Izak Rankine in action during the match between the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide at Mars Stadium in round 10, 2023. Picture: Getty Images

ADELAIDE expects star recruit Izak Rankine to thrive under the emotional pressure of playing against his former side Gold Coast for the first time.

Rankine, fresh from his game-turning exploits in Adelaide's 17-point win against Brisbane, meets his ex-club in Darwin on Saturday night.

The dynamic forward played 48 games for Gold Coast in three years before returning to his home city of Adelaide at the end of last season.

"It might have a bit of a different challenge for Izak, there's some emotion around it for him," Crows assistant coach Nathan van Berlo said on Monday.

"But he will prepare as he does every week and he will know his opposition really well and who he's coming up against, who he's going to play on. So that will be in his favour.

"But he's a pro, the way he goes about his footy, and he's in good form so he'll be looking forward to the contest for sure."

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The Crows' hierarchy will pick Rankine's brain for insights into the Suns, who upset the Western Bulldogs by seven points in Darwin last Saturday night.

"He has given us some insight when he first got to the club around what his former club has done and what they do well and what their game plan is," van Berlo said.

"And like we do with any player when they come in, Jordan Dawson (from Sydney) was no different, we pick their brains as coaches when we have a fresh face in to see what we can learn from other environments."

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Rankine will tackle his former team in red-hot form after kicking two goals, including a brilliant left-footed snap from near a boundary line, and having 13 score involvements in the Crows' win over the Lions.

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"It was a pretty special effort from Izak, the way he went about it and the way that he impacted the game," van Berlo said.

"We really value what he gives us ahead of the ball - give him half a sniff and he can impact the game.

"So coming up with 13 score involvements and to have the impact that he did was huge for us.

"I also love the unselfish aspect of his game where he gave off a number of shots as well, his chases, tackles, pressure ... already he's a critical member of our group."