1. Alex James Rance was born on 9 October 1989 and is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.
88 Facts About Alex Rance
1. 2.
Alex Rance is of strong footballing heritage, being the son of Murray Alex Rance, a former Footscray and West Coast player and Swan Districts captain in the WAFL.
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Alex Rance later played for Noranda in the Western Australian Amateur Football League before again moving to the Swan Districts side in the WAFL.
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In 2007 Alex Rance represented Western Australia at the Under 18 National Championships.
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Alex Rance was drafted by Richmond with the club's second selection and the 18th overall in the 2007 AFL national draft.
6.
Alex Rance began his first season at the club by playing two levels below AFL, with the reserves side of Richmond's VFL affiliate, the Coburg Football Club.
7.
Alex Rance did not make his AFL debut that year, but did hold a spot in the VFL team through their finals series.
8.
Alex Rance made his AFL debut in round 2 of the 2009 season in a loss to Geelong at Kardinia Park, recording 18 disposals and six marks in the match.
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Alex Rance remained in the senior side until round 7, where he was involved in a head clash with Brisbane Lions player Troy Selwood.
10.
Alex Rance suffered three small cheekbone fractures and missed three matches as a result of the incident.
11.
Alex Rance returned to AFL level in round 11 and played three straight matches before missing his side's round 14 encounter with Adelaide.
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Alex Rance played his first AFL match of 2010 in round 3 against Sydney at the SCG.
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Alex Rance drifted forward in that match however, kicking a career high three goals in an impressive display.
14.
Alex Rance did not play in a victory that season, with the club losing all 10 matches he appeared in.
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Up to that point, Alex Rance had shown plenty of athletic talent, but far more brain fades and failed plays.
16.
Alex Rance would be suspended in that match however, following a hit on Carlton's Jarrad Waite.
17.
Alex Rance returned in round 4 and did not miss a match from that point forward.
18.
Alex Rance earned the praises of former Richmond fullback Darren Gaspar for his work in round 13, consistently beating Brisbane Lions forward Jonathan Brown in one-on-one contests.
19.
The Herald Sun labelled Alex Rance "a shining light in a shock loss" in round 17, after recording 25 disposals and nine one-percenters during a loss to the expansion side, Gold Coast.
20.
Alex Rance was instrumental in restricting Sydney star Adam Goodes in round 21, holding him to just one goal while Rance collected 24 disposals and six marks in the Richmond win.
21.
Alex Rance finished second at the club for total marks that season and equal second for rebound-50s.
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Alex Rance cited 2011 as key for his growth as a key position defender, praising the efforts of then Richmond-defensive coach Justin Leppitsch in teaching him the technical aspects of the role.
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Alex Rance was duley rewarded with the club's Most Improved Player award that season.
24.
Alex Rance approached the 2012 season with building expectations, citing a desire to play finals for the first time.
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Alex Rance finished the season with then career-best totals in kicks, marks and handballs after playing all 22 possible matches for the first time in his career.
26.
Alex Rance placed sixth in the club's best and fairest award.
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Alex Rance started the 2013 season poorly, giving up a career-best four goals to Western Bulldogs forward Liam Jones in the clubs' round 3 match-up.
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Alex Rance held Franklin to only one goal in the match.
29.
In 2013 Alex Rance played in the club's first final in 12 years, an elimination final loss to traditional rivals Carlton at the MCG.
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Alex Rance ranked first at the club for marks, rebound 50s and one-percenters as well as top ten in both kicks and handballs.
31.
Alex Rance received the player-voted Francis Bourke award for the second time in three seasons for his embodiment of the club's principles of awareness, belief and discipline.
32.
Alex Rance sustained the break while riding his bicycle prior to the club's round 2 match.
33.
At the mid-point of the season, Alex Rance was labelled by his coach as the best "one-on-one player in the competition", before he recorded a season-high 29 disposals in the club's round 13 match with Fremantle.
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In Richmond's must-win round 23 clash with Sydney, Alex Rance recorded 16 disposals with a spectacular 12 coming off intercept possessions.
35.
Alex Rance won his third consecutive player-voted Francis Bourke award at Richmond's best and fairest night.
36.
In later years, Alex Rance would reveal he had privately decided to give up football after enduring a grueling 2014 season.
37.
Alex Rance had intended at the time to complete the last year of his contract in 2015 before retiring from the game.
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On-field his game followed the trajectory established in previous years, with Alex Rance maintaining his status as one of the competition's best defenders.
39.
In June Alex Rance ended contract speculation by signing a four-year contract extension at Richmond, keeping him tied to the club through the end of the 2019 season.
40.
Alex Rance finished the season playing in all 23 of the club's matches including in an elimination final defeat at the hands of North Melbourne.
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Alex Rance's season was rewarded with the Jack Dyer Medal as the club's best and fairest player.
42.
Alex Rance won a second consecutive selection as an All-Australian, this time in the position of fullback.
43.
Alex Rance subsequently accepted a two match ban for the incident and offered a public apology for his actions.
44.
Alex Rance played all other matches that season and finished with a then career-best 155 marks for the season from his 20 matches.
45.
Alex Rance was selected as an All-Australian for the third consecutive season, equaling a club record for most career selections.
46.
Alex Rance narrowly missed out on his second straight best-and-fairest, pipped by teammate Dustin Martin 61 votes to 62.
47.
