Balancing act never easy for faith and footy

ALEX Rance has never cared about following footy conventions.

In an age where a production line of AFL footballers are ordered to stick to the script others determine for them, Rance has always been his own man, marching to his own beat.

He once did it on a skateboard in a white suit and sunglasses all in the name of AFLX — and a good laugh.

He did it singing and dancing dressed as Aladdin, or soaping up the Richmond change rooms for a slipand-slide session, or dressed up as Captain America.

Thankfully, he did his best work on the field as he transformed from a young player with questionable disposal and decision-making into one of the game’s greatest defenders. He played footy with an innate sense of dare, taking on not just his own opponent, but almost entire forward lines.

If Richmond was to recast its Team of the (20th) Century as its greatest side of all time, he would be one of the first picked. His penchant for doing things his way played a part in his shock decision yesterday to retire from AFL football — at 30 — to be closer to his family and to devote more time to his faith as a Jehovah’s Witness. The “conflict”, as he called it, between football and faith ate away at him for years. Faith was always going to win on Rance’s scoreboard, even if his desire to chase a second flag with the Tigers in 2020 — after a knee injury cost him this year — was strong.

“Now I feel is the right time for me to put the same time and energy into other areas of my life that need it, and to prioritise the more important things to me, such as my spiritual growth, my family and friends,” Rance said.

He forecast this decision as far back as five years ago. Rance explained on The Stack Report podcast last year how the contrasts between his beliefs and his football made for a delicate balancing act. “When I want to talk to people about love and care, which are central parts of being a Jehovah’s Witness, it’s conflicting because [on the field] I’m beating someone up,” he said. “I’m trying to beat him, and put myself over him. But when I talk about the leadership side of things, I show that empathy, care and humility.

“It’s not an easy road to walk, when you have this conflict inside you.”