Alex Rance was at his best against Carlton, showing why he’s one of the league’s best defendersSam Edmund
Herald-Sun
July 11, 2015WHEN Alex Rance last month decided against a footy-free life of backpacking and religious devotion, we can only imagine the collective groan from the AFL’s elite forwards.
On Friday night at the MCG it was Lachie Henderson who was made to look inept by the competition’s premier defender.
Henderson, Carlton’s go-to forward, was moved to a wing in the last quarter of the Blues’ 30-point loss in a desperate attempt just to get him involved.
Because he couldn’t touch it beside Rance, who was simply supreme. The Tiger defender not only mauled Henderson in the one-on-one’s, but then rubbed his face in it by surging back the other way with the ball in hand.
On a night where both sides found new and comical ways to butcher forward entries, Rance was a picture of polish and assurity.
At half-time, Rance was the leading possession winner on the ground with 18, which included a team-high seven contested possessions and two contested grabs.
Richmond’s full-back wasn’t just a rock in defence, he thought he’d add ‘ball magnet’ to his skill set.
With every Rance act of domination you could see the dollars falling off Henderson’s contract.
If Rance just signed a lucrative four-year deal, this performance won’t exactly fatten the bottom line of Henderson’s.
Yet for three quarters Carlton directed the lion’s share of their forward entries to him, even when the impressive Matthew Kreuzer was lurking inside 50m with Jake Batchelor as an opponent. Henderson’s solitary goal came after his solitary contested mark — in a mismatch on Kamdyn McIntosh.
To be fair to Lachie, Carlton couldn’t hit the side of a barn. There were missed kicks, missed handballs, fumbles, bumbles and every other dysfunctional mistake you could imagine in four quarters that returned just five goals.
Eight minutes into the third quarter, the Blues’ kicking efficiency was as low as 38 per cent. They could only convert one of their first six set shots at goal, with Jason Tutt missing from 35m directly in front.
Rance, meanwhile, operated at 90 per cent efficiency, and his influence only started to wane when his teammates up the ground started to gain a foothold in the contest.
There was a time not so long ago when if Trent Cotchin had a bad first quarter he had a bad game.
But the Tiger captain is a more resolute proposition now.
Cotchin was held to one handball at quarter-time by Andrew Carrazzo, but hit back with vengeance in a second term that saw him gather 10 touches and a goal. He finished with 23.
Brett Deledio was also a class act in a clanger-fest, clean above his head and below his knees in dangerous areas.
http://www.news.com.au/national/alex-rance-was-at-his-best-against-carlton-showing-why-hes-one-of-the-leagues-best-defenders/story-e6frfkp9-1227437563132
