Alex Rance memories, best games, legacy & all-time key defender ranking [merged]

[one-eyed]

Alex Rance’s 10 best AFL games

Tim Michell
Herald Sun
19 December 2019

In a career which spanned 200 games and was headlined by a premiership and five consecutive All-Australian blazers, Alex Rance gave Richmond fans plenty of memories to savour.

From his involvement in the drought-breaking premiership to his breakout games as a 21-year-old in 2011, Rance established himself as one of the key defenders of the modern era.

These are his best 10 individual performances, as rated by Champion Data.

Round 2, 2015: 156 ranking points v Western Bulldogs

Rance had 28 disposals (11 contested) and reeled in 13 marks in a 19-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

How we reported it: If the Tiges didn’t have Alex Rance they might have lost by 10 goals. The out-of-contract defender gave Tom Boyd the sort of hiding that shatters the confidence of young players. Rance not only annihilated Boyd, he wreaked havoc charging off halfback. With 28 possessions and 13 marks, he couldn’t have done much more yesterday, except perhaps name his price. — Sam Edmund


Alex Rance beats then Bulldog Jake Stringer to the ball in Round 2, 2015. Picture: Colleen Petch.



Round 15, 2015: 155 ranking points v Carlton

Rance hauled in eight marks, had 10 one per centres and 22 possessions as Richmond led at every change in a 30-point win over the Blues.

How we reported it: Rance was the dominant figure on the ground with 18 first-half possessions, torching Henderson. Rance looked unbeatable in one-on-one contests and in the third term had to be dragged back to the goalsquare by Henderson in an attempt to curb the star Tiger’s impact — Jay Clark


The Herald Sun’s report on Richmond’s Round 15, 2015 win over Carlton.



Round 17, 2013: 148 ranking points v Fremantle

The Tigers defender had 30 possessions, five tackles, five rebound-50s and 16 marks in a herculean performance against the Dockers. Fremantle’s key forwards had little impact as Richmond scored a 27-point victory.

How we reported it: Was this 27-point victory, achieved through the defensive brilliance of Alex Rance and the heroics of Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt, the scalp Richmond needed? Who really cares? Not the Richmond fans still roaring out the ‘‘yellow and black’’ refrain from their theme song half an hour after the victory.


Alex Rance surges clear of a tackle against Fremantle in Round 17, 2013.


Round 4, 2016: 146 ranking points v West Coast

West Coast crushed the Tigers by 68 points and you dread to think what the damage would have been if not for Rance. He had 11 marks and 26 disposals in the heavy defeat.


Round 19, 2016: 145 ranking points v GWS Giants

Greater Western Sydney handed Richmond an 88-point drubbing in a game largely played in the Tigers’ defensive half at Manuka Oval. The damage was largely done by the Giants’ mid-sized forwards as Rance contributed 26 disposals, nine marks (including five contested) and 17 intercepts.

How we reported it: While Dustin Martin led the team statistics with 28 disposals and six tackles, Alex Rance was the only other Tiger who could walk off the field content with his game — Neil Cordy.


Round 17, 2011: 135 ranking points v Gold Coast

A 21-year-old Rance was a shining light in a shock loss for the Tigers with 25 possessions and nine one-percenters.


Round 21, 2011: 132 ranking points v Sydney

The Tigers surged clear of the Swans in the second half and Rance was a key architect, tallying six marks and 24 possessions. Most importantly, he blanketed Adam Goodes after the Brownlow medallist put on a clinic the week before.

How we reported it: Campbell is clearly a genius because Rance played one of the best games of his career, limiting Goodes to one goal and collecting an impressive 24 possessions. While Trent Cotchin and Bachar Houli were prolific for the Tigers, the fact Goodes was a non-factor for Sydney was massive in determining the result — Scott Gullan.


Alex Rance’s breakout game came in Round 21, 2011 against Sydney when he was given a job on Adam Goodes.


