Alex Rance

[turk-d-tiger]

I think he has been contemplating this for a while and as others have mentioned it was pretty much the clubs request he reconsider it and make the call at the end of the year rather than the B & F

I think we will take a kid like Sharman or Hilder in the upcoming draft and we will move on

We moved on from Richo and we will move on from Rance

He is a Richmond great and will always be remembered as such

 

[22nd Man]

Not a big rap for any type of religion as I just think they're all cults in some way, shape or form.
I do however respect everyone's right to believe what they wanna believe.

Rancey's mob apparently gave him special dispensation to play professional sport which is something they particularly abhor.
I reckon they could've put the squeeze on him to pull the pin.

Also, don't be surprised if he turns up at Essendon as a development coach

I reckon they were pretty happy with the 10 or 20% of his pay packet.

 

[TigerForce]

Was always going to come unfortunately, there was a lot of rumours around with that weird stalker thing from years back and people don't forget.

Let's hope the media don't start getting hungry on this.

 

[Raoul Juke]

It could possibly have been said already in the 6 pages between your post and here, but my understanding is Jehovah's do not celebrate Birthday or Xmas (Christ's supposed birthday).
Their belief is you shouldn't need a single day to show love and appreciation for someone, it should be done everyday.

Nb my best mate at high school was a Jehovah- i converted him to atheism via heavy metal music and setting a good example.

Yeah someone else mentioned the Jehovah/X-Mas thing -*smile* if i know what they do, but Christmas in Australia tends to just be a time for friend, family and reflection. This was not a planned thing, that much is obvious to me. If i had to guess, I think he has come into the club and asked for a meeting totally out of the blue, announced his retirement & the club almost wouldn't accept it, in shock, & confusion. Told him to take a moment before annoucning it and have a think about it over Xmas. He has then reacted, and taken it into his hands and the media got hold of it. The club made him rush out that weird ass video. The farewell message was totally not planned & just token, flat, *smile*., I dont think the gravity of what he has done has sunk in at all. His farewell msg sounded standard, uninspired and totally not inline with what he has just given up. Did he even mention his teammates? Dimma? He was hardly dressed for the occasion, not club colors - its one of the most WTF sports moments and press conferences ive ever seen. He seemed totally detached to the moment & a million miles away from the animated and energetic injured Rance of the past year -i'd hate to say it but compared to that, he seemed totally disingenuous and a bit vacant. The decision and timing of it seems really unprofessional and selfish. He might have had a "calling", but the club deserved a chance to handle this better. I can only imagine what they are all thinking right now, it seems out of the blue.

#onemoreyear

 

[nqtiger]

Yeah someone else mentioned the Jehovah/X-Mas thing -****** if i know what they do, but Christmas in Australia tends to just be a time for friend, family and reflection. This was not a planned thing, that much is obvious to me. If i had to guess, I think he has come into the club and asked for a meeting totally out of the blue, announced his retirement & the club almost wouldn't accept it, in shock, & confusion. Told him to take a moment before annoucning it and have a think about it over Xmas. He has then reacted, and taken it into his hands and the media got hold of it. The club made him rush out that weird ass video. The farewell message was totally not planned & just token, flat, *smile*., I dont think the gravity of what he has done has sunk in at all. His farewell msg sounded standard, uninspired and totally not inline with what he has just given up. Did he even mention his teammates? Dimma? He was hardly dressed for the occasion, not club colors - its one of the most WTF sports moments and press conferences ive ever seen. He only seemed totally detached to the animated and energetic injured Rance of the past year -i'd hate to say it but compared to that, he seemed totally disingenuous and a bit vacant. The decision and timing of it seems really unprofessional and selfish. He might have had a "calling", but the club deserved a chance to handle this better. I can only imagine what they are all thinking right now, it seems out of the blue.

#onemoreyear

i worked for JW owned company in WA. And no Xmas parties for staff even though we weren’t JW, no Easter celebrations no birthday cakes, weird group, the owners alway took two day off to door knock, when I accepted the role I wasn’t aware of the JW connection until I went to a dealer conference and the dealer manager said your boss is a strange cat, and Fong told me about it.

 

[Tigers of Old]

There were real tears from Alex when the team won the Premiership. Not all happy ones.
He gave it absolutely everything in rehab to get back & play in that flag. When he had to pull the pin weeks out nobody can really imagine how he felt unless you're wearing his shoes.
Those photos with Astbury & Grimes post game were nice but he did look like the outsider despite being 'part' of it. Can't imagine the feeling of missing playing in a Premiership but it must have felt somewhat hollow for him given he was such an integral player for so many years. He's only human after all.
Anyways, who are we to judge his decision making process? We are the ones who owe him a great deal of debt for the joy he has brought us over the years.
I only wish him happiness.

