Daniel Rioli, Jack Riewoldt pays tribute to locker buddy Alex Rance
It’s taken several weeks, but Tiger teammates are now publicly commenting on the departure of star defender Alex Rance.
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A second Tiger star has paid tribute to Alex Rance after the five-time All-Australian’s shock retirement in December.
Young gun Daniel Rioli broke the Tiger’s perceived silence, posting a tribute to Rance on Monday night to congratulate the team leader and mentor, whose locker was next to his in the Tiger’s changing room.
“Just wanted to congratulate this guy on an incredible career,” Rioli wrote sharing some photos of the teammates on and off the field.
“Thank you for being such a good teammate and leader for us. Gonna miss you as my locker buddy love ya bro.”
Co vice-captain Jack Riewoldt became the second Tiger to publicly comment on Rance’s departure when he made a heartfelt post on New Year’s Day.
“I still actually haven’t figured out what it’s going to be like not having you around the club,” Riewoldt wrote.
“A void that no person can fill, on and off the field.
“I’m not overly religious, so it’s something that I don’t completely understand on the level that you do. But if it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”
The post ended with Riewoldt saying he was proud of Rance for staying true to himself.
“We will miss you, Tigerland will miss you, I will miss you,” he said.
The football world reached fever pitch this week after it was revealed Alex Rance had split with his wife.
Plenty within AFL circles wondered why the star defender’s teammates had not come out in his support after Rance’s shock retirement earlier this month.
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Last week the Herald Sun revealed Rance, a devout Jehovah’s Witness and his wife of almost eight years Georgia had broken up.
It was the second shock involving the 2017 premiership player this month.
The 30-year-old said he was hanging up his boots at the Richmond Football Club to focus on his faith and family.