Rance’s big wrap: Cats defensive duo has hallmark of premiership pairing
ADAPTABLE Geelong pairing Tom Stewart and Jack Henry have been compared with a premiership defensive duo by champion full-back Alex Rance.
Few players can match the defensive output of former Tiger Rance in his 200 games as he racked up five consecutive All-Australian blazers, including as captain in 2017.
Cats star Stewart is building a similar CV, having already been named an All-Australian three times and, after a career-best 40 disposals against Fremantle last weekend, he is on track for a fourth.
His efforts have put him among the very best defenders in the game and Rance compared his partnership with Henry – who had held down a key position place in defence before a recent foot injury – with Melbourne defensive aces Steven May and Jake Lever.
Eyebrows were raised across the football world when the Demons forked out big bucks to bring May and Lever together from their previous stops at the Suns and Crows, but they are the backbone of a stingy defence that has Melbourne favourite for back-to-back flags.
Almost all recent premiership sides have been built with stars in defence – think of Richmond’s Rance and Dylan Grimes, Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern at West Coast, Brian Lake and Josh Gibson at Hawthorn and even Matthew Scarlett and Corey Enright in Geelong’s great era.
Rance said Stewart and Henry could build a reputation similar to those famous pairings.
“I love watching Tom play, he is a really great reader of the ball and a skilful kicker,” he said. “I like that he can play tall and small, as well.
“I think he is complemented really well by Jack Henry down there because (Henry) can play that lockdown role and also intercept, too.
“If you look at the Melbourne model, what everyone wants is a monster who can lock down the bigs and an interceptor who can fly in for marks, so Melbourne with Steven May and Jake Lever have a really good combination going.
“I reckon Geelong with Tom Stewart and Jack Henry, they can form that kind of duo, there is also West Coast where you have got Barrass and McGovern.
“It is always a bit of a one-two punch, you need to have that because Tom Stewart can’t do it all.”
Rance remains happily retired and runs The Academy, an alternative education program for teens who love footy, with a campus at Western Heights College.
While he was full of praise for Stewart, the Richmond champion chose Gold Coast’s Sam Collins as the defender he would select first if he was building a team.