Alex Rance is one of the most competitive humans that has walked the planet, writes Trent CotchinTrent Cotchin
Herald Sun
April 2, 2017 Alex Rance had been at Richmond only two weeks when he shocked everyone. We were both drafted in 2007 and back then I was a shy 17 — year-old who was keen to keep my head down. But Alex had other ideas.
To everyone’s amusement, our No. 18 draft pick moved teammate Kayne Pettifer’s car from the club to a random street in Richmond. Pettifer found a note on his locker. It said: “Rowena Parade, one-hour car park.”
Considering that most first-year players usually keep a low profile early on, this was a brazen move from “Rancey”. (Pettifer wasn’t happy and he got his revenge, but that’s a story for another day).
But the big fella has been full of surprises over the years and his pranks, impersonations and bad jokes are just part of the reason why he has become such an important part of our team fabric at Tigerland.
On the field, we all know he is one of the best key defenders in the game and I still remember the time he stopped almost everything in the final quarter of our must-win game against Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium in Round 23, 2014, to pinch a finals berth.
It was one of the most incredible individual efforts I’ve seen in my time in the game. I’m convinced he is one of the most competitive humans that has walked the planet.
Thankfully, we didn’t trade him to North Melbourne early on. Rancey and our coach, Damien Hardwick, still both joke that “Dimma” tried to off-load him for a sixpack of beers and a bucket of chips in his first few years, but I think they both put some mayonnaise on the story these days.
In his first couple of seasons, Alex looked pretty uncoordinated on the field and he was a bull at a gate with the footy in his hands. He had the talent and was a tall, striking athlete.
But he had work to do learning to be more patient with the ball.
Assistant coach Justin Leppitsch, in particular, has done a fantastic job helping shape and refine his game. “Leppa” has given Alex the right defensive techniques and rounded out those rough edges.
Now as vice-captain, Rance is very good at knowing when it’s time to switch-on to footy, and when to lighten up and have some fun with the boys.
Footy can be such a serious environment these days, so to have some light and shade at the club is crucial.
It’s said that children laugh on average 300 times a day and adults chuckle only 10-20 times. Rancey certainly ensures we meet our quota.
One of my favourite tricks as a youngster was laying under my old man’s bed and waiting for him to jump in. I’d wait a little bit and reach out and put my hand on his face, just to be a pest. He nearly had a heart attack.
Along with moving teammates’ cars, another one of Alex’s other favourite moves is hiding in the bins (which keep all the balls) and scaring the daylights out of someone when they walk past.
He’ll push of the lid and bob up with a silly look on his face or something.
He also loves to soap up the floor at the club and use it like a slip-and-slide. One night we had a players’ function in the Maurice Rioli Room (which can be pretty formal at times) and he dressed up like Captain America and entered in on his scooter on the carpet floor.
He has also dressed up and danced to Aladdin in front of members.
He is a rare unit, Rancey, always entertaining, and footy hasn’t changed him one bit.
In our first few years at Richmond we would drive into the club together in the morning and straight away we became pretty close friends.
He would have four bits of toast stacked up high in his hands every morning and leave crumbs all over the passenger seat, no matter how many times I asked him to bring a plate, or at least some foil.
But two years ago, when he was genuinely thinking about walking away from the game, we probably drifted a little bit. It’s something I have reflected on and hopefully learnt from.
I was captain at the time, and I felt torn between wanting desperately to keep him as such an important part of our team, but also respecting his own personal wishes and outside interests.
In 2015, he was just scratching the surface of becoming an incredible footballer and part of me was annoyed that he might leave. The other part of me really cared about Alex the person.
From his perspective, he felt like there was more to life than just playing football and he wanted to give more time and energy to other things, like his family and his business.
I’ll admit it was hard to accept, initially. I thought: “How can you not love the game?”
He was about to sign his best-ever contract and we had played finals the past two years.
And maybe we walked on eggshells around the issue at the start. It was everywhere in the media. In terms of our relationship, we weren’t as close during that period.
I stopped being authentic and true to myself and those around me, and subsequently our connection weakened.
The solution was as simple as having a really open and honest conversation about it with Alex on Brownlow Medal night. The stakes were high and, for me, it was important to clear up anything I had potentially misconstrued about his situation.
After that chat, I understood his thinking behind it all and the fact that he was going through a pretty challenging period. Now I really value the special friendship we have and certainly appreciate his decision to continue with his footy career. He would have been hard to replace.
For Alex, he wanted a better work-life balance and as part of that he asked for a longer break that off-season.
From a leadership point of view, that led to another conversation in itself. But Alex returned from the off-season in outstanding physical condition.
It wasn’t just an extended holiday for him. He had certainly kept himself in great shape. As vice-captain, he has provided great support for me in the past few months and going back even further over the past few years.
On “The Footy Show” a few weeks ago I know he was really strong when he was asked about the captaincy. He said, “Let’s get one thing straight, ‘Cotch’ will be our captain next year” and really backed me in. I was really comfortable with the whole leadership process and what was best for the footy club, but I couldn’t be entirely certain what the outcome would be.
At times, you do have self doubt, but for Rancey to support me like that publicly really meant a lot.
I also remember the time he hit me between the eyes with some pretty blunt feedback, and that is also part of why Alex is a fine leader in his own right.
After one of our losses a few years ago, he questioned the midfield’s defensive efforts, and in particular, running into the back half of the ground to support the defence.
He didn’t miss me in the spray and I think it was a bit of a turning point in some respects, or certainly I haven’t forgotten it, because he was dead right.
We could have been better and we want to be switched on in that regard that season.
But if you ever get a sticky note from Alex on your locker, just like Pettifer did a decade ago, you know you are in trouble.
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