When Adelaide Academy prospect Anthony Long trained with the Crows for three weeks throughout pre-season, he lived with Izak Rankine.
The pair have a close family connection with Long saying they are ostensibly cousins and learned about the demands required at the next level, an important insight for a player whose work rate and maturity had been questioned.
“I was training at the Crows with him and daily routines, we were waking up at 4am in the morning, meditating, stretching for 30 minutes then head into the club about 5am in the morning when no one is there except for people getting the gym ready,” Long told Zero Hanger.
“Then we would kick the footy for a player and by the time we're ready the players are rocking up so it was good living with him.
“(I learned about) the grind. He's a hard worker and has showed me what it means to be the best – you have to put the work in. Being with him helped me a lot.”
It laid the platform for a breakout 2026.
In his first five Talent League games for West Adelaide, he kicked nine goals. At the National Championships, his forward craft and turn of speed was elite as he kicked six majors as a spark plug at the feet of breakout forward Jack Slattery.
Long – who despite reports linking him to Michael Long, is not related to the former Essendon player – models his game on fellow First Nations players Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Kysaiah Pickett.
Long is vying to become the first AFL player from Raukkan, a tiny town three hours from Adelaide whose church is depicted on the $50 note.
“To be the first one from there to get into the AFL if I do, it would mean a lot to them,” Long said.
“It would show my cousins back home you can do it if you put your head to it. It would mean the world after all the hard work in the last 12 months paying off.
“I'd have a little celebration but at the end it would be one of the best things of my life. I've dreamt of it my whole life and getting it done would mean a lot.”
Long moved away from home to finish his education at Adelaide's prestigious Prince Alfred College, graduating last year.
On debut for PAC's firsts footy side as a year 10 he shared the forward line with now Geelong AFL-listed Jay Polkinghorne and kicked 6.5 to put him on the map as a genuine talent.
“My family live two or three hours away and I'm on my own in Adelaide,” Long said.
“It's pretty hard but family means a lot to me. It means more than anything, more than footy. Moving to PAC and being a boarder I had to be independent washing my clothes, cook dinner, do lunch and get myself around, food shopping, that's all a big independence thing for myself.
“A lot of the boys are asking how I do this so it's something which has given me a headstart. It's a big step for me. I know all the things to do and I think I'll be ready for it.
“I had to be a role model to all my family back home and all the other Indigenous people watching that you can be what you want to be if you put your head to it.”
Long possesses deceptive speed and power and is an x-factor player capable of breaking tackles and knowing where the goals are which has him as a potential bargain late in the 2026 crop for the Crows as a 185cm forward.
He played two SANFL League games for Adelaide and spent a further patch training with the Crows after pre-season which has helped him rise this year, with his full-chested confidence another weapon in his arsenal.
“(I want to be a) game-winning player. Definitely. Unstoppable,” Long said.
“I go into every game thinking I'm the best and no one can stop me. Confidence is the key when you go out and play. You have to go out and think you're the best and go out with confidence.”
