Rance is bigging up fellow Tigers' backliner Jayden Short. Shorty's vying for a place in Richmond's Round 1 side alongside Reece Conca, who's impressed Damien Hardwick.

Hardwick and Rance haven't always been on the same page, either. So who gets the nod at this stage, is arguably up for debate. 

"Without putting too much pressure on 'Shorty', I've loved his pre-season," Rance told AFL.com.au

"I think he's shown, especially in the North Melbourne game, that he breaks lines (and) is really clean by foot on both feet.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure what is going to happen in the back six just yet because we’ve still got a couple of guys going through fitness tests."

If Short does get selected, Rance intends on holding him to account. There's nothing flashy going on in Richmond this season - it's calm and consolidate for Hardwick's men. 

"I know he's ready to play if he does get called upon, but there's a couple of other guys in the mix for those spots too," Rance said. 

"Football is a game of mistakes, so we haven't changed anything from last year," the All Australian captain said.  

"It's just a matter of doing more of what we want more often.

"It's going to be a lot of the same from last year unfortunately … no big razzle moves, so I hope it doesn't bore too many people."