Ahead of the 2017 season Alex Rance was ranked the competition's best key position defender as part of the AFL statistics partner Champion Data's annual ranking.
48.
Back in full health, Alex Rance was named as the club's co-vice captain prior to round 1.
49.
Alex Rance led the Richmond backline in its contributions to a five win streak to open the season, seeing the Tigers ranked the best defence in the league.
50.
At the midpoint of the season Alex Rance led the competition in intercept possessions and improved his metres-gained from 213.2 per game in 2016, to 300.9 mid-way through 2017.
51.
Alex Rance received media and public criticism for excessive exaggeration following an incident in round 13 we he received a free kick during a push and shove with Sydney forward Lance Franklin.
52.
The AFL's match review panel were later of the opinion that "any exaggeration of the contact that was made to Alex Rance was not excessive" and decided not to penalise him for the fall.
53.
In round 21 Alex Rance was comprehensively bested by Geelong defender-turned-forward Harry Taylor who kicked four goals in his side's defeat of Richmond at Kardinia Park.
54.
Alex Rance kicked his first goal in four years the next week though, pushing forward for a brief spell during Richmond's 104 point domination of Fremantle.
55.
Alex Rance was named the team's captain, the first non-club captain to receive the honour since Andrew McLeod in 2007.
56.
When he faced a rematch with Geelong and Taylor in a qualifying final, Alex Rance had his revenge, restricting the Cat to eight disposals and a single goal in Richmond's win.
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Alex Rance added 16 disposals and seven marks in a winning preliminary final too, before his side progressed to a grand final matchup against minor premiers Adelaide.
58.
Alex Rance received two votes in the Norm Smith Medal for the best player on the ground, placing third.
59.
Alex Rance played his first matches of the year in Richmond's two pre-season wins over Essendon and North Melbourne.
60.
Alex Rance attracted the attention of the AFL's Match Review Officer that week, being fined $2,000 for an errant late spoil on Hawthorn's Luke Breust.
61.
In round 11 Alex Rance attracted significant media and public criticism for a 'diving' incident during the Dreamtime at the 'G match in which he exaggerated contact in a marking contest with Essendon forward Shaun McKernan and drew a free kick as a result.
62.
Alex Rance accepted a $1,000 fine after the incident was classified by the AFL's match review officer as staging.
63.
At the half-way point of the season Alex Rance was named in Fox Footy's mid-year All Australian squad while being named in the Herald Sun and AFL Media teams of 22 players.
64.
Alex Rance continued to hold the league's number one rank for intercepts through round 16 and improved to second for intercept marks and fifth for spoils.
65.
Alex Rance picked up two votes in the Coaches Association award in round 20, this time as Richmond's equal third best player in a win over Geelong.
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Two weeks later Alex Rance served as Richmond captain for the first time.
67.
Alex Rance led the side to a win over Essendon in the absence of Trent Cotchin due to hamstring soreness.
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Alex Rance was named in the back pocket of the AFL's Player Ratings team of the year.
69.
Alex Rance led Richmond players with 72 intercept marks during the home and away season, leading the club to a league record-breaking total of 417.
70.
Alex Rance equaled a season-best with 20 disposals in the club's preliminary final match-up, a shock knock-out loss to Collingwood that brought his season to an end.
71.
Alex Rance placed sixth in the club's best and fairest count, one vote shy of fellow defender Dylan Grimes.
72.
Alex Rance opened his 2019 season by participating in an AFLX exhibition tournament in February.
73.
Alex Rance was drafted to play for the 'Flyers' team by captain Nat Fyfe with the seventh overall pick in a televised draft.
74.
Late in the third quarter of that match, Alex Rance landed awkwardly during a marking contest and severely injured his right knee in what coach Damien Hardwick labelled a "suspected ACL ".
75.
Scans completed the following day confirmed that Alex Rance had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
76.
Alex Rance had surgery to reconstruct the knee in the week that followed and was expected to miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
77.
Alex Rance instead turned his attention to coaching, assisting the club's VFL side in an off-field role as they progressed through the finals and won the club's first reserves grade premiership since 1997.
78.
Media reports in the days that followed claimed that Alex Rance had been considering the decision and consulting with club officials over it for at least three weeks prior to the announcement.
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Alex Rance played as key-position defender and is considered one of the best defenders in the history of the sport.
80.
Alex Rance has been regularly referred to by media and football experts as the best defender in the game since his first All-Australian season in 2014.
81.
In 2016 and 2017 Alex Rance appeared regularly as a guest panelist and special segment host on The Footy Show.
82.
Alex Rance worked as a co-host on the AFL Exchange podcast for AFL Media in 2016.
83.
In 2017 Alex Rance became a presenter on the Nine Network lifestyle and travel show Postcards.
84.
In 2016 Alex Rance founded The Academy, an Australian rules football school for high school students.
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The program, which Alex Rance is credited with conceiving, is designed to provide students opportunities in sport outside traditional pathways.
86.
Alex Rance is a published children's book author, having penned Tiger's Roar in 2018 and Rabbit's Hop and Monkey's Tail in 2019.
87.
Alex Rance is the son of former Footscray and West Coast player Murray Alex Rance, and is the cousin of former Carlton player David Ellard.
88.
In 2011 Alex Rance was the victim of stalking by a man who was later sentenced to 12 months in prison for incidents including harassment and soliciting cash while posing as a doctor.