Alex Rance [merged]

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Nice deflection Dimma ......

[Rampsation]

Doing some of his best work right there the coach.

[Yeahright]

For a bunch of players who rather “call Rance than post on social media” they sure do post a lot on social media 🤔

[one-eyed]

alexrance: Can’t wait for this adventure.

https://www.instagram.com/alexrance/

[one-eyed]

Alex Rance’s surprising new sporting pursuit

Fiona Byrne
Herald Sun
February 22, 2020 1:03pm

Richmond star Alex Rance is reportedly setting himself a surprise new sporting challenge after walking away from the AFL bubble.

Rance, who closed the chapter on his decorated footy career in December to focus on his personal life and his business, The Academy, is now understood to be preparing to compete in a triathlon.

The former top Tiger has been training for the endurance test having been spotted getting plenty of miles into his legs on hard runs around particular Melbourne suburbs recently.

The idea of Rance challenging himself with a triathlon is not as random as it may seen.

He competed in triathlons when he was growing up in Perth and is obviously dedicated to his health and fitness.

Last week, Rance made another surprise announcement, that he would be leading a trek to Nepal in November.

The trek, being run by Health and Fitness Holidays and Kokoda Courage will see 20 adventurers trek the Annapurna circuit in the Himalayas with the Richmond great.

The Annapurna Circuit is one of the most famous treks in Nepal. Not surprisingly, the trek is fully sold out.

While Rance’s decision in December to quit footy stunned fans, it was certainly not the first time he had thought about life outside of the AFL.

In 2015, he wrestled with the idea of packing in the game for plans to backpack across the world and focus on his faith.

In a 2018 interview, he said of footy: “Football provides me with so many opportunities to do things, but it also takes away a lot of things.

“To be no-one would be nice for a while.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fiona-byrne/alex-rances-surprising-new-sporting-passion-revealed/news-story/32171d733607ced49eac3621ebe107c6

[JP Tiger]

I've been no-one for ages now, Alex.  It's over rated ....     

[WilliamPowell]

I've been no-one for ages now, Alex.  It's over rated ....     

 

[torch]

OK ... when is he coming back? Mid-Season Draft?

[one-eyed]

Rance was interviewed on RRR this morning.

He didn't rule out returning to footy but he is happy with his life balance right now. He used what he called a "bad" analogy of an alcoholic working in a Dan Murphy's. If he went back to Richmond he would know he would love it so much that his life would go out of balance again.

[one-eyed]

Here's the audio link of Rance:

Listen here: https://www.rrr.org.au/on-demand/segments/breakfasters-alex-rance-tells-us-about-his-kids-book

-----------------------------------------------------------

Alex Rance says coming back ‘would be like an alcoholic working at Dan Murphy’s’

March 2, 2020 1:58pm
by Fox Sports

Former Richmond star Alex Rance isn’t ruling out returning to the AFL, but says doing so would put his life balance completely out of whack.

The Tigers and Rance have both left the door open to a comeback since the five-time All-Australian retired effective immediately at the end of last year.

However the defender suggested on Triple R if he did return to footy, it would “consume” his life, which he doesn’t want.

"I love the game and I love what I have contributed and I am not going to completely rule out the fact that I could come back," Rance said.

"But at this stage I am really happy with the life balance that I have and I don't regret any of my time spent at Richmond because it made me who I am and I am proud of the effort that I put in there to achieve what we did.

"It's a constant thing – this is bad analogy but I am going to use it anyway – it's like being an alcoholic and constantly working at (bottle shop) Dan Murphy's.

"I know that if I go back to playing for Richmond I am going to love it so much and it is going to consume my life and my balance is going to go out again so I am happy where I am at."

Rance has just released a children’s book which is about trying to reconnect with yourself after an injury - which Rance suffered in Round 1 last year, ruling him out for Richmond’s 2019 flag campaign.

He described footy as being “very selfish” if you want to be “great at it”.

"The thing that I want to come through out of this book is constantly be introspective ... I feel like I do have a lot more clarity now. I have got a lot more time,” Rance said.

"Football, to be great at it, it is very selfish and ... it needs to take over your life."

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/alex-rance-says-coming-back-to-footy-would-be-like-an-alcoholic-working-at-dan-murphys/news-story/a2f12329876f5ff3a91ba74657b3f5e0

[Rampsation]

He can do a preseason starting in May and start playing start of August. Win win for everybody.

[one-eyed]

Alex Rance had fuelled comeback speculation. He just poured cold water on that chatter

March 3, 2020 12:25pm
Ben Waterworth
FOX SPORTS

Retired Richmond superstar Alex Rance has moved to quash speculation he could make a sudden comeback to the AFL, saying he’s “good to head off into the sunset”.

The Tigers and Rance in recent months have both left the door slightly ajar for a comeback, ever since the full-back shocked the footy world and retired immediately in December last year.

Promoting his new children’s book, the five-time All-Australian told Triple R radio on Monday he was “not going to completely rule out the fact that I could come back” before adding: “At this stage I am really happy with the life balance that I have.”

Speaking on Nova breakfast program Chrissie, Sam & Browny on Tuesday morning, Rance emphasised he was content with his retirement call.

“Do you know what’s really funny about statements? Context,” Rance told Nova.

“The context of it was that I love football, I love the guys that are there, I love the Richmond Football Club for giving me everything they’ve done over the last 12 years.

“But my life’s good, I’m happy where I’m at, I’m good to head off into the sunset.”