Round 9, 2013: 128 ranking points v Essendon

The Bombers led at every change on their way to a 29-point win but Rance was a standout with eight marks and 19 possessions.


Round 2, 2012: 127 ranking points v Collingwood

Rance had a career-high 34 disposals and took 17 marks in a game Collingwood won by 21 points, surviving a last-quarter fightback from the Tigers.

How we reported it: Harry O’Brien had 10 rebound 50s and played with his customary bounce, Swan and Pendlebury finished with a lazy 61 disposals between them and Cloke worked up the ground, pumping it inside the arc nine times despite the best efforts of Alex Rance.


Round 21, 2016: 126 ranking points v Geelong

The Cats were victorious in a thriller by four points despite kicking 10.22 to 12.6. Rance did his best to hold Geelong at bay with 20 possessions and nine marks.

How we reported it: With Tom Hawkins being destroyed by Alex Rance, Chris Scott swung Harry Taylor and then Lachie Henderson forward in a final roll of the dice — Sam Edmund


Alex Rance beats then Geelong small forward Lincoln McCarthy to a mark in Round 21, 2016.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/retiring-richmond-star-alex-rances-10-best-games-as-ranked-by-champion-data/news-story/b7d18c0a0bf629def37074c7203f944f

[one-eyed]

This is how Alex Rance helped reinvent his position, and defined an era of defenders

Max Laughton
FOX SPORTS
December 19, 2019 11:45am

Richmond proved in 2019 it can win a premiership without Alex Rance.

But that does not mean the Tigers won’t miss the greatest defender of this era; and arguably one of the greatest defenders, period.

It is impossible to compare the great defenders from different eras because the game has changed so much. They might both be fullbacks, but the way Stephen Silvagni played on his man is so different to the way Rance ran a defensive unit, it’s like comparing Caleb Daniel to Max Gawn.

But in a way that’s the key point supporting Rance’s status as a defensive great; his talents have redefined his position.

Rance has been the core of the Tigers’ defence for some time now, earning five consecutive All-Australian nominations between 2014 and 2018. He was particularly important in the middle of the decade when there was less talent around him.

As North Melbourne champion David King told Foxfooty.com.au, he changed the way defenders play the game. Nowhere is this more evident than in his intercepting stats.

Averaging 7.9 intercept possessions across the last 10 years, Rance ranks number one in the competition. He has essentially created a role as both a dominant key defender in one-on-one situations and as an attacking force out of the back half.

Between 2012, when one-on-one contests began to be measured by Champion Data, and 2017 no player defended more of said contests than Rance. He lost just 21 per cent of them, good for sixth-best in the AFL.

To succeed at such a rate when copping such a volume of chances to be beaten is what makes Rance so impressive.

As the Tigers adapted in the back half of this decade, so did Rance. The team improved when it became less predictable; Rance’s score involvements went down every year between 2015 and 2018, but primarily because other defenders were finally contributing.

Consider his 2016 season as an example. Richmond slid down the ladder, but Rance stood up, averaging 9.3 intercepts - more than one a game more than closest rivals Jeremy McGovern and Dane Rampe.

Mind you, that was in an 8-14 side that finished 13th. He was the only Tigers player to rank in the top 45 in the AFL in for intercepts.

When Richmond soared to the flag a year later, Rance averaged 9.4, but he also had David Astbury (6., Brandon Ellis (5.64) and Dylan Grimes (5.2) with him in the top 30 overall.

Rance ranks second among key defenders in AFL Player Ratings between 2009 and 2019 (12.0), 12th for disposals (16.6), second for intercept possessions (7.5), second for intercept marks (2.2) and fifth for spoils (6.6).

Keep in mind that includes his difficult early seasons, where he was maligned for his ball use and was still growing into his role.

Still, he helped Richmond grow into the defensive force it is now. Since 2009, the Tigers have scored 862 points from his intercept possessions, third of any key defender in that period.

Rance defined a style of play that has defined this era. That is the definition of an all-time great.

