Alex Rance has joined Essendon in a part-time development role where he will work with the club’s key-position and first-to-fourth year-year players.
The move to join Essendon comes just months after Rance pulled on the football boots for the first time since his shock retirement in 2019 as he turned out for the Bombers’ VFL side.
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Rance will reunite with Essendon coach Ben Rutten and assistant Blake Caracella, who were both at Richmond during Rance’s time as a player.
“I’m really excited to join the Bombers as a development coach for next season,” Rance said in a club statement.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to start my journey as a coach in the AFL. Having familiar faces in ‘Truck’ [Ben Rutten] and ‘Cara’ [Blake Caracella] around to work with was really appealing to me.
“I really enjoyed my experience with the VFL Bombers up in Queensland earlier this year, and I loved helping those young players grow and learn, which will be a big part of my role here.
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“I can’t wait to get started and help the club towards success.”
Rance’s defensive experience, which saw him earn five All-Australian jackets during his playing career, will prove invaluable for the linkes of Zach Reid to learn off, and Dons football boss Josh Mahoney lauded the acquisition.
“We’re thrilled to add Alex to our coaching group for the 2022 season,” Mahoney said.
“We have a young, developing group. Alex will bring leadership and a high-performance mindset to the entire squad, as well as focusing on developing the fundamentals of our key-position players.
“We look forward to Alex’s contribution to the club in helping develop our players who are looking for continual improvement.”
Rance’s acquisition comes after Essendon was also able to retain Mahoney himself, who turned down an AFL job, and key assistant Daniel Giansiracusa, who was courted by Carlton for its senior coaching job.
Essendon has also added highly-regarded assistant Dale Tapping in recent weeks.