EXCITING Gold Coast teenager Izak Rankine will be available to play in round one – but whether it's at AFL or NEAFL level is still up in the air.
After a frustrating first year at the Suns where hamstring problems prevented him from making a debut, Rankine had a strong pre-season only to suffer a shoulder injury in a practice match against Brisbane last month.
The 19-year-old has progressed well, but missing both Marsh Community Series matches leaves his round one spot in jeopardy.
"He's just getting the strength back in his shoulder," Gold Coast football manager Jon Haines told AFL.com.au.
"We don't have any concerns with it.
"We'd expect him to be right for round one, it'll just come down to a selection decision."
Complicating things was the powerful first-up win over Geelong, in which the Suns' small forwards and half-forwards had a field day.
Ben Ainsworth, Darcy Macpherson and Sean Lemmens were all influential with their pressure.
"That will be the discussion for sure," Haines said.
"We've got good competition for spots with Ben, Darc, Sean, Izak and Nick Holman will play some footy this weekend."
PRE-SEASON FIXTURE Check out your team's Marsh Community Series games
Rankine has completed a full pre-season of running, so his conditioning will not be an issue.
Meanwhile, co-captain and reigning best and fairest winner Jarrod Witts is a lock to line up against Port Adelaide on March 21.
FULL AFL INJURY LIST How many weeks will they miss?
Witts broke his foot in a training mishap in January but has been running for a week.
"He'll go straight in," Haines said.
