EMILY Rankin has spent two seasons as one of the quiet achievers in Eastern Ranges’ star-studded midfield, letting her teammates collect the headlines while she does the unglamorous work that makes the machine run. In Round 3 against the Northern Knights, she did everything she always does — and then some, finishing with 35 disposals, seven clearances and two goals in a 100-point demolition that served as a statement of exactly what she can produce when given the room to run.

>> AFLW DRAFT Q&A: Emily Rankin (Eastern Ranges)

Emily Rankin

Club: Eastern Ranges
Height: 166cm
Date of Birth: 11/05/2008

STRENGTHS:

+ Clean hands in congestion
+ Clearance work
+ Contested ball
+ Forward capability
+ Ground coverage

IMPROVEMENTS:

– Left-foot kicking under pressure
– Disposal efficiency when fatigued

ROUND 3 vs NORTHERN KNIGHTS

Statistics: 35 disposals (18 contested, 16 uncontested), 4 marks, 5 tackles, 7 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 2 goals, 2 behinds (Round 3 vs Northern Knights)

FIRST QUARTER

Rankin started on-ball and was immediately competitive, reading the ruck tap from Tillie Baldwin inside 30 seconds and kicking inside 50 from the clearance. Her left foot let her down midway through the term – a poor kick from half-forward that sailed out on the full – and she came off for a short rest, finishing the quarter with seven disposals.

Back on at the 11-minute mark, she burst forward and kicked long to a dangerous spot before producing the moment of the quarter in the 16th minute: a brilliant centre clearance via handball while standing in a tackle, followed immediately by a tackle at half-forward, holding the line at the top of 50 when the ball went inside.

She won another clearance at half-forward in the dying moments and drove it inside 50 before the term ended. A quarter of contrasts – left-foot inconsistency offset by genuine clearance brilliance.

SECOND QUARTER

Another seven disposals but with a quality to them that the opening term only hinted at. After an early left-foot turnover she settled beautifully – marking on the wing and converting a lovely kick into the corridor before taking a running shot at goal that missed left.

Back from a short rest, her best individual moment of the half came in the ninth minute: a fantastic one-on-one contested mark at half-forward, taking off and spinning back onto her left to drive the ball into the corridor – an eye-catching piece of athleticism and skill combined. She then showed the other side of her game through the 12th and 14th minutes – a clean handball out of congestion near the goalsquare, a bone-crunching tackle inside 50 to lock the ball up, then winning the handball away under pressure and immediately laying another tackle.

Her ability to be both a clean ball user and a fierce contested player in the space of two minutes sums up what makes her so effective. Rankin’s kicking efficiency of 62 per cent across the game was largely shaped by opposite foot kicks like the early turnover in this term. When she had time, her ball use was consistently damaging.

THIRD QUARTER

Racking up 10 disposals and her most damaging on the scoreboard. Deployed forward from the outset, she snapped off the left from the pocket for a behind in the opening 30 seconds before converting two goals in quick succession – a composed right-foot finish off a short Scout Semple pass, and then a snap around her body from the pocket with the ease of someone who has done it a thousand times.

She immediately rotated into the centre stoppage and won the clearance by hand to Perri Goulding, who set up the next goal two disposals later – three goals in three minutes, with Rankin involved in all of them. She continued to cover ground relentlessly, winning a free kick for a throw and kicking inside 50, showing brilliant hands off the ruck tap in the 13th minute, intercepting in the corridor at 35 metres and spinning to handball to a free teammate. Her ability to influence from both ends of the ground in the same quarter is a rare quality.

FOURTH QUARTER

Her best quarter by the numbers — 11 disposals as she finished the highest production player on the field by nine disposals — and the one that most clearly illustrated how her game builds as the contest wears on.

See-ball, get-ball off the deck to feed Bridie Neale forward in the opening moments, a clean handball away on the transition in the second minute, and a lovely centre clearance with a bounce and penetrating kick to the half-forward in the eighth minute.

Her best moment came in the ninth minute — winning a centre clearance, taking a bounce and bursting forward to shoot on target, with the ball only just touched on the goalline to deny her a third goal. A quick handball lead-up to a teammate at the wing in the 12th minute led directly to a goal downfield, rounding out a quarter where she continued to make her mark through sharp decision making even with the game well beyond doubt. She came off for the final few minutes having done more than enough.

SUMMARY

Rankin is such a terrific natural footballer, and when she plays the game on her terms, she is near-impossible to quell.. Incredible around the coalface, Rankin finished with 18 contested possessions from 35 disposals and seven clearances – despite spending significant time forward – while capitalising on those moments with two goals and a hand in three more.

Her disposal efficiency of 69 per cent that reflects a player who uses the ball with genuine intent rather than just racking up numbers and is one of the most complete individual performance she has produced at the level. If she can continue building on her opposite side to match that of her dominant right, then the Ranges captain is set for a top-age season that demands attention from every AFLW club.