The best versus the best - or is it?By Wayne Carey
The Age
2 August 2018 [/i]
As football fans, it’s the match-up we all want to see: the best defender in the game up against the hottest forward in the game. Alex Rance going toe-to-toe with Tom Hawkins.
But Damien Hardwick won’t be interested in theatre. He’s in the business of winning games. So, will it happen?
Recent history says David Astbury is the man for Hawkins.
But while Richmond generally allow Rance to read the play and influence other contests, this time it should be different.
The Tomahawk is covering the ground better than ever. He’s aggressive, his bodywork is to its usual high standard and his hands lately have been terrific, resulting in two bags of seven goals in the past fortnight.
It’s not a stretch to say that if you stop Hawkins, you go a long way to stopping Geelong.
Tom Hawkins versus Alex Rance: heavy duty.
Tom Hawkins versus Alex Rance: heavy duty.
Photo: Wayne Ludbey
In a footy throwback, we saw last week how much Michael Hurley's win over Buddy Franklin influenced the match between Essendon and Sydney.
Admittedly, Buddy might have been sore, but just a few weeks earlier he virtually got the Swans over the line against the Kangaroos.
Hurley sacrificed the more attacking side of his game and silenced a few doubters by winning crucial one-on-one contests against one of the game’s greats.
When you think of the great defenders of the past, they built their games on winning head-to-head battles: Matthew Scarlett, Stephen Silvagni, or David Dench and Bruce Doull before them.
Comparing eras isn’t always fair. The game has changed dramatically in terms of zones, what defenders can do in a contest, and forward pressure further up the ground.
While I’m one of Rance's biggest fans and believe he sits comfortably alongside those famous names, I still want to see him take the game’s biggest scalps.
He’s had his critics at times for different reasons. He can be outbodied by bigger opponents.
Josh Jenkins and Jack Darling spring to mind this season, or Nick Riewoldt and Harry Taylor last year.
But over a 193-game career, they have been few and far between.
Now Rance is presented with the chance to topple a player who probably hasn’t been beaten for 10 weeks.
Being the leader of Richmond’s defence, Rance would get some say about who he lines up on.
He's determined a player, so you’d think he’d be banging down the coach’s door for the match-up on Hawkins.
If he is again penciled in for a secondary role, it does pose some interesting questions, particularly when it comes to All-Australian selection.
Captain in 2017, Rance is deservedly set to be named in the competition’s best 22 players for the fifth straight year.
But unless he takes the game’s biggest forwards, he should not be selected at full-back or centre half-back. It might be a minor detail, but right now his place should be in the back pocket or a half-back flank.
Does it mean much if Richmond keep on winning? Maybe not. Even Hawkins would happily have a quieter night if it means Geelong gets the four points.
But there is an element of ego or pride that drives every player. And who else would Rance take anyway?
The Tigers defence isn’t just about him.
Rance has enough support from the likes of Astbury, Dylan Grimes and Nick Vlastuin, who can all zone off to be the third man up or play more creative roles.
Richmond don't rely on Rance rebounding out of defence as profoundly as years gone by, ensuring the Tigers won’t be hurt if he’s required to lockdown on Hawkins.
If we end up with a much more open game next year as a result of rule changes, one-on-one experience will become even more vital in the future.
That said, Rance has little to prove and this is just one battle among many tonight.
Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin facing off against Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett will be an arm-wrestle worth watching.
But you can’t look past Rance slugging it out with Hawkins as the main event.
It’s the type of contest that brings people through the gates or makes them turn on their televisions. It could be talked about for decades to come.
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