“I know we go crazy when we make comparisons between players, but he has got to start being pushed up into the same conversation alongside the likes of Matthew Scarlett and Stephen Silvagni,” Essendon great Tim Watson said in 2017 on SEN.

“I know the game is played differently but he has, to my mind, more impact on a game defensively than those guys because of the way the game is played.”

Hall of Fame football writer Mike Sheahan agreed.

“No doubt, I agree with that. He is a better mark than Scarlett,” he said.

"I’m amazed at how good Rance is. I remember having the view that he was a bit sloppy but he is a brilliant player."

RANCE’S MASTERY OF INTERCEPTS

2018 (24 games): No.1 for total intercepts, No.1 for intercepts per game

2017 (25 games): No.1 for total intercepts, No.2 for intercepts per game

2016 (20 games): No.3 for total intercepts, No.1 for intercepts per game

2015 (23 games): No.1 for total intercepts, No.4 for intercepts per game

2014 (18 games): No.4 for intercepts per game

Stats via Footywire

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/alex-rance-retirement-afl-2020-rance-statistical-impact-alex-rance-stats-intercepts-key-defender-statistics-impact-on-richmond/news-story/fdd4a5c81e848a076b38f3d136692dea

[one-eyed]

How Rance became a superstar defender

Chris Cavanagh
Herald Sun
19 December 2019

From a speculative draftee with a shaky kick to one of the best defenders of the modern era. The career of Alex Rance was quite the ride, with plenty of bumps in between.

Check out the full timeline of Rance’s decorated career:

2007

Selected by Richmond at No. 18 as a priority pick in the 2007 national draft, Rance was recruited from WAFL club Swan Districts. The defender was fresh off winning a premiership for Western Australia at the under-18 national championships and was named an All-Australian from that carnival, catching the eye with his signature dash out of defence.


Alex Rance at the AFL Draft camp in 2007.

2008

Rance played his first game for Coburg’s VFL reserves team and went on to spend his entire first season with Richmond’s VFL affiliate, then coached by Jade Rawlings. There he developed his game as the year progressed, Rawlings remarking at the time that Rance’s skill level often let him down but by season’s end he was producing “admirable” performances.

2009

Rance made his AFL debut against Geelong in Round 2, logging 18 disposals and six marks. He described his debut at the time as a big “step up” but “not a bad start to my career”. The Tigers lost to the Cats by 20 points at Kardinia Park that day, but Rance would celebrate his first win just three weeks later against North Melbourne and played 15 games in his debut season.


Alex Rance in 2009.

2010

New Richmond coach Damien Hardwick did some experimenting with Rance, sending him into attack at different times. In just his 18th AFL game, Rance kicked three goals from 12 disposals against Fremantle in Round 5. However he would play just 10 AFL games that season and did not celebrate a win, both Rance and Richmond weighing up their options at the trade table at season’s end.

2011

Undoubtedly Rance’s breakout season, he played in Round 1 for the first time and finished the year having lifted his average disposals from 12.1 to 18.2 a game. Rance played 19 matches and ranked second behind Bachar Houli for total marks at the Tigers, all while dealing with a friend who turned into a stalker in an infamous case that ended up in court two years later.

2012

After a confidence-boosting 2011 campaign, Rance took further strides forward with his game. He logged 34 disposals against Collingwood in Round 2 and polled the first Brownlow Medal votes of his career with a three-vote game against Port Adelaide in Round 6 on his way to playing all 22 games for the season to finish sixth in the club’s best and fairest count.

2013

Rance started the season poorly, but did not let it get him down and continued to ask coaches for the big jobs on the best opposition forwards. He had seven goals kicked on him by Collingwood’s Travis Cloke in Round 4, but in Round 19 held Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin to just one goal.

