Richmond's dream injury run among their top AFL stars is over, with Alex Rance to have a right knee reconstruction. Scans have confirmed Rance has ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament. The five-time All Australian will consult a surgeon on Friday ahead of surgery in coming days, Richmond said in a statement. Rance landed awkwardly in the third quarter of Thursday's season-opening win over Carlton and was in agony as he limped from the MCG. The injury makes this season the first since 2014 in which the top four Tigers - Rance, captain Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt - won't play at least 20 games across the season. Rance played 18 games in 2014. Coach Damien Hardwick said some teammates were in tears on Thursday night as the severity of Rance's injury became apparent. But he pointed to West Coast, who lost ruckman Nic Naitanui to a knee reconstruction, Andrew Gaff to suspension and Brad Sheppard (hamstring) on the way to last year's premiership. "Last year, West Coast - Naitanui goes down," Hardwick said post-match. "These things can be overcome." Alex Rance is helped from the field during Richmond's Round 1 win over Carlton at the MCG, March 21, 2019 Dylan Burns/AFL Photos/Getty Images He nominated young defender Ryan Garthwaite, who played two senior games last season, as a teammate who could take Rance's place. Hardwick did not hide his bitter disappointment at the bad news. "Your heart sinks because you've been through a lot with this guy, been through a journey," he said. "Then to have it taken away from you (in) round one, it is disappointing. "We walk away with four points, but we certainly walk away disappointed - we've lost a warrior. "It's not to say they don't feel pain - I have guys in tears, knowing they've possibly lost a comrade for 12 months."<doc-sep>These days in the sporting world there is a tendency to jump on big news and make definitive statements as soon as humanly possible. Loading Within minutes of the awful footage from last night's season-opener at the MCG, where Richmond defender Alex Rance collapsed in pain from a knee injury, being shown, many were fearing the worst for not just his season, but Richmond's. The tell-tale pitch forward after his foot landed awkwardly, the fact Rance stayed down for some time, and was then helped off the ground made it apparent this was not a minor injury. The Tigers released a statement on Friday confirming everyone's worst fears; that scans had shown Rance had ruptured his ACL. The team said he would see a surgeon and was expected to undergo surgery in the coming days. "We're really disappointed for Alex that he'll spend an extended period of time out of the game, he's a wonderful player and fantastic leader of our team," Richmond general manager of football Neil Balme said. The rapidly solidifying consensus seems to be that no Rance for 2019 means no flag for the Tigers. Now, there is no doubt that his absence for the rest of the season is a big blow to Richmond — five-time All-Australian defenders are not too easily available at times like these. For any team that harbours aspirations of winning a flag, losing your best defender inside the first four quarters of the season is not a good start. Loading It's also true that Rance offers something very important — the ability to take the best forward one-on-one. When the Tigers won their drought-breaking flag in 2017, the team held their three finals opponents to an average of just 55.7 points. Mason Cox's incredible first-half helped the Magpies stun Alex Rance and the Tigers in last year's preliminary final. ( AAP: Julian Smith Rance played a critical role in those performances, and was named All-Australian in 2017. He made it again last year, when the Tigers finished top of the ladder before conceding an average of 72.3 points in the finals. Loading In the preliminary final against Collingwood, however, Rance had no answer to big Magpies forward Mason Cox, who kicked three goals in a quarter to set up the win. Richmond has lost five of its last seven games when Rance has not played, which would lead people to fear for the Tigers for the rest of this season. However, the most recent two of those seven games were rounds six and seven in 2016 — when the Tigers lost to Port Adelaide and Hawthorn. That season Richmond conceded an average of a tick under 98 points a game, and unsurprisingly finished out of September football in 13th place. It's fair to say that the Tigers have been transformed since then under Damien Hardwick, and we're not really comparing like for like. An already-strong attacking team has got stronger with the addition of ex-Suns forward Tom Lynch, and while Dustin Martin didn't have his greatest game against Carlton, Trent Cotchin's opening performance suggests he will be at his best in 2019. Defence will obviously be an issue, but while Rance is not directly replaceable, Richmond will be calling on a response from the whole group to make up for the absence of their number 18. The Western Bulldogs were devastated in 2016 by the early loss of skipper Bob Murphy (left) to a knee injury, but they went on to win the flag. ( AAP Image: Julian Smith Other teams have overcome adversity to win flag There are also some fairly recent case studies of teams whose seasons have come under intense pressure when they lost key players — but still went on to win the premiership. The heart of the Western Bulldogs' season looked to have been ripped out in round three of 2016 when skipper Bob Murphy put himself in a contest in the last 90 seconds of a game against Hawthorn and went down clutching his knee. The Bulldogs were pipped by the Hawks by a last-minute goal after winning the first two games — but the Sons of the West rebounded as a group. Later they finished the home and away season with six wins in their last eight matches to land in seventh spot. Their remarkable finals campaign then saw them beat West Coast on the road, then Hawthorn at the MCG and GWS in a classic prelim in Sydney before a win over the Swans in the grand