Alex Rance | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Alex Rance

Harry

Tiger Legend
Mar 2, 2003
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Week after week I watch him in awe and now realise I miss watching him so much.
We have been extremely privileged to witness a legend of the AFL and Richmond FC and really hope we see him back to his best very soon. I will be telling my grand children about this guy
Yep. Best player I have watched in a richmond jumper.
 

Punt n Brunton

Tiger Purist
Sep 17, 2003
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Maybe it's an attempt to stop mundane reporters trudging out the same old unimaginative question to any Richmond coach, player or official for the rest of the year, "is Alex any chance of playing before the end of the year?"
 

Harry

Tiger Legend
Mar 2, 2003
24,445
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Maybe it's an attempt to stop mundane reporters trudging out the same old unimaginative question to any Richmond coach, player or official for the rest of the year, "is Alex any chance of playing before the end of the year?"
Hope so. Bit concerned he wasn't on the front bar though.
 
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zippadeee

Tiger Legend
Oct 8, 2004
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If walks away from the game.
It would allow us to attack the market.
No rance, grigg, most likely no ellis and houli.
2 new players
 

Baron Samedi

Tiger Champion
Apr 20, 2016
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Alas, it’s fantasy.

Every campaign is different. Alex has missed a year’s worth of tactical evolution, which already poses enough incremental problems for the coaching staff and players in the ever-changing game of chess that is AFL footy.

Dimma might yearn for Alex’s mammoth presence come September, but deep down he will be loathe to mess with the system, cohesion and momentum that will be built over the coming weeks.

And we are more system-oriented, and this more vulnerable to frequent personnel changes, than almost every other club.

Add to that the small, but in my opinion unacceptable risk of ANY comeback injury. Even a hammy will upset his pre season and leave us a man down in an EF.

Rance is a 2020 promise for me now. It’s just not gonna happen this year.
 
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Don’t Argue

Tiger Superstar
Jun 22, 2019
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Let’s be very clear about this. Rance is a once in a generation defender. He could miss every team meeting and still beat his man. To even hint that he may be out of sinc with the team is lunacy. He makes everyone walk taller and would be a huge moral boost if he made it back. His body is a different story altogether.
 
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Baron Samedi

Tiger Champion
Apr 20, 2016
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Let’s be very clear about this. Rance is a once in a generation defender. He could miss every team meeting and still beat his man. To even hint that he may be out of sinc with the team is lunacy. He makes everyone walk taller and would be a huge moral boost if he made it back. His body is a different story altogether.

He’ll be as rusty as all get out. You can train all you want but games are different as we all know.

You don’t take these risks in an elimination final.

A qualifying final? Maybe.
 
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spook

Kick the f*ckin' goal
Jun 18, 2007
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Melbourne
Whether the prognosis has changed or not, putting Alex on the LTI takes the air out of the speculation and eliminates a distraction. The rest of the group must prepare in the belief he won't be back this year, because that's highly likely to be the scenario. Them holding out hope for his return only sets them up for a let down when he doesn't. This way, if he does they get a boost, if he doesn't they are prepared.

It's a damn shame. West Coast are the team to beat and he is our best option for both Kennedy and Darling. We tend to play him on Kennedy because JK is too quick for Dave (who tends to take the resting ruckman), but he'd destroy Darling, who in turn has proved too strong in the air and body to body for Broad, while we've played Grimes on a small.

Balta is the key. He has a lot to learn, especially as a defender, but I just don't see anyone else capable of going with Kennedy or Darling. Possibly Grimes on Darling, who would lose Noah in traffic, and keep it simple for Balta: JK's back shoulder, keep up, punch. DTLD read and intercept wherever possible.
 
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The_General

It's been a very hard working from home
Staff member
May 4, 2004
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Does his salary against the cap change if on the LTIL? Maybe we're creating some cap room so we can spend it next year.
 

zippadeee

Tiger Legend
Oct 8, 2004
39,639
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Does his salary against the cap change if on the LTIL? Maybe we're creating some cap room so we can spend it next year.

Of course it does.
We have too much money caught up on 6 players
Jack prestia lynch rance martin and cotchin.
We need to 'deledio' one of them.
 

Don’t Argue

Tiger Superstar
Jun 22, 2019
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It's a very complicated situation, knees done early in the year always are.

The LTI listing is irrelevant, theoretically you could get permission to bring someone back a week or two earlier anyway, especially when they have missed the length of time Rance will have.

The issues they will be weighing up are around risk v reward. Were Rance to re-injure the knee he will miss 2 years of football and more than likely end his career, so you have to be really certain about the plan.

Working in his favour is the number of training years under his belt, which will mean he can quickly regain the level of fitness required to play at the level, touch being another issue of course. The risk of soft tissue injury after a lay-off when returning at high intensity is also high.

What they will be monitoring are the levels of atrophy in his leg muscles and the program required to regain full strength, any changes to his gait and the strength and stability of the joint. All of those things bring about a risk of either soft tissue, re-injury to the knee or a secondary injury to his 'good' knee.

The other issue to consider will be the theory held in some circles that the graft itself tends to be at its weakest at around the 25 week mark. Pete Larkins is big on this but there's no real science to it, it's really just based on experience with graft failures in athletes.

As I've said before at the end of the day, coming back this year will be a significant risk. I think your base position would be that Rance is too good a player with too long ahead of him to accept that risk, so the only way you could contemplate bringing him back is if he showed extraordinary progress in every single facet of recovery. I think that is very unlikely to be the case.

Thanks for the detailed insight. Much appreciated.
 
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The_General

It's been a very hard working from home
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May 4, 2004
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There's a rule that if you are under the cap one year you can use the understand in the following year. Its not an infinite amount, you still need to spend 93% or 95% or whatever the minimum is.