Richmond will not have key defender Alex Rance for the 2019 season after he tore his ACL in Round 1 against Carlton, and according to SEN footy expert David King, some people haven't been able to comprehend how much of a blow it is for the Tigers.
King said the five-time All-Australian does more for the Tigers than what key defenders are usually asked to do.
“This guy’s not a defender. He’s not. He’s more than that,” King told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“The guys you talk about to pick up the slack in David Astbury and Dylan Grimes, they’re dour defenders, they negate. Rance doesn’t negate.
“There’s no greater influence on the offensive scoreboard once an intercept has been won than Alex Rance, he’s been number one in the competition for the last four years at creating a score from his intercept.
“Now that intercept can be on the goal line or it can be pressing up the ground which Richmond love to do.
“I just put a big asterisk on this … what Rance does covers for six players.”
Richmond still got the job done on Thursday night, defeating Carlton by 33 points, and will now face Collingwood in Round 2.
