How Richmond defender Alex Rance became a superstar, full career timeline

Tiger fans used to have their hearts in their mouths whenever he got the ball early in his career. Now, Alex Rance leaves the game as one of the greatest defenders of the modern era.

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:

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Alex Rance has called time on his 200-game 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.

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 at the AFL Draft camp in 2007.

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.

Alex Rance in 2009.

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.

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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.

Originally published as How Richmond defender Alex Rance became a superstar, full career timeline