Rance said, physically, he could’ve played “a lot” more years and was initially “busting my tail” to get back to a Grand Final after missing Richmond’s 2019 premiership triumph due to injury.

Asked how he coped with his retirement and the subsequent reaction, Rance said: “The retirement wasn’t so much news for me because I was making the news, but the how everyone took it was all very interesting.

“The people close to me and the people I love and care about, bullet proof, were absolutely fantastic. The wider community that probably didn’t understand and grasp the reasons why, there’s a few differing opinions, which is kind of funny. I just take them for what they are.

“Behind every malicious comment there is always probably a bit of insecurity.

“There’s only so much you can be frustrated about in this world. If you pick everything up then you’re going to be pretty weighed down. So I wasn’t really frustrated.

“I sort of thought that the people close to me that I care about, they know the truth, they know who I am and the values and morals that I have. Everything else doesn’t really bother me.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-alex-rance-richmond-retirement-pours-cold-water-on-comeback-plans/news-story/a118910da2f9d89f85c78725e002baac

[one-eyed]

Could Alex Rance become a “distraction” for Richmond?

By Alex Zaia
SEN
3 March 2020

Retired Richmond champion Alex Rance has left the door ajar for a stunning return to football.

“I love the game and I love what I have contributed, and I am not going to completely rule out the fact that I could come back,” Rance told RRR radio on Monday.

“I know that if I go back to playing for Richmond I am going to love it so much and it is going to consume my life and my balance is going to go out again so I am happy where I am at."

Rance, a five-time All-Australian and premiership player in 2017, hung up the boots in December last year having missed the club’s 2019 premiership campaign due to an ACL injury.

But his recent comments could become a distraction for the Tigers and particularly for coach Damien Hardwick, according to Garry Lyon.

“So he (Hardwick) has ruled it out completely, he is getting on with the job and preparing his side for a tilt at back-to-back premierships. He (Rance) is not in his reckoning,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.

“Does he need the distraction of Alex continuing to say the door is open?”

Tim Watson says if the 30-year-old decided to make a comeback then it can be arranged without disrupting Hardwick’s plans on achieving back-to-back flags.

“He (Hardwick) doesn’t have to worry about it. If Neil Balme rings Alex Rance and said, ‘Listen, I heard that interview that you did yesterday, are you contemplating coming back?'” Watson argued.

“That can all be done, and Damien Hardwick doesn’t have to have to change his view about anything, he doesn’t need to think about it.

“It doesn’t need to be kept in-house.”

Lyon disagreed: “Then that becomes a huge distraction for Richmond. To have Alex Rance hanging over the head of Richmond on whether or not he is going to play again this year.

“If you’re a Richmond supporter, would you be happy to have Alex say, ‘Listen, I’ve kind of half changed my mind. I know you blokes have done all the hard work in the summer and you’ve been busting your guts with each other, we’ve talked about striving to earn your chance in this team, but I might just come back in Round 14’.

“If I’m a senior player there I’m saying, ‘Good on you Alex, great player, you’ve made your decision, now we’re on so we aren’t thinking about you’.

“I don’t reckon that helps Richmond. It’ll get bigger (the distraction) as the season rolls on.”

Hardwick told SEN Breakfast last month he has given up on the prospect of Rance playing in 2020.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/03/02/could-alex-rance-become-a-distraction-for-richmond/

[one-eyed]

The surprise project that was like ‘therapy’ for Rance

Fiona Byrne
Herald Sun
March 8, 2020

Former Richmond champion Alex Rance is turning into a marathon man as he continues to find new passions and challenges in his life post footy.

Additionally he has finally ruled out a return to AFL, saying he was “good to head off into the sunset” and opened up about placing too much importance on footy to the detriment of other aspects of his life.

Marathons are part of his new sporting goals as are pushing his endurance in triathlons.

Rance, who shocked footy fans by calling time on his glittering career in December, said he had placed too much importance on football and described writing his latest book, Monkey’s Tale, as a form of therapy.

“This one was almost a therapy of sorts when I was struggling through last year and I wanted to put some things down on paper of how I was feeling,” Rance told ABC Radio Melbourne’s Raf Epstein.

“It was actually really good for me to work out what I was prioritising in my life because clearly football was the centre and everything in my life when it probably shouldn’t have been.

“There should have been probably a bit more balance about my life.

“When I looked at my life and I looked at the time and energy that I dedicated to it (football), whether it was physical training or emotional training or emotional investment, it was highly focused on how good I wanted the team to be and how I wanted my own performance to be rather than the time and energy I put into my family and my faith and different things like that and it became very evident once that part of my life was not what it was before.”

Rance, who is a Jehovah’s Witness and whose marriage to his wife Georgia ended last year, admitted his decision to walk away from footy did not come easily but had given him greater clarity.

“It has given me great confidence now to know that I have achieved all that I have in football imagine if I put that into my family, imagine if I put that into my other business, The Academy, if I put that amount of focus and energy into my spirituality, into whatever it might be, how good could that be? What could I achieve?”

Rance will lead a sold out trek to Nepal in November.

While he has quit the club he is still a tiger at heart and will be watching Richmond’s first round clash with Carlton on March 19.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fiona-byrne/the-surprise-project-that-was-like-therapy-for-rance/news-story/05c42fbafb1803352bcfa230432f1e1b

[Andyy]

Good, thanks for stringing us along. Now bugger off and do your thing!