2014

After missing five games early in the season with a broken foot suffered in a cycling mishap, Rance stamped himself as one of the elite defenders in the competition. By mid-season, Hardwick had declared “I don’t think there is a better one-on-one player in the competition” when discussing Rance, who earnt All-Australian honours for the first time. Rance revealed years later that he had first considered giving away the game at the end of 2014, saying his “mind was made up” to see out his 2015 contract before hanging up the boots.


There were plenty of immersing battles between Rance and Swans superstar Lance Franklin. Picture: Michael Klein

2015

On field, Rance maintained his status as one of the AFL’s premier defenders. Off it, speculation dominated the headlines about his future with reports emerging late in the year that he was considering retirement. However, Rance had penned a four-year contract extension in June before winning Richmond’s best-and-fairest for the first time and earning All-Australian selection for a second time later in the year.

2016

On the back of his best-and-fairest triumph the previous year, Rance was elevated to the Tigers’ five-man leadership group for the first time. He missed two matches for elbowing Melbourne’s Jack Watts in the only suspension of his career, but played every other game for the season and earnt All-Australian honours for a third year on the trot while finishing second in Richmond’s best and fairest. Statistically, 2016 was the best season of Rance’s career.

2017

Elevated from the leadership group to a vice-captain, Rance continued to dominate opposition forwards – except for one. He was soundly beaten by Geelong defender-turned forward Harry Taylor, who booted four goals on him in a Round 21 loss. However, Rance got his revenge in the qualifying final, with Taylor held to eight disposals and one goal. The Tiger went on to play in Richmond’s drought-breaking premiership, finished second in the club’s best-and-fairest once again and was named All-Australian captain. Rance spoke in July, 2017 of being unsure what the future held for him beyond the end of his contract in 2019, saying he “really couldn’t say what I want to do”.

2018

Diving continued to be the only knock on Rance’s decorated career and he was fined $1000 for staging after drawing a free kick in a marking contest against Essendon’s Shaun McKernan. With 18 months still to run on his contract, the Tigers announced in July that Rance had signed a two-year contract extension until the end of 2021. At the time, the defender said “never have I spent a time in my life where I’ve enjoyed work so much”. Rance won All-Australian honours for a fifth time in as many years at season’s end.

2019

A durable player throughout his career, injury disaster struck Rance against Carlton in Round 1 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The season-opener had been the 200th game of his career. Rance resumed running in June with hope of a remarkable late-season return. However, in the first week of August he abandoned that bid, declaring he would not put his hand up to play again for the season. On December 19, he told teammates of his decision to retire with two years to run on his contract.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/how-richmond-defender-alex-rance-became-a-superstar-full-career-timeline/news-story/2f7657bd8448f3087c960bd797898386

[one-eyed]

Silvagni, Scarlett, Dench, Fletcher & Rance: How the retired Tiger compares to all-time greats

Josh Gabelich
FOX SPORTS
December 19, 2019 12:59pm

Alex Rance won’t be returning from a knee reconstruction in 2020. The Richmond superstar has retired. That will take some time to sink in, especially if you bleed yellow and black.

Just when everyone was preparing to see the five-time All-Australian back in action, the 30-year-old has shocked the football world.

But following that announcement, we can now assess how the five-time All-Australian stacks up against the best defenders in the history of the game. Or at least try to.

Before there was Rance, there was Matthew Scarlett. And before there was Scarlett, there was Stephen Silvagni.

The Carlton legend was named at full back in the team of the 20th century in 1996, two years before Scarlett entered the AFL and when Rance was just six years old.

Before then, North Melbourne champion David Dench and Carlton great Geoff Southby were two of the best in the business.

But just like in any sport, it is impossible to compare one era to the next.

Five-time Hawthorn premiership star Dermott Brereton doesn’t think you can compare Rance and Scarlett’s generations because of how much the game has changed in recent years, let alone look back any further.

“It is such a difficult one to ascertain these days because the likes of Dench, Langford, Silvagni, Southby they all played on men and they all played in backlines where they had five teammates and five other opponents,” Brereton told foxsports.com.au.

