Adelaide will debut prized recruit Izak Rankine when the Crows take on Greater Western Sydney at Giants Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Crows parted with pick No.5 during last year’s trade period to bring across Rankine from Gold Coast on a five-year deal, with the 22-year-old set to add depth to an impressive forward line mix.
For the Giants, it is a new era of sorts, with new senior coach Adam Kingsley coming in along with a suite of fresh figures around him.
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It will be a better start to the season for stand-alone captain Toby Greene, who is playing in Round 1 after missing the opening rounds last year due to suspension.
The match will also mark the return of Rory Sloane, with the former captain having not played since Round 5 last season due to a ruptured ACL.
Leek Aleer was a late out for the Giants, which saw Jack Buckley return for his first senior game since Round 16, 2021.
Adam Kennedy (Giants) and Tyler Brown (Crows) were the subs.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER RECAP
The opening bounce was preceded by a ‘tsunami warning’ siren, forecasting the ‘orange tsunami’ Kingsley will be looking to implement at the Giants.
Izak Rankine had a chance at kicking the opening goal of the match, but it was Matt Flynn at the other end who took the honour after just over three minutes.
Taylor Walker kicked the first goal of his 2023 campaign in response, which was followed by a good lead and clean finish from Shane McAdam.
Harry Perryman came from the ground midway through the quarter and received treatment on his right hamstring,
This match gets underway at 1:10pm AEDT from Giants Stadium.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504) from 1pm AEDT.
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