As Adelaide's Izak Rankine awaits the outcome of the AFL’s pending investigation into his alleged use of a homophobic slur, Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd has shared his assessment on how the situation may affect both the Crows and the star forward.
It emerged Sunday night that the AFL would be investigating Rankine, after he was alleged to have directed a homophobic slur at an opponent in the Crows’ nail-biting win over Collingwood on Saturday.
It has since been revealed in The Age that Rankine had apologised on Sunday to the Collingwood player he was alleged to have directed the slur at, with an outcome for the AFL’s investigation now expected by Tuesday.
Rankine potentially faces a mammoth ban that could rule him out for the entirety of Adelaide’s upcoming finals campaign, a prospect which was at the heart of Lloyd’s thoughts Monday night.
“You need so much right to win a premiership, and that’s where your thought goes to now, does it make it difficult for Adelaide to win the Grand Final?” Lloyd posed on Footy Classified.
“I’ve had them right up there for most of the year, but with no Rankine I’ve put them behind Geelong, I’ve put them behind Brisbane. They go that far down.
“In time, I think the Crows will get angry, they’ll be angry with him. Because you can cop injuries, but you can’t cop suspension. And then this is even worse… because it’s not a football act, it’s something that he’s done in another act.
“And then he, in time, will never live with himself either. The thought that’ll sink in over the next week or two saying ‘Imagine they go on and play in a premiership and I’m not there.’”
The Crows have one game remaining in this year’s home-and-away season, plus the potential for four more games in 2025, depending on how they perform in finals.
The most recent player to be suspended for a homophobic slur was Sydney’s Riak Andrew in July, who suffered a five-week ban.
Should that sanction be applied to Rankine, then he will officially be ruled out for the remainder of Adelaide’s season, regardless of how they fare in September.
However, Channel Seven’s Mitch Cleary reported on Monday that those close to the situation believe the suspension could be as few as four weeks, which would make Rankine available for a Grand Final should the Crows hypothetically lose a qualifying final, and then win the following two weeks to make it to the decider by virtue of their double chance.