Star Richmond key defender Alex Rance has provided an interesting insight into his tremendous transformation on-field over the past couple of years.
Rance, who gained All-Australian selection for the first time in 2014, is now regarded as the premier key backman of the competition, after taking his game to an even higher level this season.
In a lengthy interview with the ABC’s football panel last weekend, Rance explained how he’d gone about becoming such a consistent, important, all-round performer in the Tigers’ back half.
“I talk to a lot of the younger, more developing players like ‘Batch’ (Jake Batchelor) and ‘Grimesy’ (Dylan Grimes) about how you’ve got to have something which makes you feel good about your game,” Rance said.
“Early days (for Rance), it was just spoiling those contests . . . and I felt good about that. But then it wasn’t enough, I wanted more. I felt like I needed to win those contests.
“So, you’ve got to start from what is your strength. If it’s a Bachar Houli, you’re running off, getting handball receives.
“You’ve got to have something that makes you feel good about yourself and feel good about your game.
“I knew that I could push weights in the gym, but I couldn’t really translate that out onto the field.
“It’s pretty well publicised that ‘Leppa’ (former Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch) taught me a few things . . . towards my footwork and technique stuff with my hands in a contest, that I could translate power from my legs into another person and shift them out of the drop zone. And, identifying the drop zone, and then having that patience, once you’re in the contest, not to be frazzled and just swing wildly at it. But, yeah, I’m in control here. Shift him a few metres there, I’ve got the drop zone, away we go.
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“Then, I still enjoyed going to the gym, but I could find I could get enjoyment playing out there and starting to push a few blokes around.
“Now I’m starting to get enjoyment of reading the ball a bit better, obviously with the help of some ‘dirty’ balls coming from the ‘mid’ and just building that game.
“But you definitely can’t put the ball before the cart.
“If I tried to intercept the ball and run off early days, it would have come very unstuck for me.”
Despite Rance’s excellent form, he’s not the type of individual to get ahead of himself.
“I still never really feel like I am the top of the tree. Every game I go into feeling nervous,” he said.
“And, it’s funny, come Thursday I still look at the text that comes out from ‘Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick), who’s in, who’s out, because I still, within myself, feel like I’ve still got to earn my spot.”
The 25-year-old veteran of 121 league appearances has his sights firmly set on further improvement to his game.
“There’s always more room to improve,” he said.
“My decision-making is vastly improved from when I first started. Because I do take those intercept possessions, it’s a matter of knowing when to go quick and knowing when the bubbles’ so dense . . . making the most of those intercept possessions.
“That’s something that I really look at and scrutinise hard now with our defensive coaches, to know when to go quick and around the bubble, or when just to take your time and let the bubble disperse.”
