Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has confirmed Izak Rankine will play against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night following his suspension and hamstring injury, but has not determined how many minutes.
Rankine hasn't played a senior game since August 16 last year, serving a four-game suspension for a homophobic slur, which was compounded by a pre-season hamstring issue.
The 25-year-old spoke ahead of his long-awaited return.
"Put the work in," Rankine told Channel Nine.
"I had that time to really focus on a few areas I need to work on, body wise, mental wise, so pretty keen and ready to go."
Given he is going into Friday's clash with no preparation, Nicks is tossing up how to use Rankine against the Bulldogs, especially given the extended five-man bench.
TONIGHT: Izak Rankine has spoken exclusively to #9News ahead of his return to the AFL following a suspension for using a homophobic slur.
Watch the full story at 6pm. #9News pic.twitter.com/vwJFIX3bgW
— 9News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) March 17, 2026
"Izak is going to have a bit of (match fitness issues)," Nicks said.
"He will play whatever he is up to, and we won't know that until he blows a few cob webs out".
Clubs have used its fifth man in a variety of ways, but Sydney would be the most obvious example for the Crows to lean on, as they limited Tom Papley's Opening Round minutes due to an interrupted summer.
Nicks also noted the work Rankine has done in from a leadership perspective, learning from his mistakes from last year.
"We go away, and we learn from things we don't get right. I think Izak has done a hell of a lot of work on what he is doing off the field," the Crows coach said.
"I think it's just maturity, you go through experiences in life, you learn a lot and become a more experienced human and understand more how to behave.
"We have added another leader to our leadership group. He wants to lead, he understands how to make us better."