“The game is different now, but in his own era, he has been the best at the way that position has been played. His ability to come off his opponent and predict and get to where the ball drops has been his greatest weapon. He will go down as an all-time great.”

This is how Rance’s resume stacks up against the other all-time greats:

ALEX RANCE (Richmond)
200 games
2017 premiership
5 x All-Australian (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) – captain in 2017
2015 Jack Dyer Medal
2 x best and fairest runner up (2016, 2017)

STEPHEN SILVAGNI (Carlton)
312 games
2 x premierships (1987, 1995)
5 x All-Australian (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999)
AFL team of the century
Carlton team of the century
Carlton Hall of Fame Legend
2 x John Nicholls Medal (1990, 1996)

MATTHEW SCARLETT (Geelong)
284 games
3 x premierships (2007, 2009, 2011)
6 x All-Australian (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
2003 Carji Greeves Medal
Matthew Scarlett during his decorated career.
Matthew Scarlett during his decorated career.Source: News Limited

DAVID DENCH (North Melbourne)
275 games
2 x premierships (1975, 1977)
4 x Syd Barker Medal (1971, 1976, 1977, 1981)
North Melbourne team of the century

GEOFF SOUTHBY (Carlton)
268 games
2 x premierships (1972, 1979)
1980 All-Australian
2 x John Nicholls Medal (1971, 1972)
Carlton team of the century
Carlton hall of fame legend

CHRIS LANGFORD (Hawthorn)
303 games
4 x premierships (1986, 1988, 1989, 1991)
2 x All-Australian (1987, 1994)
1993 EJ Whitten Medal

DUSTIN FLETCHER (Essendon)
400 games
2 x premierships (1993, 2000)
2 x All-Australian (2000, 2007)
2000 Crichton Medal

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/how-retired-richmond-great-alex-rance-compares-to-alltime-greats/news-story/bf20fb2f8fa47dfdb79b299375890d34

[one-eyed]

'He was herculean': The day Alex Rance realised his greatness

By Sarah Black
afl.com.au
20 December 2019

SYDNEY is surging in the final quarter, and Richmond's most unlikely of finals charge hangs by a thread.

The year is 2014, the Tigers have won eight games in a row to jump from 16th to ninth, and need one last victory to qualify for September, a month that's been largely off-limits for the Tigers for nearly 20 years.

In the frantic final moments, the ball is bombed inside the Swans' forward 50 again and again and again.

Time after time, one man stands strong.

Alex Rance was extraordinary that frantic Saturday evening, repelling every entry with what was fast becoming his trademark desperation and athleticism.

He spoiled, tackled and rebounded. The disposal was a bit iffy at times, including a hair-raising kick out on the full, but that was part and parcel of the Rance package in 2014.



"He's one of the finest players to play at our club, and there's been many great teams and great players, but I just think the way he defends is unique, his assertiveness and his confidence, he's an extraordinary player," club CEO Brendon Gale said after Rance's shock retirement on Thursday.

"He single-handedly won that game, or denied Sydney, at least. He was herculean in the last quarter, it was remarkable."

The Tigers won the match, crashed out the following week against Port Adelaide, but Rance was named All-Australian for the first time and now retires with five consecutive blazers.

But it wasn't always so spectacular. The West Australian landed at Punt Road with pick No.18 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, alongside future skipper Trent Cotchin.

He was a strong-bodied teenager who spent his first season at the club languishing in the twos, and sometimes even the now non-existent thirds, before making his debut in 2009.

He had some rough edges to his game but started to win over the Tiger Army – at the time desperate for any type of positivity or hope – with immense bravery.

Rance's kicking continued to be an issue as his career progressed, in part down to him either biting off more than he could chew, or purely from hurtling from defence and attempting to kick the ball while running a hundred miles an hour.

Damien Hardwick has said, only half in jest, he was prepared to trade Rance for a six-pack of beer when the coach arrived at the club in 2010.

