Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks lamented the unavailability of Izak Rankine for the club’s finals series after his side was smashed by Hawthorn on Friday night.
The Crows became the first minor premiers since 1983 to bow out in straight sets, losing first to Collingwood and then the Hawks at the Adelaide Oval.
They battled through finals without Rankine, who is serving a four-game suspension after making a homophobic slur late in the season.
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Izak Rankine of the Crows. Getty
The drama surrounding the suspension stole all the attention from the Crows’ fairytale run from the bottom four in 2024 to minor premiers just a year later, with Rankine’s public apology not coming until the day before the qualifying final.
Nicks doesn’t believe the suspension took a mental toll on the playing group, despite the finals defeats, but does admit his absence hurt them badly on the field.
“We won’t ever know, will we (how much impact his absence had),” Nicks said to reporters after the loss.
“What it did do was change the dynamic of our group. Izak, and this is my opinion, I think he’s one of the best players in the game.
“So, I think if any team lose their best player, it becomes quite a challenge to replace that.
“I think some of our younger guys stepped up and showed they can play at the level, but the challenge we had was filling that void Izak has had for us all year.
“That’s purely on-field. I don’t think it affected us away from footy, but if we could have Rankine I’m pretty sure we’d take that.”
Izak Rankine watches the semi final. Fox Footy
Despite winning 18 games and finishing on top of the ladder, Adelaide ultimately fell apart without winning a final; and for Nicks, that has left a sour taste in his mouth.
“Disappointment is the overriding emotion, but there’s also pride there in the season that we put out, but the disappointment seems to override that at this point which is the same for our playing group and our staff,” Nicks said.
“For a season where we did whatever we had to do to give ourselves the best opportunity, but finals gives you feedback doesn’t it and so we’ve copped the best feedback we’ve copped for a number of years that we still have a fair bit of work to do.”
The Crows finished the season with wins over Collingwood, West Coast and North Melbourne to secure the minor premiership, but looked a rung below their best.
Nicks admits their form dipped.
“No doubt (we weren’t in the best of form at the end of the season). There was a patch during the year where even as a group we were surprised at the level we had. Everything was clicking,” he said.
“Anyone who has been in the game long enough knows that doesn’t necessarily last an entire season, we knew we’d have our challenge with that.
“What we were really pleased with, we just found a way when the form wasn’t quite there.
“Now, I think looking at finals footy, you’re going to have to play to a certain level. Some of our fundamentals were at a level I can’t explain. Dropping marks, missing kicks.
“Is it pressure, is it expectation, is it perceived pressure you put on yourself, the only way we’ll know that is to show up again next year and give ourselves another crack at it.”
Connor Macdonald of the Hawks celebrates a goal. Getty
Adelaide became the first minor premiers to lose in finals to the team that finished eighth in AFL history.
However, Nicks believes the ladder wasn’t particularly reflective of how tight the season actually was.
Which is reasonable considering a win in round 24 could have propelled Hawthorn into the top three. Losing to Brisbane saw them ultimately finish eighth.
“There was probably five or six teams that could have (finished minor premiers) if things went their way at the end of the year,” Nicks said.
“We did a fantastic job being able to do that and Hawthorn found themselves scraping in. They’re as good as any team in the competition. I’ve got no doubt about that.
“To come from eighth this year isn’t going to be a surprise to anyone who understands footy. They’ve got as much chance as anyone.”
Adelaide has a call to make on veteran forward Taylor Walker. The 35-year-old is out of contract and has not yet been re-signed for 2026.
Nicks has left the door open for the former captain to return, however.
“I love Tex. There’s different things he brings that aren’t just kicks, marks and handballs. It’s his leadership. It’ll be a decision. We’ll sit through and talk through what that looks like,” he said.