Izak Rankine is playing elite football of late, and the whole country knows it.
With his job reportedly on the line, Matthew Nicks will need his talisman's hot form to continue.
Speaking to the Fox Footy broadcast ahead of a do-or-die elimination final against a talented Western Bulldogs outfit, Nicks outlined the element of Rankine's game that has spurred on his blistering last eight weeks.
“Credit to him, there's a few little tweaks he had to make in his game," Nicks said.
"He's in a new position now - he's played forward a lot of his career. We've been very deliberate with how much we massage that and put him into the midfield. We didn't want to throw him in and let him drown.
“He's done a great job and adjusted a couple of little areas, one being (that) he now understands what it means to stay in the contest.
"He's got such elite speed, and elite agility, and he's so clean with the ball in his hands that he doesn't need to leave the contest early, and that was one thing he had to adjust as a mid. We've seen him blossom over the last four weeks, but even prior to that, we were starting to see it."
Rankine's skipper, Jordan Dawson, recently saw his personal trophy cabinet expand further, with another All-Australian selection, the AFLPA's best captain nod, and the title of the AFLPA's Most Courageous player handed to him at the recent AFL Awards.
Nicks was effusive in his praise of his skipper, too, added to the chorus of support following Dawson this season.
“He's had some sort of season both on and off the field," Nicks said.
"Inspirational is a word that comes to mind. He's brought a passion to our group, he just loves the people he works with. I think he's matured so much as a human being with the challenges he's had this year. I'm in awe of the guy, to be honest."
Dan Curtin has a role to play in a hot engine room, with Nicks backing in his highly-touted 2023 draftee.
“He'll play a pretty big role in there tonight," Nicks said.
"He's very, very raw, "DC". He had a setback this year, so he's only played half the year, so he's very fresh. Felt like he's found a little bit more of his game over the last few weeks - just the timing of being clean over the ball and his timing in the air. He's the perfect complement for Izak Rankine, Jordan Dawson, and Sam Berry.
“There's a lot of talk around our midfield, have we got the talent in there? 100%, we've got what we need in there, (but) there is still development needed in some of that… but that's even more exciting for our footy club - we still have upside."
