EXCITING young Tiger Trent Cotchin has scotched the injury rumours that have dogged him during his low-profile pre-season, writes Sam Edmund.
TRENT Cotchin has a reassuring message for the Richmond faithful - he is injury-free.
The absence of the highly promising midfielder at various training sessions in recent weeks had sparked widespread rumours that he had once again broken down.
Depending on which version you believe, Cotchin had either inflamed his troublesome achilles, suffered complications from hip surgery or wrecked his knee.
Instead, the Tigers have put the talented 19-year-old on a personalised program to prevent the injuries that have ruined his first two pre-seasons and restricted his output during the year.
It is a strict, ultra-conservative strategy that has him hopeful of a NAB Cup appearance and on track for the Round 1 clash against Carlton. And it's because Cotchin, more than any other Richmond player, gives hope to long-suffering Tigers supporters.
"The hip is good, the achilles is good and my knee is perfectly fine. I don't know where that came from," Cotchin told the Herald Sun this week. "The body is going pretty well."
The injury scepticism is fuelled by recent history. A dodgy achilles cost Cotchin the 2008 and 2009 pre-seasons and hip surgery sidelined him after Round 18 last year.
He has played 25 games in two years, all without a significant fitness base.
But that is changing.
"The conditioning staff have been terrific. They have written up an individual program that's been very well structured and one that my body is handling quite well," Cotchin said.
"I'm training twice a week with the main group and on Wednesday I do a triathlon at the club with the rehab group. I suppose there's less pressure to be out on the track and to just make sure you're right before going out there."
Cotchin's quest to bury his injury demons has taken him to the Punt Rd car park with Nathan Foley, who is making his own comeback from ankle surgery.
The pair take turns pushing cars uphill outside the ground.
"The day before a main session for myself I do what's called medium loading for the achilles and calf muscle and that includes pushing cars up the Punt Rd car park," Cotchin said.
"The handbrake's not on, luckily, but it gets solid and it's a heavier car each time you progress.
"Then there's sled drags and a lot of calf exercises to develop that area so it takes some stress off the achilles tendon. It seems to be working."
But it's a long, steady road and one that requires discipline and attention to detail to ensure a third consecutive pre-season is not derailed by injury.
"You go out and do touch (stationary drills) when the main group is training and you can be bouncing up and down on your toes that little bit without even knowing it and that can affect you," Cotchin said.
"I steer clear of boxing because it's sort of up and down on your toes a bit too much. Again, it's just maintenance and managing the exercises that I'm doing and the conditioning staff are always stressing that."
Asked if frustration had set in, Cotchin said: "It's not very frustrating considering I haven't been running in January for the last two years.
"I'm looking at the positives rather than the negatives when I'm missing a session and on Mondays and Fridays when I'm out there it just makes it even more enjoyable and exciting.
"I've just got to put my best foot forward and prove myself on the field that I can keep my body right and get through a whole season and pre-season without any interruptions.
"I suppose that's where all the rumours come from because I have been known to break down during the pre-season."
Cotchin admits being nervous about how his body will hold up under the rigours of the home-and-away season.
Because only then will player and club know definitively whether the cautious approach has paid off and if people will finally see the best of the No. 2 pick in the 2007 national draft.
"Of course I will be (nervous)," he said.
"Even now if there's the tiniest little bit of soreness you sort of stress a little bit, but it always goes away and that's just when I've got to be confident in my body that it will overcome things like that."
Cotchin said the Tigers players had been energised by the arrival of new coach Damien Hardwick and was eagerly anticipating the Round 1 clash on March 25.
"It's only six or seven weeks away now and the boys are very excited. There's a good vibe at training, we're excited about the drills we're doing and the team structures and the game plan that we have to follow," Cotchin said. "It's been a complete change and Damien has been terrific.
"We're travelling OK. There's a lot of things we need to work on and it might take six months, it might take 12 months to get them perfectly right, but we're going to stick to it as a team and hopefully end up with a positive result."
