Alex Rance felt humbled by the captaincy honour of the 2017 All Australian team that was bestowed upon him at last night’s gala function at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne.

Earlier in the evening, the outstanding Richmond key defender had gained All Australian selection for a fourth consecutive year, named at full-back in the 2017 prestigious line-up.

“Standing in front of ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Joel Selwood and these guys, who are true champions of the game, I’m sort of just making up the numbers,” Rance said on Fox Footy.

“It’s pretty amazing to be named captain in front of those guys . . .

“It’s a bit embarrassing to be totally honest. There are so many super players up here.

“I’m still trying to work out what’s going on.”

Rance, who is Richmond’s co-vice captain, has displayed impressive leadership qualities right throughout his time at Tigerland.

“I’ve always loved trying to draw something else out of other people, whether that is in the locker rooms, sliding soap along the floor trying to make people laugh and get a bit of team camaraderie going. Or whether it’s the act of a big moment in a big game,” he said.

“I’ve always valued those big moments and I’ll always remember them, even when I’ve finished my career.”