As Adelaide pick up the pieces from a disastrous finals series, the spotlight has quickly turned on suspended forward Izak Rankine.
The Crows became the first minor premier since North Melbourne in 1983 to crash out in straight sets after slumping to a hugely disappointing 34-point loss to Hawthorn on Friday night.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Matthew Nicks on Izak Rankine after finals exit.
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Adelaide’s much-vaunted attack fired another blank with just 10 goals following on from last week’s eight-goal effort.
Rankine was watching on from the stands as he serves his four-match ban for a homophobic slur directed Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor during their Round 23 match.
The electric playmaker will also miss Round 1 next year as a result of the suspension.
The Rankine saga engulfed the entire AFL world with the star Crow eventually leaving the country to escape the scrutiny.
Coach Matthew Nicks said he didn’t feel the situation weighed negatively on the team outside of his on-field absence.
“No ... We won’t ever know will we?” He said after the loss.
“What it did do is change the dynamic of our group.
“Izak is, I think, one of the best players in the game, so if any team loses their best player then it becomes a challenge to replace that.
“I think some of our young guys stepped up and showed they can play at the level, but the challenge we had was filling that void that Izak’s had for us all year.
“That’s purely on field, I don’t think it affected us away from footy.”
Nicks added that he and the club will do everything in their power to look after Rankine and others affected during the off-season.
“Things like that, we want to make sure we look after everyone that may have been affected by that. And Izak is front and centre in that. As much as we can be there for him, we will be there for him to make sure that he is OK and others.”
Channel 7 commentator Matthew Richardson said Rankine’s absence was “costly”.
“You can’t hide away from the fact that Izak Rankine was an enormous out for this team in finals,” he said.
“Just with what he brings at stoppage, go into the centre, the burst and the class he has.
“So at the end of the day, it was pretty costly.”
Dale Thomas added: “And you think as an opposition coach when you come up against the Adelaide Crows, the first magnet you’d be most concerned about would be Izak Rankine’s.
“Because if he’s not getting it done around the midfield, he goes forward and kicks three or four within a quarter.
“He’s the real class, the real X-factor. And it was disappointing circumstances that was the reason he missed, but it obviously played a big part in it as well.”
7NEWS reporter Xander McGuire said the “self-inflicted” wound was a big price to pay for the team.
“The spotlight goes on Izak Rankine again and how that was a self-inflicted wound as far as the Crows are concerned,” he said.
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