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“Are Adelaide cooked?”: Rankine-less Crows in real trouble
SEN • September 5th, 2025 10:47 am
Is Adelaide in serious trouble after losing to Collingwood by 24 points in a home Qualifying Final on Thursday night?
That was the question Kane Cornes posed to David King on SEN Breakfast after the Magpies outclassed the minor premiers at the Adelaide Oval.
While Cornes admits that we often overreact to the Qualifying Final losers and Elimination Final winners ahead of finals week two, he’s concerned with how the Crows are shaping up ahead of a home Semi-Final against either GWS or Hawthorn.
The Magpies led at every break on Thursday night, and the scoreline could have been even more in their favour as they kicked 11.13 (79) to Adelaide’s 8.7 (55).
Cornes was critical of how Adelaide’s tall forward line held up as Collingwood took a finals record 28 intercept marks, while King isn’t sure whether Matthew Nicks’ side has enough x-factor without Izak Rankine.
While Rankine would return for a Grand Final if they made it to the last Saturday in September after copping a four-game ban for a homophobic slur against Collingwood in Round 23, the question is whether they can even get that far, given they’ll have to go the long way around after Thursday’s loss.
Without the superstar at ground level inside 50 and running through the midfield, both Cornes and King were concerned with how pedestrian Adelaide looked around the footy.
Cornes: “Are Adelaide cooked?”
King: “I’ll tell you what, they're a different team without Izak.
“They have too many muggles, not enough magic, it’s like Harry Potter without the wizardry.”
Cornes: “All of a sudden, their midfield doesn’t look great.
“Didn't he have to swing the magnets through there last night, Matty Nicks.
“When Rory Laird's back in the midfield and Ben Keays is having a run, you go, ‘The first choice mids probably didn't get it done tonight’.”
King: “Rory Laird has been a superstar half-back flanker, but come on.”
Cornes: “They moved past him in the midfield a long time ago.
“I'm not critical of Matthew Nicks doing that because the guys weren't getting it done, so you’ve got to do something.
“I mean, it's a tough one. You can overreact to a Qualifying Final loss and tip into the winner of the winner of the Elimination Finals, of course.
“But, yeah, I think Adelaide is in a bit of trouble now.”
Adelaide will next host the winner of GWS v Hawthorn in an Adelaide Oval Semi-Final.
If they win that, they’ll then face the winner of Friday’s Geelong v Brisbane Qualifying Final in an away Preliminary Final.
