Rankine’s Road to Redemption: Battling Despair and Finding Strength
Adelaide’s star player, Izak Rankine, has opened up about a profoundly difficult period in his career, revealing he contemplated walking away from the AFL entirely after a homophobic slur he directed at an opponent led to a season-ending suspension. The incident not only cut short his playing time but also significantly impacted the Crows’ premiership aspirations.
Speaking candidly ahead of the 2026 season, the 25-year-old described being in a “very, very, very… dark place” following the four-match ban imposed just before last year’s finals series. Had the Crows progressed to the grand final, Rankine would have been eligible to return only for that ultimate match.
Rankine shared on the Tommy Talks podcast that the lowest point led him to question his future in the sport. “The turning point was obviously being at the bottom and thinking ‘what else?’. I can either just sit here, wave the white flag and give up,” he admitted. “Because I wanted to retire, I wanted to finish and I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this no more, I’m done. I’m done’.”
To escape the intense public scrutiny that followed the revelation of his slur towards a Collingwood opponent, Rankine travelled to Italy. This period of distance allowed for significant introspection. “When I had to deal with that I did some self-reflection, got into my meditation, visualisation, journaling non-stop, just reading books and having that time to myself and like you said putting the phone away and being able to sit in a room by myself and feel happy about who I am,” he explained.
He acknowledged the difficulty of such self-reflection when one doesn’t feel like their best self. “Which is a challenge when you don’t like yourself, or when you know you’re not the best version of yourself, and you are not making the right decisions or don’t have the best habits it is tough for someone to go, ‘Yeah OK I need a change’.”
The AFL’s integrity unit found Rankine guilty of conduct unbecoming, citing his use of “a highly offensive homophobic slur – language that demeans and denigrates people regardless of their sexuality”. Initially, Rankine was offered a five-match ban for the offensive remark made during a match at Adelaide Oval. However, the Crows appealed the proposed penalty, advocating for a three-game suspension.
As part of their appeal, the club presented expert medical evidence pertaining to Rankine’s mental health. Ultimately, the AFL settled on a four-game suspension, with the “compelling medical submissions” being a crucial factor in reducing the initial offer.
Rankine revealed the depth of his struggle, stating, “You want to give up, you want to retire, you know depression and the thing is that I was already dealing with that stuff already through my family and the circumstances which I was given.” He elaborated on the compounded pressure of managing family issues while also being a prominent figure expected to lead and support his community. “So that was tough having to deal with family issues, being one of the leaders in my community and being looked on for things and expected to be in places and show your face and just look after everyone in the community. It was tough and then to be put on your arse like that… and you start to question who you are, and you start to question what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been acting and who you’ve been hanging around with and what has been really going on.”
Rankine’s suspension marked him as the sixth AFL-listed player to be penalised for an on-field homophobic comment in the preceding two seasons.
Captains’ Summit: Rule Changes and Ruck Rethinks
In a recent intimate annual dinner, club captains engaged with AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder and his successor Craig Drummond, discussing a range of upcoming rule changes for the 2026 season. Melbourne captain Max Gawn voiced his concerns regarding the new ruck rule, which aims to encourage more aerial contests.
The seven rule changes for 2026, which also include adjustments to the last disposal rule between arcs, stricter enforcement of protected areas, and new centre ball-up contest rules, were a significant talking point. Gawn, a premiership-winning ruckman, expressed reservations about the new centre ball-up rule, which prohibits rucks from crossing the centre line before engaging their opponent.
“I am well and truly on board now, but I have to be, I have to make sure my mindset is like that because if you are not, you will get found out. The rule is there now,” Gawn stated. He added, “I am a big fan of football being for all shapes and sizes. I think that is one of our strengths as a sport. If we start saying we don’t love people who can’t jump in the ruck, and we only want people who can jump, I feel like that rule might go down that path.”
Gawn admitted he wasn’t entirely convinced by the rule’s final form. “I don’t feel we have the final product with the rule. I get what they are doing. I am excited. I love jumping, I am a jumper… I am 34, so my jump has got a little bit worse, but I do love jumping.” He pondered the strategic implications: “With the line, is there a world where I can beat Tom De Koning in a ruck contest without just trying to out-jump him? I think that is stuff we can maybe tease out at some point. Right now, I am watching as much vision as I can.”
The transition from centre bounces to ball-ups is a significant adjustment for all ruckmen, Gawn noted. “I got pinned a few times with my foot being a centimetre over the line at training. That’s one we can probably get rid of. You will see there are, believe it or not, some smart ruckmen in the comp, and they will work out a way to get around it, and we will follow them.”
AFL research indicated a sharp decline in ruck jumping at centre contests, with only 21 per cent of contests featuring a jump last season, down from 63 per cent in 2023. Gawn found his discussions with Goyder and Drummond to be productive.
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore, also the AFL Players Association president, confirmed that rule changes dominated the dinner conversation. “Putting those in a little bit of context, it was good to hear that from the AFL. We just gave a bit of early feedback and then had a bit of discussion about that,” Moore said.
Moore, who enjoyed the duck breast option, expressed support for measures that aim to expedite the game and enhance its spectacle. “It’s obviously pretty early, we have had only match practice, match simulation, so it’s hard to tell. Early feedback, pretty positive,” he commented. “Big Max [Gawn] had a bit to say about the ruck rule – no-one else had much interest. We are pretty optimistic about it. The justification for a lot of the rule changes is really sound coming from the AFL. Hopefully, it makes the game easier to umpire, that is slightly shorter, the ball is live for a bit longer, and is a bit smoother for the fans to watch.”