 

[Raoul Juke]

i worked for JW owned company in WA. And no Xmas parties for staff even though we weren’t JW, no Easter celebrations no birthday cakes, weird group, the owners alway took two day off to door knock, when I accepted the role I wasn’t aware of the JW connection until I went to a dealer conference and the dealer manager said your boss is a strange cat, and Fong told me about it.

I'd hate to say it but bsed on how this has been handled, I think we are only seeing the backbone to this story. Can't help but feel the JW community has applied pressure on him to get more involved and anointed him in some way . World is having this strange moment where religion is worming its way back into powerful positions like Govts' etc. Would not be surprised if the JW see him as being key to their move forward. Religion is a weird ass thing. Id be stunned if there was any PED issue - that would be harshly felt in the afl community. Somewhere inbetween James Hird & Lance Armstrong on the "gross" scale

 

[fastin bulbous]

Nothing wrong with not wanting to play football anymore. No reason to create conspiracy theories or yoko stories. Feeling better about being alive is a good enough reason. I’ll miss him and wish him all the best.

 

[UKTiger]

We know or defence can work well without out Alex as we proved in 2019 but that doesn't alter the fact he will be truly missed, the great champion he is. He has his beliefs and family that must take priority of anything else so thanks for being on of our greatest Tigers on all time and best wishes for a rewarding future

 

[Raoul Juke]

Nothing wrong with not wanting to play football anymore. No reason to create conspiracy theories or yoko stories. Feeling better about being alive is a good enough reason. I’ll miss him and wish him all the best.

Possibly, but blind freddy can see there is more to this story. The way today was (not) handled is in no way inline with how either Alex nor the club have handled themselves over the past 5 years. It was messy and really insensitive to the fans & i'd think possibly his teammates. Just doesnt seem like this story is close to being completed. It'll come out soon enough. How else can you explain how the retirement of one our all time greats be .... that.

 

[DavidSSS]

Yeah, don't like seeing religion take away a player like Rance before his time.

Not crazy about the timing.

But I reckon part of this is that he was thinking about retiring and the fact that we could win without him might have freed him to make the decision. If we hadn't won after Rance missed just about the whole season, then maybe he would have felt a need to stay and play a couple more years.

I do take a couple of things from this:

Truly an honour to have such a great play for our club, will always be grateful for his contribution. As alluded to in the interview with Richo, he leaves the club in a much better place than when he arrived.

I think there is respect for his decision, as well as disappointment that he is leaving. I like to think the culture is strong enough to handle Rance retiring and although we don't just move on, we accept that Rance always had competing interests and that he might one day decide to go, as he has now done.

DS

 

[tigermike]

Wonder if the publisher of the Tigers 2020 Calendar knew something we didn't? Guess who's photo is not on it anywhere...Alex.

 

[tigermike]

Remember there was a convention in Melbourne last month that Alex would definitely have attended...Melbourne and regional Victoria welcomed 50,000 delegates during November as part of the International Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Conventions in any walk of life have speakers that inspire their followers to take action. Perhaps that played a role in Alex's final decision?

 

[Midsy]

I’m sort of ashamed of myself for feeling like I do about this. I should be eternally grateful for what he has achieved and what he has helped turn our Club into - a powerhouse.

But put simply, I’m pissed off with him. It feels selfish on his behalf when he has so much more to give - for himself, the Club and the fans.

And the fact that I think religion is a load of w**k doesn’t soften the blow. He’s been given an extraordinary gift, presumably by his God, and he’s choosing not to use it to its maximum.

I know there are a host of counter arguments, and fundamentally what I think means diddly squat, but geez I’m annoyed at the moment.

Pull ya finger out Rancey - you of all people deserve to be a dual Premiership player.

 

[23.21.159]

Midsy encapsulates how I feel about this.
Hawk supporting mate of mine posted on a social media thread about Rance's retirement "Chris Mew, 5-time premiership player".
I take his point and Mew was a great player, but Rance walked into a basket-case.
I wonder how many flags Alex Rance would walk away with if he joined Richmond now.

 

[seven]

I can handle the religion angle without understanding it but the family one doesn't win me over.

There has to be more to this.
You don’t just throw a $800,000 job away and a chance to play in another grand final because of family and plans to travel.

 

[Smoking Aces]

I find the absence of Hardwick in all of this a little unusual.

 

[Smoking Aces]

There has to be more to this.
You don’t just throw a $800,000 job away and a chance to play in another grand final because of family and plans to travel.

You do if you follow his faith.

It’s very different to what we most know.

 

[tie gar]

I demand an investigation in to this immediately. Not happy Jan!

 

[Birdman19]

The RFC needs to build a statue of him outside the Punt Road Oval.