My secret plan for Tex

Rance has strategy for Crows gun, but he’s not saying anything

RICHMOND defender Alex Rance has devised a plan to quell Adelaide captain Taylor Walker, but has no intention of revealing any details of it before Saturday’s AFL Grand Final.

The All-Australian skipper said part of it would involve a revolving set of match-ups with Rance and teammate David Astbury set to share their time on Walker and Crows forward Josh Jenkins.

When asked about a likely match-up with the Crows skipper, he smiled and said: “Do you want me to give him a call and tell him how I will play him? I know how I am going to play him, but I am not going to tell him.”

Rance said Walker always proved a difficult opponent, saying he was not dissimilar to former Fre- mantle star Matthew Pavlich in terms of their strengths.

“He is in a very similar mould to Matthew Pavlich,” he said. “He is that true centre half-forward, the double threat where he can go forward or back and take a strong mark. He doesn’t have too many weaknesses, it is just about [getting] a little bit of help up the field, a little bit of pressure, some dirty balls and me trying to limit his effectiveness.”

The last time these two teams met, in Round 6, Rance spent almost two thirds of the game on Jenkins, while also having a stint of more than half an hour on Walker, with Astbury assisting him.

“The good minds will see that systems are prevailing more than match-ups,” he said. ‘Grimesy’ [Dylan Grimes] might play on [Eddie] Betts, or Dave [Astbury] might play on ‘Tex’ [Walker], [but] the way we work as a team is we will be supporting each other.

“I won’t be on Tex for the whole game, and Dave won’t be on Tex the whole game.”

Walker has kicked 52 goals this season, but only three so far in the finals series.

Rance said the Crows were the best offensive team in the AFL this season, but backed his teammates in the back half to get the job done.