He termed it "Alex Rance moments". The defender would perform some sort of incredible feat, winning a seemingly unwinnable one-on-one contest, before making a questionable decision with ball in hand and turning it over.

Before taking up the senior role at Brisbane, assistant coach Justin Leppistch – himself a champion defender in his time – worked tirelessly with Rance, his potential evident but execution questionable.

Troy Chaplin was another; the veteran Port Adelaide recruit helped develop the game IQ which Rance used to great effect to direct the Tigers' backline in recent years.

Over the last few seasons, he grew in confidence and maturity; not just a full-back, but THE full-back of the competition, one who could take on the likes of Lance Franklin and come out on top.

    Congratulations to Alex Rance on an amazing career. Set the bar as a key defender in the competition and changed how we all had to play! One of the true characters too. Enjoy retirement 🐐
   
           — Phil Davis (@phildavis_1) December 19, 2019

https://www.afl.com.au/news/364618/-he-was-herculean-the-day-alex-rance-realised-his-greatness

[one-eyed]

Legend’s ultimate compliment to Rance

Jay Clark
Herald Sun
20 December 2019

AFL legend Leigh Matthews has labelled Richmond’s Alex Rance the greatest defender of the modern era.

Rance had been widely considered the equal of Geelong champion Matthew Scarlett after the Tigers’ star claimed five-straight All-Australian guernseys and played a starring role in Richmond’s stunning 2017 premiership win.

But Matthews, who is considered one of the most respected judges in the game, said Rance had in fact gone past Scarlett after making the shock decision to retire.

Matthews, who is arguably the game’s greatest ever player and a four-time premiership coach, said Rance’s ability to intercept mark combined with his supreme athleticism was what set him apart.

“I reckon Rance dominated the back 50m even more than Scarlett, and don’t get me wrong, Matty Scarlett was a fantastic full-back,” Matthews told the Herald Sun.

“But just that ability to completely control that part of the ground, has put Rance to the top of the heap.

“I think the modern generation is always better than the previous generation, and Peter Knights (Hawthorn) back in my era was someone who had incredible athleticism.

“But Rance’s athleticism, the way he read the play and his ability to use the footy as well (was outstanding).

“He was a little bit vulnerable one-on-one, so if you took his body (out), he wasn’t as good at that (marking).

“But if he had a little bit of time, and some space to make his own ground, he just smashed them.”

Champion forward Wayne Carey joined in the tributes yesterday saying Rance’s ability to annihilate his opposition in the air made him as good to watch as any of the league’s top goal kickers.

And former Greater Western Sydney captain Phil Davis said the current crop of players had enormous respect for the man who set the standard across the league.

“(He) Set the bar as a key defender in the competition and changed how we all had to play,” Davis said.

While coach Damien Hardwick once joked he considered trading the West Australian for a six-pack of Cornona beers early in his career, Rance blossomed into a top interceptor in 2014, and won the best and fairest the following season.

In 2017, Rance admitted he had some chinks in his game early, as the club considered “what can we get for this athletic, horrible ball user” in the trade period.

“He (Hardwick) says it was Coronas now, but at the time it was Emu Export, something really cheap,” Rance said tongue-in-cheek.

“I wasn’t doing well here and I am sure the club was shopping me around.

“A few clubs were interested but none I pursued wholeheartedly.”

Former Richmond senior coach Terry Wallace said assistant coach Justin Leppitsch deserved a lot of credit for helping shape Rance’s game.

“I always thought he was going to get there. You only had to see him as an under 18 and his ability to read the play,” Wallace said.

“I only had him as a baby, but to me it seemed when Justin Leppitsch got to the club, took him under his wing and played a very similar role as an offensive backman and he tightened up everything about Rance.

“I wasn’t there, but from afar, it seemed like Leppitsch had a massive deal in turning Alex into the player we always believed he could be.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/afl-legend-leigh-matthews-says-retired-tiger-alex-rance-is-the-greatest-defender-of-the-modern-era/news-story/b15423978e752af0aaef8026d341eaa3