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If the Tigers lose games early, they risk losing Alex Rance

1st April, 2015
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Alex Rance, the Tigers' true superstar. (Photo: Justine Walker/AFL Media)
Expert
1st April, 2015
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The Tigers left their run for September spectacularly late last year.

After Round 13, they were a miserly 3-10 and, in true Tiger fashion the patience of the yellow and black faithful was running thin.

But then things began to turn around. Damien Hardwick’s boys made as desperate a lunge to the final eight as Red Cadeaux and Dunedin to the winning post in the 2011 Melbourne Cup.

Like Dunedin, the Tigers made the cut, beating the Swans by three points in Round 23 to scrape into the finals. Unfortunately, the dream came to an end the following week at the hands of a belligerent Port Adelaide.

It appeared that Richmond had played their final the week beforehand and were content to just be a part of the finals.

If Richmond are to be competitive in September in 2015, they will need to bring their A game from the first bounce of the season opener against Carlton on Thursday.

The Tigers showed that they have the skill and capability to win games in the second half of 2014, beating Port Adelaide, West Coast, Adelaide, Sydney and Essendon. These are good teams, and the wins against Adelaide and West Coast were impressively fought out at the fortresses of the Adelaide Oval and Patersons Stadium.

It just goes to show that when teams have nothing to lose they are often at their most dangerous, because they play their natural brand of football.

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The much-maligned Jack Riewoldt was criticised for letting his tongue slip, blaming the Tigers’ patchy start to 2014 on Richmond’s attempt to play in the mould of premiers Hawthorn. The next week he responded with an 11-goal haul against Greater Western Sydney.

When Riewoldt’s back was against the wall, he, like Richmond in the latter half of 2014, responded.

At an individual and team level, then, Richmond know they are capable of bettering their 2014 season. And bettering it they must.

If not for the fans – who must age a decade every time they watch their beloved Tigers – for Alex Rance, Richmond’s All-Australian defender, who is yet to re-sign at the club.

After an outstanding 2014, Rance looms as one of the biggest trade stories of 2015. His refusal to extend his contract at Richmond has many believing he is seeking to move to a more successful club, in the same way James Frawley left Melbourne for Hawthorn.

Richmond cannot afford to lose Rance. At 25, he is entering the peak of his career and still has lots of football ahead of him. But if Rance is to stay at Richmond, he needs to be part of a happy and successful team from the beginning of 2015.

Only then will he be persuaded to re-sign.

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If Richmond leave their run to the finals as late as they did last year, not only do they risk losing their first final as emphatically as they did against Port Adelaide, they risk losing their only All-Australian player from 2014.

It’s too big of a risk to take.

Like many Melburnians, I’ll be making my way to the MCG for the season opener to see Richmond take on Carlton. With all of the off-field pre-season drama shrouding the start of the 2015 home-and-away season, the opening bounce could not come a minute sooner.

Richmond will start as favourites, but recent history between the two teams suggests a Tiger win is not a certainty.

In Round 2 last year, Richmond looked to be comfortable winners against Carlton, but ended up watching their 37-point lead shrink to 1 point in the final quarter, before steadying to win by two goals.

I needn’t remind Richmond fans of the club’s deflating 2013 elimination final loss to Carlton, the team that finished outside of the eight but replaced the disqualified Essendon.

Hopefully the scoreboard reads a little differently at the end of Thursday night’s game. If not for the fans, if not for that brilliant theme song, for Alex Rance.

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The Tigers can’t afford to lose because they can’t afford to lose their All-Australian defender. And he needs a reason to stay.

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