Jack Riewoldt says Alex Rance is loving life away from footy
Richmond players’ social media silence after Alex Rance’s shock retirement caught the eye of footy media and fans. But Jack Riewoldt says there was a simple explanation.
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Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt says his former premiership teammate Alex Rance is relishing his life after football.
Riewoldt revealed he had been in contact with the five-time All-Australian today and said Rance was loving his freedom away from the AFL.
Rance dropped a bombshell in December last year when he announced he was walking away from football to focus on his family and faith.
“I spoke to Rancey this morning and he is doing really great,” Riewoldt said.
“He said he was happy to be training when he wants to train and happy to go home from work when he wants to go home from work.
“He is in a great space and obviously it was a bit of a surprise to a lot of people, but he is doing really well and I think he is really enjoying life after footy.”
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Asked if he thought Rance would ever play football again, Riewoldt said it was not something he was concerned about — only Rance’s happiness.
“Do I think he will play again? I have got no idea,?” Riewoldt said.
“I am not focused on whether he is going to play again for us or for local footy or anything like that, I’m just happy that he is happy. “
Riewoldt said he had been amazed at the attention the Richmond players received not coming out publicly to pay tribute immediately after the champion defender’s retirement.
“(I made) a lot less (of it) than what everyone else made of it,” Riewoldt said.
“I think the coach was quoted on the fact that we’d rather have a phone call or a face-to-face and tell him how much we love him rather than spread it all viral through social media.
“We’ve got an amazing connection at this football club that I think is unrivalled in the AFL and we show our support that way and we will continue to do that.”
Riewoldt admitted it had been a strange feeling not having Rance around at the club over the pre-season.
“I suppose it has been a little bit weird, to be honest. He is such a vibrant character, he has brought so much to this football club,” Riewoldt said.
“We have got a lot of guys that have come out of their shells and been themselves because they have followed in his footsteps.”
As the Tigers prepare for life without Rance, Riewoldt predicted his fellow forward Tom Lynch has set himself up for a big year in 2020 after his impressive first season with the club.
“I’m really excited about what Lynchy can bring to the team this year,” Riewoldt said.
“It was touch and go whether he was going to play last year. To be honest, I was pretty surprised that we did end up playing him and then (for him) to play every game and have the impact that he did, it has set himself up for the second year here at the football club and one that could be extremely exciting.
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“He is a great young talent, arguably one of the best young key forwards in the competition … he could have another fantastic year this year.
“Last year we did not see him in the main group until basically the week of Round 1, he’s had an unscathed pre-season, he is looking really fit, you can see that he’s mentally fresh and ready to go and he’s super excited about what the season holds.”
Originally published as Jack Riewoldt says Alex Rance is loving life away from footy