Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks expects to lose Izak Rankine for “a few weeks” to a hamstring harm however has refused to surrender on his aspect’s AFL finals dream.
The Crows fell agonisingly brief in opposition to Melbourne on Sunday, left to rue woeful inaccuracy from set pictures within the 14.13 (97) to 13.15 (93) loss on the MCG.
Adelaide’s third straight defeat put them at risk of dropping out of the finals race – six factors adrift of eighth-placed Geelong – forward of an enormous conflict with cross-town rivals Port Adelaide.
“We’re still fighting. We’re still playing in relevant games and we’re confident that we can still win every game we go into,” Nicks stated.
“We’ve got five to go and I think that gets us what we’re after (if we win them all).
“That’s a fairly large ask – we go right into a Showdown subsequent week in opposition to a top-two aspect – however that is what we’re about.”
Adelaide lost defender Nick Murray to a knee injury during the third quarter against Melbourne before Rankine went down clutching his left hamstring in the final few minutes.
The livewire forward had kicked three goals, taking his tally to 35 in 18 matches for the Crows this season after a high-profile switch from Gold Coast.
“Izak’s no knowledgeable however he is had a hammy earlier than and he is speaking about it prefer it’s comparable,” Nicks stated.
“I believe he missed a pair (of matches) final time, so fingers crossed that is not a serious hammy or tendon.
“I’m no expert in that area but I’d say we’d probably lose him for a few weeks.”
Prolific ball-winner Rory Laird might be again to face Port Adelaide, with Nicks to reassess his midfield combine after veteran Matt Crouch’s spectacular show in opposition to Melbourne.
Crouch had 22 disposals and a team-high seven clearances in his second senior look this season.
“He was probably held out slightly because of Rory Laird playing in our side – they’re similar players – but we could look at that going forward,” Nicks stated.
“But I thought today he played a really important role.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
