SA’s top pollies give finals tips
The Premier’s pushed his Port Power allegiances aside to make a few Crows’ finals predictions. He joins Ashton Hurn and other top SA pollies – including a Lib footy trainer – to take a punt on Saturday’s game.
Even the state’s leaders whose loyalties lie elsewhere are not immune to the footy fever sweeping SA ahead of the Crows’ do-or-die clash with the Lions tomorrow night.
Premier Peter Malinauskas told InDaily he’s “hoping to be home in time for the second half” to see the Crows win their uphill battle to finals glory, and he’s backing forward Riley Thilthorpe to star.
Meanwhile Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn – a West Coast Eagles fan – hopes the match is “a cracker” and says “Izak Rankine to star and Tex for the first goal are my hot takes”.
Malinauskas said “Izak Rankine at his best is a weapon” and was his pick to make the most damage to the Lions at tomorrow night’s clash at the Gabba.
He also commended Jordan Dawson as “a pretty impressive leader, but I have to say I was pretty happy for Tex on Saturday night. Notwithstanding he has done some damage for Port in previous Showdowns”.
Hurn agreed “Tex can be lethal when he’s on” and was her pick as the player who does the most damage to the opposition.
The two rival pollies also agreed coach Matthew Nicks should stay at the club after reports his job was on the line if the Crows had lost last week’s play-off against the Western Bulldogs.
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But Nicks insisted there was no coaching future discussions with club hierarchy before his drought-breaking finals win.
“You could’ve knocked me over with a feather with that story last week,” Malinauskas said.
“There is no doubt he should stay and I can’t imagine anyone else disagrees.
“I was sad to lose him from Port because he was pretty well regarded and he’s done a pretty good job taking the Crows from the bottom of the ladder to being genuine contenders.”
Hurn’s loyalty is with the West Coast Eagles, where her brother Shannon was drafted in 2005 and captained the club in their 2018 Premiership win.
But this year, the Eagles placed 16 on the ladder, hot on the tail of Malinauskas’ beloved Port Adelaide which finished at 15th with six wins and sixteen losses.
“Considering the depth of injuries that we have, I was happy with the way the boys competed,” Malinauskas said.
“If we trade well for Butters, I’m hopeful we can set up well for future years.”
While Hurn said the Eagles had “been a lot more competitive, which has been great to see” this season.
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“There’s some really exciting young talent coming through, so we’ll keep building.”
State parliament is full of plenty of die-hard Crows fans too, with Education Minister Lucy Hood and Liberal Upper House Leader Nicola Centofanti both tuning in with family tomorrow night to watch the Crows – hopefully – defeat the Lions.
The Crows will need to defy the odds, having gone winless at the Gabba since 2018.
Hood said back in the team’s glory days she had a rollerblade ritual when the game got too intense to watch.
“When I watched the ‘97 and ‘98 Grand Finals, I couldn’t cope with the excitement so I went outside to rollerblade, and came back in to see them win the flag,” Hood said.
“So if they’re losing, I tend to leave the room and go do the dishes or tidy up in the hope the game turns – because I don’t have rollerblades anymore. If they get into the grand final – I know what I need to buy!”
She agreed Izak Rankine was “one for the Lions to keep an eye on” tomorrow night, and hailed Jordan Dawson and Darcy Fogarty as favourites, “as they both grew up in the south east”, like Hood herself, who was raised in Naracoorte.
For Centofanti, she has no rituals: “I just turn up and hope the Crows have done more preparation than I have!”
Centofanti, a trainer at the Berri Football Club, says, “Rachele will kick the first goal and Milera will star because I strap his brother’s ankles every week”.
She has no favourites because “they all play an important role” but her pick of best player in club history “has to be fellow Riverlander Mark Ricciuto”.
Hood said having an SA team in the final “creates a real buzz across the state, brings people together and gives South Australians something to get behind”.
“And with it being Tex’s last finals campaign, there’s an extra layer of emotion to it this year,” she said.
Centofanti agreed: “Regardless of who you barrack for, seeing a South Australian side on the national stage and having the whole state get behind them is a great thing for SA”.
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