Australian Football Hall of Famer Terry Wallace was the coach that drafted Alex Rance, but reveals Richmond almost went in another direction.
The recently retired defender finished his career as a five-time All-Australian and a key part of Richmond’s 2017 premiership and was taken by the Tigers at pick 18 in the 2007 National Draft.
Wallace and his recruiting staff had their eyes on two players in Rance and midfielder Scott Selwood, who would go on to win a best and fairest at the Eagles.
The former Richmond coach reveals the Tigers had to take additional time to work out who they wanted and the infamous prior experience of drafting Richard Tambling over Lance Franklin was playing on their minds.
“We were looking for a running defender or a key defender as one of our options, but as we all know with recruiting you don’t know who is going to be available with your pick,” Wallace told SEN Mornings.
“The funny thing that happened with us, we had two players we had in mind for pick 18 and both of the players were available.
“I’ve always been one who says the recruiters recruit, they pick who they think is the right person and it is the coach’s job to coach that person to the best of their ability.
“So we got to the pick and took our extra two minutes because the two were there and I remember saying to the recruiters that we’ve got to get this right.
“The two players were Alex Rance and Scott Selwood and we sat there and said which way are we going to go?
“I remember turning around to the recruiting boys and saying it’s your pick, but I can remember being in this position once before and we picked the little bloke and not the big bloke and the big bloke ended up being Lance Franklin!
“I said ‘it’s up to you, but if there’s any doubt let’s take the key position player’.
“That’s the way it ended up playing out and look when he first arrived he was like a young colt.
“He wasn’t broken in. He was a supreme athlete from day one, but his decision making - he would get hold of the ball in the backline and he would run the wrong direction and kick it across the ground and turn the ball over.”
Wallace believes Richmond bringing in Justin Lepptisch at the end of 2009 helped Rance become the player we saw at his peak.
“I always thought he was going to get there. You only had to see him as an under 18 and his ability to read the play,” he said.
“I only had him as a baby, but to me it seemed when Justin Leppitsch got to the club, took him under his wing and played a very similar role as an offensive backman and he tightened up everything about Rance.
“I wasn’t there, but from afar, it seemed like Leppitsch had a massive deal in turning Alex into the player we always believed he could be.”
Rance retires as a five-time All-Australian, premiership player, Richmond best and fairest and an All-Australian captain.