AFL great Malcolm Blight has declared he would have selected rising Sun Izak Rankine with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft.
The dual premiership coach praised the small forward's x-factor, match-winning ability and his craft around goal that make him a "Cyril Rioli-type" player.
Rankine was taken at Pick 3 in the 2018 draft and made his long-awaited debut last weekend against Melbourne in electrifying fashion, booting three goals and earning himself the Rising Star nomination.
Blight noticed Rankine a couple of years ago and liked what he saw from the young excitement machine.
โIzak Rankine caught my eye a couple of years ago,โ Blight told SENโs Whateley.
โI actually nominated him to go pick one, I would have picked him first. Iโve seen him play and I thought he had that x-factor.
โ(Sam) Walsh and (Jack) Lukosius are going to be fine players โ Walsh as we know already and Lukosius is really developing. This young fella has got speed, heโs got smarts, and heโs got a sense of where the goals are.
โHe mightnโt be the 30-plus possession great midfielder, but he might be a Cyril Rioli-type.
โThatโs why I would have taken him (at pick one), they are hard to come by. I know they arenโt as consistent as some of the others but I reckon every team needs one, you need that igniter.โ
