Giants' approach garners little interest from Cotchin Jared Lynch
The Age
September 22, 2012 RICHMOND best-and-fairest Trent Cotchin is unconcerned by Greater Western Sydney's threat to poach him from Punt Road.
The Giants reportedly have approached Cotchin's manager, Anthony McConville, in retaliation for the interest shown by the Tigers in their young gun, last year's No. 3 draft pick Dom Tyson.
GWS reportedly gave McConville a clear indication of a big offer for Cotchin, 22, who comes out of contract next season, after learning that the Tigers had approached Tyson's management.
Cotchin - who won The Age's Footballer of the Year and is a favourite to take out the Brownlow - said he knew nothing more of any talks between McConville and GWS.
''To be totally honest, I haven't heard a lot about it,'' Cotchin said when accepting The Age award.
''I saw it in the paper. I'm still contracted for a year. If clubs want to talk to my management about what's going forward, then so be it. I suppose that happens to the majority of players in the AFL.''
It is understood that Richmond is working on a contract extension for Cotchin, which is expected to be signed before Christmas.
Cotchin said he expected clubs to increasingly sound out rival players under free agency, which begins after finals. He said that wasn't a criticism but a reality. ''I reckon the trade period and free agency period is going to be an interesting one,'' he said. ''It's beneficial for a lot of players. Not only does it help with your potential earnings, but it's also a massive opportunity for players who are potentially out of favour with their club and can get another opportunity with another club.''
Despite Richmond finishing 12th this year, Cotchin said he believed the Tigers were close to breaking into the top eight, after narrowly missing finals for several seasons. ''We're heading in the right direction. You only have to look at our results this year. We only had one game over 22 points as a loss and won quite a few. It's just those moments in games where we probably need a little bit more composure. It's probably not even moments late in games. It's working out what we've done well in previous weeks when we've won and making sure we do that for a consistent period of time throughout the other games.''
Cotchin donated the Hyundai car he won for The Age award to the Captain Courageous Foundation, which aims to help find a cure for children who suffer a life-threatening bone marrow failure disease. The foundation began three years ago and has raised more than $1 million.
''All you want to do is help people when you can. That's what life is about,'' Cotchin said.
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