Richmond premiership player Alex Rance has joined Essendon as a part-time development coach.
Key points:
- Rance will work the Bombers’ key-position and young players
- His move to the Bombers sees him link up again with head coach Ben Rutten
- Rance played in Richmond’s 2017 premiership side, before retiring two years later
Rance, who retired two years ago after a serious knee injury, reunites with Ben Rutten, having previously worked with the Bombers head coach at the Tigers.
Rutten and Bombers assistant coach Blake Caracella were members of Damien Hardwick’s staff at the Tigers in 2017 when the club — with Rance anchoring its defence — won its first premiership in 37 years.
Rance will work with the Bombers’ key-position and young players alongside development coaches Leigh Tudor and Cam Roberts.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to start my journey as a coach in the AFL,” Rance said in a statement.
“Having familiar faces in Truck (Rutten) and Cara (Blake Caracella) around to work with was really appealing to me.”
Rance’s move into coaching comes after he played a one-off VFL match for Essendon in July, when the club was left short of players because of border restrictions.
The appearance prompted suggestions the 31-year-old could attempt a playing comeback, but the speculation was emphatically shut down by Rance at the time.
“I really enjoyed my experience with the VFL Bombers up in Queensland earlier this year and I loved helping those young players grow and learn, which will be a big part of my role here,” Rance said.
Rance tore an anterior cruciate ligament in round one of the Tigers’ 2019 campaign, which turned out to be his 200th and final senior match for the club.
AAP: Julian Smith
)The five-time All-Australian announced his retirement later that year after the Tigers won the premiership while he was on the sidelines.
Rance had only just turned 30 at the time of his retirement, but said he wanted to move away from the game to focus on family and religion.
Essendon’s general manager of football Josh Mahoney said Rance was a valuable addition to the club’s coaching staff.
“We’re thrilled to add Alex to our coaching group for the 2022 season,” Mahoney said.
“We have a young, developing group. Alex will bring leadership and a high-performance mindset to the entire squad, as well as focusing on developing the fundamentals of our key-position players.
“We look forward to Alex’s contribution to the club in helping develop our players who are looking for continual improvement.”
ABC/AAP
Source: AFL NEWS ABC