While some players have expressed concerns that the last-touch rule between arcs might make the game excessively fast, Moore believes this is unlikely, estimating it would lead to only two extra decisions per game. “It’s not like the ball is going to be live and moving like crazy. But, again, football is often chaos,” he remarked.
Injury Concerns Loom for Magpies Ahead of Season Opener
Collingwood’s premiership stars Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe are facing a race against time to be fit for the Magpies’ blockbuster season opener against St Kilda next month.
Captain Darcy Moore is making positive progress from a calf strain sustained in training last month. While he trained well recently, he did not participate in the club’s match simulation against Greater Western Sydney. Moore indicated he was progressing well but could not guarantee his availability for the March 8 clash at the MCG.
“[I’m] going really well – had a minor calf niggle in January, so I have been on a bit of a modified training program building up. I have had a big last couple of weeks with training loads, so [I’m] feeling really great, and the body feels ready to go,” Moore said. Despite expressing doubt about playing in the community series match against North Melbourne, he insisted his recovery “looks pretty good”.
“There are still a couple of weeks to go and [I’ve] got to map out loads and that sort of stuff with the high-performance staff, but it’s looking pretty good,” he added.
The Magpies are also anxiously monitoring the fitness of fellow key defender Jeremy Howe, who has re-aggravated a calf issue that has troubled him throughout the pre-season. “I think he is in a similar position, potentially touch and go for the first game, but, again, not exactly sure what the timeline is,” Moore commented. The absence of both Moore and Howe was evident in their recent match simulation, where the Magpies were exposed in the air in their defensive 50-metre arc.
Moore also confirmed that the team continues to rally around Bobby Hill, the Norm Smith medallist, who has been granted personal leave. Hill’s absence from the club for periods in 2025 has raised concerns, with the possibility he may not play this season. “The focus for him, and us, is his wellbeing. We are not putting any timelines or pressure on that. We are respecting Bobby’s space,” Moore stated.
In other injury news, Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield reported that Jeremy Cameron is recovering well from a quad strain that caused him to miss the recent State of Origin clash and a match simulation against Hawthorn. “He is on track. Obviously, he had a hiccup with that quad, otherwise he would have played [against Hawthorn]. But all signs, at the moment – he’s in full training today – point towards there being no issue around opening round. I would say he will be ready to go,” Dangerfield said. The Cats will face the Blues in a community series match before commencing their home-and-away campaign against the Gold Coast Suns.
Coaches’ Union Advocates for Enhanced Dialogue with the League
Brenton Sanderson, former Adelaide coach, believes that increased club experience within the AFL executive will better amplify the voice of coaches at league headquarters. His appointment as the new chair of the AFL Coaches Association marks a critical juncture for coaches who are concerned about the profession’s diminishing attractiveness due to factors such as the restricted soft cap on coaching payments, short termination clauses, and relentless media scrutiny.
Sanderson, who has experience working within the AFL after a playing and coaching career spanning nearly 25 years, highlighted the value that experienced club administrators Tom Harley and Greg Swann will bring to their new AFL roles. He anticipates this will aid in finding solutions to the challenges confronting the coaching profession. “They understand the challenges that are presented to our coaches and that is not just our senior coaches but our assistant and development coaches, our AFLW coaches,” Sanderson remarked.
Coaches are currently being offered termination clauses of only three to six months, a stark contrast to the typical two-year contracts for assistant coaches. The soft cap, which has not been adjusted since the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen recent increases, but coaches feel their compensation does not adequately reflect their contribution to a club’s success. Furthermore, they perceive that their experience, knowledge, and input into game-related decisions are frequently dismissed, often being labelled as self-serving. The constant speculation surrounding their tenure and the associated performance pressures also take a toll on their mental health.
Sanderson and AFLCA chief executive Alistair Nicholson are committed to addressing these issues and are seeking a more consistent forum for canvassing coaches’ views. Dual premiership coach Chris Fagan echoed this sentiment, expressing frustration since the pandemic over AFL decisions that appear to be made without adequate consideration of the coaching perspective. He emphasised that coaches’ years of experience, deep knowledge, and passion for the game should be a valuable resource for the league.
“I know the AFL’s view is if you put the 18 coaches in a room they will all come up with a different opinion. That’s how you work out solutions isn’t it?,” Fagan stated. “Not everyone is going to sit in the room and agree but with all the ideas that you get you might come up with a better solution so if there was a forum to do that it would be good.”
Sanderson sees himself and Nicholson acting as a conduit between coaches and the AFL, aiming to present a unified position and address shared challenges. The new chair, who has coached at various clubs and the AIS-AFL Academy, stressed that coaches contribute immense value to the competition, a contribution that has been increasingly under-recognised.
Drawing an analogy from his background as a school teacher and principal, Fagan highlighted the pivotal role of coaches within football clubs. “When I was a classroom teacher I thought the kids were the most important people in the school and then when I became a principal for a little while I realised the most important people in the school were the teachers because they provided the program the kids did and they set the culture of the school. And it is very much the same in a football club,” Fagan explained. “The most important people in the football department are the coaches because they are responsible for the product you see every week.”
