Draft Profile Izak Rankine

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Malifice said:
If I was a Saints recruiter I reckon 'X factor/ Star power' is what Im looking for. If Rankine is on the board at 4 or 5 (or wherever you guys end up) you take him.
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Yeah we could definitely do with that, but I reckon the flashy outside types are the icing on the cake and we haven't quite finished baking the cake yet.

You're not going to win a flag without a kick-ass inside group, and we just have a few too many questionmarks in there going forward (although a lot of that will depend on how Hunter Clark and Jade Gresham in particular progress, and whether Acres develops more of an inside game), and what we definitely don't have enough of in there is class/kicking skill and speed, and that's something that Bailey Smith brings to the table. Along with winning a lot of contested ball (and we don't currently have a "contested beast" in there either), so I think we could do with him more than just about anyone.

Unless of course someone is simply better than him.
 

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jason pm said:
Numbers nowhere near tell the full story of Rankine, he is a high impact per possession player, ah la Cyril Rioli.
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Plenty of players with just middling numbers go high too - it's about ceiling not performance. Bonti is a perfect example.
 
Mofra said:
Plenty of players with just middling numbers go high too - it's about ceiling not performance. Bonti is a perfect example.
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Pretty sure Bont was having standout games with good numbers in the back-end of his draft year, between the champs and TAC Cup finals. Wasn't quite as dominant in those finals, but still going well.

Valid point though, although you then get the Gary Rohan types who's numbers never improve from juniors to seniors.
 
Reminds me of a Jimmy Toumpas!!! Talented junior who dominated senior footy at same age but had no growth left in his game when everyone caught up.
 
Kezza86 said:
Reminds me of a Jimmy Toumpas!!! Talented junior who dominated senior footy at same age but had no growth left in his game when everyone caught up.
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Jimmy the Toump?! haha horrid call. His game sense and pace are far better than Toumps. Foot skills are clearly another level above. I think he's probably about pick 5-6. Kings, Luko, Smith & Walsh all guns and probably safer choices.
 

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DivideandMultiply said:
Bont smashed TAC apart when moved to the mid. Huge numbers across the board.
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Only the last few games IIRC. He had a quiet champs and it took a couple of games after the champs before he hit gear.
 
Derec said:
what?

Andrew McGrath is smaller than him and played predominantly across half back in his jr years, that's pick #1 for you. Even guys like Josh Kelly, Hugh McCluggage, Tom Scully, Jack Billings, Jarrod Pickett, Ben Ainsworth and Paddy Dow aren't known for their height either and most of them are top 3 picks. Billings wasn't even a full time midfielder.

Rankine will probably fill out around 180-183cm, and the notion of that being too short is ludicrous. 180cm is perfectly fine height for an AFL midfielder, and there's a long list of champion midfielders around that mark. Height only concerns recruiters when it's sub-175cm.

The guy is a lock for pick 1-2. Explosive, x-factor goalkicking midfielders are rare as they come, and every club in the competition desperately wants them. I honestly think most clubs would take him over Lukosius now.
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Yeah I agree regarding height. IiRC Cousins was only 178cm?
 
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