Izak Rankine’s stellar performance on debut for the Gold Coast SUNS has seen him named as this week’s NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.
It was a long-awaited debut for Rankine who was drafted with pick three back in 2018, but the exciting small forward showed it was worth the wait with an impressive three-goal performance against Melbourne in Round 6.
His skills were on show throughout the match, kicking his first goal with his first touch of the football after a crafty evasive manoeuvre.
His second goal was just as impressive, kicked off the ground after he tapped the ball to his own advantage.
Rankine also had 12 disposals and three tackles and became the first player to kick more than two goals on debut for the SUNS.
The 20-year-old’s NAB AFL Rising Star nomination is Gold Coast’s third for the year after young guns Matt Rowell (week two) and Connor Budarick (week three) were also nominated.
A NAB AFL Rising Star nominee will be named following each week of football in the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership season.
Following each week of the Home and Away season, a panel of judges select a NAB AFL Rising Star nominee. At the completion of the season, one of these nominees will be chosen as the 2020 NAB AFL Rising Star.
The 2020 NAB AFL Rising Star winner will be awarded the Ron Evans Medal, along with $20,000 from NAB and with a dedicated private banker.
NAB continues to support footballers by recognising the junior clubs that helped foster the early careers of the nominated players.
Izak Rankine’s junior club Flinders Park in South Australia will receive a NAB Club Recognition Award valued at $2500, comprising financial and practical resources, as a result of his Round Four nomination.
Since supporting the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, NAB has donated over $900,000 worth of resources to junior football clubs through this initiative.
The NAB AFL Rising Star is part of the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, which supports grassroots players and football communities and helps young Australians fulfill their dream of playing in the AFL. The NAB AFL Rising Stars Program comprises the following elements:
- NAB AFL Rising Star
- NAB AFL Draft
- NAB AFL Draft Combine
- NAB AFL Under-18 Championships
- NAB AFL Academy
- NAB AFL Under-16 Championships
- NAB League
NAB has been supporting footy from grassroots to the elite level since 2002, providing boys and girls with a clear pathway from NAB AFL Auskick through the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program all the way to the big time.
