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Nicks: Rankine saga had no impact on September woes
SEN • September 13th, 2025 1:25 am
Adelaide head coach Matthew Nicks has spoken on the absence of Izak Rankine following the Crows' straight sets September exit.
Following a stunning home and away season, the Crows' star was suspended by the AFL for four weeks due to the use of a homophobic slur during Adelaide's Round 23 win over Collingwood.
The suspension meant that the Crows entered their finals campaign without their star, and having exited the finals in straight sets, the side will be without Rankine for the opening two weeks of 2026.
While there were plenty of avenues that Adelaide faltered within their finals campaign, Nicks was questioned as to whether the extensive coverage of Rankine's saga had any significant impact on the side heading into September.
"No (it didn't weigh on us)," Nicks said post game.
"We won't ever know, will we? What it did do, it changed the dynamic of our group. Izak is - and this is my opinion - I think he's one of the best players in the game. So, I think if any team were to lose their best player, it becomes quite a challenge to replace that.
"Some of our younger guys stepped up and showed that they can play at the level, but the challenge we had was to fill in that void that Izak has had there for us all year.
"That's purely on field - I don't feel like it affected us away from footy. If we could have had Izak Rankine in for the last couple of games, I'm pretty sure we'd take that.
"As we've mentioned - things like that, we want to make sure we look after everyone that may have been affected by that.
"Izak, front and square on that. As much as I can be there for him, and we can be there for him, we will be there for him, to make sure what he's going through, that he's actually okay, and others."
