Adelaide livewire Izak Rankine says a full-time move into the Crows’ on-ball unit had been a long term goal of his that came to fruition against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
The 26-year-old was unleashed as a bonafide midfielder against the Tigers, and was prolific, producing career-highs in disposals (33), marks (10) and tackles (nine).
He also had an impact with ball in hand, recording 684 metres gained, eight score involvements and kicked one-goal.
Speaking to AFC Media after the match, Rankine said his performance was the culmination of weeks of hard work, as he transformed his game from dangerous forward to blistering on-baller.
“It was really good playing up in the midfield today, it’s really nice when you are able to get the footy in your hands and work all over the ground,” Rankine said.
“That was always the goal (to play more midfield), it was just a matter of when, I've been knocking on the door for a fair bit.
“I felt I was really able to impact with the ball in hand, and help drive our ball movement with my ability to take the game on a bit and break some lines.
“The boys have put their trust in me (to get it done around the ball), and I’ve put in the work, so it was nice to get a bit of reward today.”
He also added that the positional shift added an extra element of enjoyment into his game, and felt he played his best football when he was up around the ball.
“I’m definitely happy with the midfield/forward split I’ve got at the moment, just being around the ball, it’s where I love to be,” Rankine said.
“Playing that midfield role keeps the enjoyment up for me, and being able to be part of the group we’ve got in there at the moment, it’s a lot of fun and we are certainly starting to feed off each other.”
The partnership of Rankine and Skipper Jordan Dawson was particularly damaging through the midfield, as the pair combined for 62 disposals, and were both instrumental in shifting the momentum of the game in the third term.
“We weren’t winning the ball in the contest in the first half, so we needed our senior players to step up, and Daws was the one who got us going there in the third term,” Rankine said.
“He’s obviously a star of the game, understands it well and knows when he needs to stand up and he did that for us today.
“It was fantastic to be in there playing alongside him.”
The Crows will face North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval next Saturday afternoon in their first of two Sir Doug Nicholls Round clashes.
Rankine said the round was always a highlight on his calendar.
“The key is just to keep building on our form and next week against North is a great opportunity for us,” Rankine said.
“Obviously Wayne has done a great job with the guernsey design, the story behind it is incredible and I can’t wait to wear it proudly on Saturday.
“Sir Doug Nicholls Round is one of my favourite rounds every year, and I’m excited to get back home and play in front of our crowd.”
The Crows begin Sir Doug Nicholls Round against North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval next Saturday afternoon.
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