The breakout star Adelaide should attempt to turn Rankine into

Kane Cornes says new Adelaide recruit Izak Rankine must be more than just a small forward when he makes the move across to South Australia next season.

Rankine has officially requested a trade back to his home state after five seasons on the Gold Coast, with the clubs now needing to hash out a deal.

Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast, Cornes pointed to Richmond forward Shai Bolton’s recent form at Richmond as a blueprint for what the Crows can do with the 22-year-old.

“There’s more to Izak Rankine than just a small forward,” he said.

“I think the way other teams are getting use out of those players, Shai Bolton, that’s the model that Adelaide should be thinking about (for) Izak Rankine.”

Cornes sees similarities between Rankine and Bolton, who has kicked 41 goals and averaged 18 disposals this season, becoming the new face of a rejuvenated Tigers team.

“Shai Bolton I believe is, if he’s not the best player in the competition, he’s top three,” he said.

“That’s the level Izak Rankine can get to but to do that he’s going to have to get a lot fitter and he’s going to have to work on his centre bounce craft and his clearance craft and then go forward and get a matchup that he likes.”

With the Crows expected to be forking out between $800,000 and $850,000 a year for Rankine’s services, Cornes believes it’s imperative that they get an adequate return on their investment.

“Adelaide have to turn Izak Rankine into Shai Bolton, and he’s absolutely capable of that in three, four, five years time.”