final to complete the fairytale. Then last year West Coast Eagles were hit by a string of issues. West Coast lost star ruckman Nic Naitanui to injury and midfielder Andrew Gaff to suspension, but the Eagles still emerged as champions. ( AAP: Julian Smith First they were written off as soon as star ruckman Nic Naitanui tore his ACL against Collingwood in round 17. Then Andrew Gaff stunned the football world with his punch to the jaw of Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw in the Western Derby, ruling him out for the entire finals series. Finally, attacking defender Brad Sheppard injured his hamstring in the qualifying final against Collingwood, and he played no further part in the Eagles' campaign. Despite all this, and thanks to some unlikely heroes such as Dom Sheed, West Coast came through and won a memorable grand final for the team's first flag in a dozen years. So it is possible for teams to overcome serious adversity and still win in September. Aside from anything else, another 16 teams are yet to make their debut for 2019. There's plenty more to be gleaned from the opening round, if nothing else, before making sweeping statements. Has Richmond's challenge to win the premiership got a lot more difficult overnight? Absolutely. But let's not go writing them off just yet.<doc-sep>Alex Rance's 200th game ended prematurely after the star fullback went down with a knee injury late in the third term of the season opener at the MCG on Thursday night. Richmond were leading by 13 points as Carlton staged a strong fight back after a slow start. The five-time All Australian attempted a mark in the backline before landing, his right leg appearing to buckle under him. MORE: Fans bemoan season opener after one-sided first quarter Check out the video below. Alex Rance has been helped from the ground and is receiving treatment in the rooms.#AFLBluesTigers pic.twitter.com/lZPElxc6W2 — AFL (@AFL) March 21, 2019 Rance immediately clutched his knee and had to be helped from the ground. Commentators were reluctant to say it, but, given the mechanism, thoughts immediately went to a possible ACL injury. The 29-year-old's resilience has been a feature of his game, having played more than 18 games every season for the past eight. In a credit to his selflessness, and possibly a positive sign, Rance made his way to the bench mid-way through the final term, his knee heavily iced. The fullback was interviewed post-game, and incredibly had a smile on his face despite the news not sounding great. "I'm just so pumped to be a part of this team, I love it," Rance said. "I'll find out the severity (of the knee injury), initial signs don't look too good, but I'm in a great team, we've got a great culture, I don't have too much to be sad about." Richmond footy manager Neil Balme also spoke to Fox Footy after the match and said it was suspected the defender had torn his ACL. Despite the loss of one of their key men, the Tigers rallied to run out 33-point winners, though Carlton's second-half fight back will provide cause for optimism among the Blues faithful.<doc-sep>
Alex Rance has ruptured his ACL. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Richmond has confirmed star defender Alex Rance ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the Tigers’ season opener against Carlton on Thursday night. Scans confirmed the ACL injury to his right knee, suffered in the third quarter of the game at the MCG, with Rance to miss the remainder of the season. The key defender will consult with a surgeon on Friday and is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days. MORE RANCE NEWS NO RANCE, NO TIGERS FLAG? AFL GREATS SPLIT ON SUPERSTAR’S INJURY IMPACT ‘LOOKING DIRE’: TIGERS IN TEARS AS RANCE FACES SEASON ON SIDELINES ALL CLASS: RANCE SHOWS ‘TRUE CHARACTER’ AMID INJURY HEARTBREAK “We’re really disappointed for Alex that he’ll spend an extended period of time out of the game, he’s a wonderful player and fantastic leader of our team,” Tigers football boss Neil Balme said in a statement. “Alex, to his credit, has been incredibly positive since the injury occurred, and we’ll continue to rally around him in the coming days and throughout his rehab process. “While we’ll miss his on-field contribution this season, we know he’ll apply the same dedication and discipline to his rehab and recovery, and we will continue to provide our ongoing support to him.” MORE AFL NEWS FREE AGENCY FOR LIFE: BIG CHANGE SET TO SHAKE UP AFL PLAYER MOVEMENT VIDEO: UGLY BRAWL, SICKENING KO AS FOOTY THUGS SOUR AFL’S SEASON OPENER ‘SET THE STANDARD’: CALLS FOR BAN OVER BLUE’S OFF-THE-BALL HIT LYNCH-PIN: HOW TIGER TOM FARED IN LONG-AWAITED RICHMOND DEBUT Rance, a five-time All-Australian, was playing his 200th game for the Tigers when he suffered the injury. The injury makes this season the first since 2014 in which the top four Tigers — Rance, captain Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt — won’t play at least 20 games across the season. Rance played 18 games in 2014. Coach Damien Hardwick has flagged Ryan Garthwaite as a likely replacement. “We have a young boy Garthwaite who we are really excited about,” Hardwick said on Thursday night. “It was his first game back today. He’s probably the guy that first comes to mind from that. He’s put in two years hard work in the VFL but been a very valuable player for us. “We might juggle some things around. Could Noah Balta go back? We aren’t sure. We will take stock tonight and work our way through it tomorrow.” Alex Rance. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) Source: AAP An emotional Hardwick said the Rance news had left some players in tears in the rooms. “Your heart sinks because you’ve been through a lot with this guy, been through a journey,” he said. “Then to have it taken away from you (in) round one, it is disappointing. “We walk away with four points, but we certainly walk away disappointed — we’ve lost a warrior. “It’s not to say they don’t feel pain — I have guys in tears, knowing they’ve possibly lost a comrade for 12 months.” — With AAP