Summary
* Negotiated Cotch's new contract over the past two months. 5-year deals are a consequence that you could anticipate with free agency coming in. Cotch is a 3-time B&F winner and the youngest to do so. He's growing and developing as a leader. He didn't want the contract talk to be a distraction which shows his selflessness. He's worth the investment.
* Dangerfield is a very good player. If any of those high quality players want to come to Richmond and they fit our needs then we'll be happy to talk to them.
* We know our list has limitations and there's areas we need to improve such as midfield depth. However, our sedate trade period was planned. Most of the players we needed via trade/free agency weren't available. Tried to get Jack Trengove but that didn't work out for well documented reasons. So we went to the draft. We stuck to our long-term strategy.
* McKenzie - our recruiters have followed him for a while. His physical attributes are amazing. He's a very big 197cm; a very imposing figure. He ran a 2.6sec 20m sprint (2nd/3rd in draft camp testing), has a huge vertical leap and massive hands that pluck them from everywhere. Still needs to work on his stamina and endurance. A couple of things that held him back a couple of years ago that he has addressed. He's got a lot of work to do but we're excited. Gives us more KP strength done the track.
* Corey Ellis - we thought he would be in the mix at our pick. Our guys really rate him highly. Wins his own ball, plays inside, racks up possessions and importantly kicks like a scalpel. Doesn't waste the ball and he is a great character.
* KB said he keeps hearing Freo are going to make a big play for Rance. Benny said Alex as well as Dusty are important to our make-up and we are working feverishly to re-sign them. No problems at this stage but you never take things for granted. Alex is fine player and person and loves the club - a very important part of our back-up and was All-Australian this year.
* Townsville preseason training camps are different to his day under KB where they had to drive themselves to Bacchus Marsh (both laughed).
