Author Topic: Rance constantly thinking about retirement despite Richmond's success (H-Sun)  (Read 1043 times)

Offline one-eyed

  • Administrator
  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 95131
    • One-Eyed Richmond
Alex Rance considering retirement

LAUREN WOOD,
Herald Sun
4 March 2018


RICHMOND premiership star Alex Rance “constantly” thinks about walking away from football.

And he can’t guarantee whether he will play beyond the end of next season.

Rance, 29, almost quit AFL in 2015 amid what he described as “conflict” between football and his faith.

The Jehovah’s Witness signed a four-year contract extension that year, which is set to expire at the end of 2019.

Beyond then, while it may not be “what the club wants to hear”, the Tigers vice-captain admits he isn’t sure what the future will hold.

“Yeah (it has occurred to me since 2015) — it’s constantly occurring to me,” Rance told the Herald Sun.

“Like, how much longer do I want to play for? Physically, I feel like I could play for a long, long time, but am I going to play until my legs give out, or am I going to play until I want to pursue something else with as much hunger and passion as I do football?

“It’s a constant thing for me.”

Rance said he lives “pretty much off the cuff” and said peering into his future wasn’t part of his psyche.

That’s the fun of it.

“I don’t want to set myself a 10-year plan and that, ‘You’ve got to do all these things’, because it’s like — where’s the excitement in that?,” the Wolf Blass ambassador said.

“I take every year how it comes and see how it feels, which is probably not what the club wants to hear. I’ve got this year and next year and who knows after that.”

The defender has an All-Australian captain jacket hanging in his closet and a premiership medallion on hand after last year’s drought-breaking Tigers victory.

Previous years have seen extended holidays for some players — including Rance — who have returned to pre-season training later than others.

Not this year — there was no holding him back. It was day one, raring to go.

Rance and his teammates returned to the MCG turf on Friday for the first time since the Grand Final triumph. There were “goosebumps” as he relived where he was on the ground when the siren went, to spotting his parents watching on from a corporate box as celebrations fired up.

He said Richmond would not shy away from talking about its hunger to chase a repeat of its success this season, and that reinforcing it would be vital.

The premiership cup hangs in the foyer and a team photo taken minutes after the cup presentation in the club’s theatrette — the tangible evidence Rance said was invaluable to driving the reigning premiers.

“Belief is repeating a thought regularly enough,” he said.
=
“For us to believe that we’re going to be successful, we’ve got to keep repeating the same thoughts and the same actions and have that same hunger — always — to be able to continue on.

“It gives you that tangible evidence that yep, that’s what we’ve got to try and achieve again.”

And the visible evidence of glory has worked — as recently as this week.

“When the tough times come … say you’ve got a tough three-week block and every day is a grind, you’re like, ‘Hey, you blokes, remember when we won the flag?’ – it happened just the other day,” Rance smiled.

“Everything gets made so much better and more fun and you see tangible evidence of the hard work that you put in when for so many years, you put in all of this hard work and just fall short and just fall short.

“You wonder whether it’s actually worth it. But when you get that tangible evidence of, ‘This is the success you can get if you put in all this hard work’, it makes it worthwhile.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/richmond-star-alex-rance-reveals-hes-constantly-thinking-about-retirement-despite-his-success/news-story/62813ffd57c12c5cdc797dd5ef5374c0

Offline pmac21

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
He's just working on his next contract negotiations.   

Offline ¾ T!geɹ

  • Jack Dyer medallist
  • ***
  • Posts: 173
  • For We're From Tigerland
When religious crap comes before footy, then there is a huge problem in this world  :banghead so I am seriously happy footy won out  :clapping but I fear religion will win out in the end  :'(
If he decides to hang up the boots because his legs have run out of playing ability or what ever else, then I reckon we will be able to cover him reasonably well, considering our defensive depth.
The third quarter, the premiership quarter, it's Dusty time. He starts to shine and then delivers in the most AWESOME fashion.

Offline cub

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 7319
  • "Tigertime!"
    • bantigertrade
He can hear retirement a knockin

Offline Slipper

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 1942
  • For We're From Tigerland
This time last year I'd have swapped a flag for Rance retiring after we won it.

His life and his choice, but I think we will find that he will stick around. You don't need money to make a positive contribution in this life, but it helps, and I am sure that if he stops and thinks about it, he will realise that the money he earns in the next few years will help him achieve what he wants to once his playing days are over.

Offline Hard Roar Tiger

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 7504
He's a legend, football will already have judged him this way so anything else that he (or we) gets out of football becomes a bonus from this point forward.
“I find it nearly impossible to make those judgments, but he is certainly up there with the really important ones, he is certainly up there with the Francis Bourkes and the Royce Harts and the Kevin Bartlett and the Kevin Sheedys, there is no doubt about that,” Balme said.

Offline Francois Jackson

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 13409
He's a legend, football will already have judged him this way so anything else that he (or we) gets out of football becomes a bonus from this point forward.

correct.

Currently a member of the Roupies, and employed by the great man Roup.

Offline Rodgerramjet

  • OER - CONTRIBUTOR
  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 2000
  • Never cast pearls before swine.
I think he is angleing for more money now through a contract extention. He has two years to go on his current contract heaven forbid, why bring it up now? it's not even relevent yet, unless he's trying to get someone to look at the possibility of an extention of the existing contract, perhaps another two years which would make it 3-4 year contract renegotiated with an increase on existing payments. He wants more money, he's not going anywhere.
The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.

Offline yandb

  • RFC Hall of Fame
  • *****
  • Posts: 722
  • For We're From Tigerland
If I recall rightly huge money wasn't a priority on his last contract.

If money was a priority he probably would have taken other contracts up as he is worth much more than we are paying him.