Alex Rance v Matthew Scarlett: Jon Ralph examines who really is the fullback of the century
IT took four All-Australians and an Anzac eve clinic for Dimma to publically refer to Alex Rance as the fullback of the century. But is he forgetting a man by the name of Matthew Scarlett? Have your say on the ultimate debate.
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“FULLBACK of the century.”
It took four All-Australian nods and a stellar Tuesday night game from Alex Rance, but finally Damien Hardwick dropped the phrase this week.
As he lauded Jack Riewoldt’s ability to fight multiple opponents, he couldn’t help also paying Rance the ultimate accolade.
“And then you have got the fullback of the century in Alex. I just marvel at what he can do and how he can win the ball and start our offence as well,” Hardwick said.
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“I am very lucky to have those guys playing for me.”
Rance might one day be this century’s best defender. Heck, he might end up the best fullback of all time.
But just like NBA finals opponents once had to go through Michael Jordan’s Chicago to seize the title, he still has to beat Matthew Scarlett to deserve this century’s defensive mantle.
Why?
One word: longevity.
It is debatable whether a defender has put together a 91-game stretch like Rance, the All-Australian fullback these past four seasons.
But as Geelong fans will tell you, Scarlett did it for a decade or more.
From his second placing in the 2001 Geelong best-and-fairest until his All-Australian selection in 2011, his second-last season, he was unsurpassed.
Not only does he boast six All-Australian seasons but also three other years where he finished second, second and fourth in Geelong’s best-and-fairest count.
Rance has only three straight seasons — 2011 to 2013 — of sixth placings in the Jack Dyer Medal until he exploded onto the competition in 2014.
Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams has a unique perspective on both players. He coached Rance at Richmond and coached against Scarlett at his peak.
He says they are impossible to split, both in their make-up as match-winners and their individual quirks.
But he concedes Scarlett’s longevity sets a bar that Rance is still striving for.
“They are very close,” Williams tells the Sunday Herald Sun.
“They are both unbelievable winners of the ball but Rance’s ability to get up the ground and off his man, his drop-off marking is as good as I have ever seen.
“Having watched Scarlett over the years, he not only commanded an area but also he had a presence which just made everyone feel very comfortable and self-assured.
“He had such an influence on other people and what they delivered. Rance’s ability to win the one-on-one is amazing. Last year there were a few times where players like Jackson Trengove tagged him.
“When a club goes out of their way to take away the influence of a fullback, that is the measure of him.
“Early days he committed catastrophic turnovers, real brain fades. But he is so much more consistent with his decision making and he is such an influence on the rest of the group.”
Rance was famously nearly traded early in Hardwick’s reign as the Tigers attempted to find him his right position.
That trio of sixth-place finishes behind Dan Jackson, Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin came after two years of quiet early returns — in effect it was a five-year apprenticeship.
Scarlett arrived as a father-son selection for the 1998 season, debuted in the last round, played five games in 1999 then by 2000 was a Rising Star nominee in a season of 21 games.
In some ways he paved the way for Rance’s attacking game, playing on the best forwards yet still averaging almost 20 possessions until later playing as an attacking third tall.
Rance just plays as the deepest defender, yet as Kevin Bartlett often says, he is so skilled he beats his own man then every other man around him, too.
Rance hasn’t played on the AFL’s greatest forwards like Carlton champion Stephen Silvagni but is more explosive and a better mark than Scarlett and Silvagni.
Silvagni was allowed to chop arms and scrag under the rules of the era but played against seven of the top 14 AFL goalkickers of all time, including Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall and Gary Ablett.
He was also good enough to go forward and kick 22 goals in a five-match period in 1997, finishing with more than 200 AFL goals.
Scarlett did it all, and was such a ball winner in one 13-week period in 2009 that he had 30 possessions four times and more than 26 touches in three other games.
Five consecutive All-Australian nominations for Rance would be special.
Silvagni was All-Australian in five seasons out of six (for five total), while Scarlett earned six selections in total, including three in four years.
For perspective on Gary Ablett Jr’s brilliance, he was All-Australian eight years in a row (2007-2014).
Williams finds it impossible to separate Scarlett and Rance given their sheer brilliance.
“You are splitting hairs at the moment. Who cares, if they are both one and two. They are both right up there,” he says.
“Scarlett was different and so is Rance. Whether it’s about him retiring next week or sliding down the middle of the training room on his guts in speedos or washing car windows in Victoria St, he is just different.
“But then again Scarlo was different as well. They are both geniuses, and unique people come in different packages.”
As the Tigers prepare to take on Collingwood’s much-vaunted new offensive set-up this week, Rance is far from alone.
As the confetti rained down at Punt Road the day after Richmond’s premiership, Rance was asked if he could get better.
His answer was that he was really only interested in making sure his teammates got better.
In intercepting centre-half back David Astbury and mid-sized shutdown defender Dylan Grimes, he couldn’t have a better defensive entourage.
Even as he was being praised on Tuesday night on Fox Footy, he deflected to his teammates.
“It is such a weight off your shoulders, you don’t feel like you have to win a game off your own boot. I thought Dylan Grimes and David Astbury were phenomenal,” he said.
“They provide so much support for me and I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
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