The Three Facts About Rance
Three facts straight up:
Fact One; Alex Rance is a backman.
Fact Two: The AFL is not an equal opportunity employer, (by that I mean if you are a big forward who kicks goals you get big money; if you are a break the lines goal kicking mid fielder you get big money but no matter how good a backman you are you will NEVER get the same amount of money as the first two).
Fact Three: Alex won't hold the Tigers to Rancem. If you asked any Tiger who is more important to them; Rancey or Dusty? Most will say you can’t split them as they are both equally important in their roles which is true. Truth is though, if Dusty has signed for 600k per season, then Alex at Tigerland will be lucky to get 500k. So Alex is doing what he should do, hanging onto the last second to get all the bucks he can from the Tigers and all whilst Dirty Rotten Freo throw ridiculous amounts of money his way! Remember Jack knocking back a Dirty Rotten Freo offer which was upwards of 200k + a year more than he is on now? The good thing for us is that I believe for Alex it is more than money that drives him and in any case his whole life style is suited to the tigers. He is a fine young man with a huge ego and that ego just won't get the stroking anywhere else it craves! He loves the lime-light and being the centre of attention as well as being the joker in the pack. No Alex is just doing a bit of due diligence that's all and the tiger group are like the early years of the Dirty Rotten Cats; that is they realise to have the ultimate success they have to do it as a group and do it together. He wants a part of that and has been a part of that. Badly! He will sign this year before round eight and the tigers will be the envy of every other club as no one will be talking about anyone else other than us! Then at the end of the year we will open up our over flowing war chest and the cream of the crop will be knocking down the door to be a part of the tiger land resurgence! And just like Dusty, Rancey wants to be a big part of that. And yes the tigers will pay the Rancem demands. The Clubs View Richmond general manager of football operations Dan Richardson said the Tigers would “not be giving a running commentary” of players’ contract positions. “Alex is integral to the team and we will be working hard to re-sign him,” he said. “With Alex, we’ll get to discussions at some stage soon.” Sources close to Rance say the lure to return to Perth is not strong, and that he remains committed to a future at Punt Road even though he does not want to deal with a new contract until the end of the season. Another reason given for the postponement of contract negotiations with Richmond is that Rance does not want a repeat of his form lapse in 2013 when he was in contract talks, which eventually resulted in a two-year extension. “We have got no doubt (Alex) will stay at Richmond, he is a quality lad, he is a fantastic player and will continue to be so for the Richmond footy club. He is happy and settled at the club but is delaying talks on a deal. Richmond are also desperate to avoid another messy contract drama for the star backman. Dimma’s View Damien Hardwick told the Herald Sun he was still confident of retaining Rance but had to abide by the free agency and trade system and also stated that Rance had told him that his future was at Punt Rd. “Rance is obviously an important player to us but free agency is part and parcel of what we do and when you have eight years of service you deserve the right to choose where you want to go,’’ he said. Asked if he had sought assurances personally from Rance, he replied: “Yeah, absolutely. Dan Richardson takes care of that, but we speak to all of our players all of the time. It is one thing we are mindful of, keeping quality players at our club.” Dimma made the point, “the tigers have got some quality people at the footy club doing their best to get his contract signed and we don’t think it will be a drawn-out process.” Hardwick believes Rance's strong ties to the Tigers will play a key part in his decision in the coming season.
Alex Rance is part of the Richmond family and will continue to play his best football if he remains a Tiger beyond 2015, says coach Damien Hardwick. "Alex is an important player to us and he's been at the club now for eight years so it's part of his DNA," Hardwick told AFL.com.au. "With all free agency, it's part and parcel of what we do now and Alex knows he's a required player for us and that he's part of our family. "He'll make the required decision when it's there to be [made], but we've got no doubt this is where he'll play his best footy, at the Richmond Football Club, and Alex realises that also." K.B’s Take
K.B believes Richmond needs Rance to stay at Punt Road if they have any chance of winning a premiership. “Rance is arguably Richmond’s most important player. He’s needed if the tigers are to win a flag," he said. “Rance is a unique full-back key defender; he plays the ball on his merits and turns defence into attack. He’s a big ball winner for his position and generates run. He makes his teammates be proactive.” Bartlett said it will be a nervous year for Brendan Gale and the “backroom men” at Punt Road. Dirty RottenFremantle’s View D R Fremantle are set to make a huge bid for the West Australian free agent to return home, even though Rance is known to be keen to remain in Melbourne, particularly following the relocation of his parents from Perth to Victoria. Having lost out on securing defender James Frawley in last year’s free-agency window — he left Melbourne for Hawthorn — the Dockers are desperate to add depth to their ageing key defenders. Luke McPharlin, 34, and Michael Johnson, 30, both missed Fremantle’s two losing finals games last year because of injury. While the Dockers will vigorously pursue Rance, they have been told by his Stride management team that they are not interested in entering in any discussion about his future.
Troy Chaplin: Our own Free Agent’s view Rance, 25, was tipped to stay with the rising Tigers with a new three to four-year deal early into the new playing season, but a delay in talks has fuelled prospects that he could leave however one time free agent and tiger defender Troy Chaplin says there is no use in putting pressure on star teammate Alex Rance to re-sign with the Tigers. However, Chaplin said the Tigers would support whatever decision the reigning All-Australian centre half-back made about his future and remained hopeful that Rance would stay at Punt Road. "It's a tough situation that Rancey is in, it's going to be talked about all year," Chaplin told SEN. "There's always the risk that you're going to lose a player like that, but we've got full faith in Alex making the right decision. "The more pressure that you put on them then the more it's going to affect their game. That's got nothing to do with us, that's Rancey's decision, we'll support him in whatever decision he makes. "Hopefully he stays with the Tigers because he does know how important he is for us." Rance’s View Free agent Rance failed to give any guarantee he wanted to stay at Richmond when pushed on the subject. “I am really enjoying training and I know I am a required player and wanted at the club. I will deal with that later in the year and the club has said that so I am happy doing what I am doing and we will let that take care of itself.” History’s View History suggests that when out-of-contract players put negotiations on hold until the end of the season, they generally switch clubs. That was certainly the case with Buddy Franklin (Hawthorn to Sydney), Gary Ablett (Geelong to Gold Coast), Brendon Goddard (St Kilda to Essendon), Dale Thomas (Collingwood to Carlton), Nick Malceski (Sydney to Gold Coast), Eddie Betts (Carlton to Adelaide), Tom Scully (Melbourne to GWS), Callan Ward (Western Bulldogs to GWS), Jarrad Waite (Carlton to North Melbourne). Three stars who bucked the trend were Collingwood’s Travis Cloke, Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich and Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak. In a positive sign for the Tigers, Boak, who rejected a move home to join Geelong at the end 2012, is managed by Rance’s agent Tom Petroro. We must pay the Rancem!
