those next three weeks is why Nicks has no intentions of resting 33-year-old Walker, who has been in scintillating form in 2023, kicking 63 goals.

Walker is being managed through training, staying out of a contact drill late on Wednesday, but will be playing every game for his team’s push to the finals.

“We’ll work through these next three weeks with Tex available,” Nicks said.

“He gets done what he needs to get done.

“There’s a little bit of soreness right around the whole league at the moment and when you are 30-plus there’s a need to manage yourself, and we sit down with him and talk regularly around what he needs to do.”