'It was pretty average': Cotch to atone for finals flop AFL.com.au
March 17, 2016RICHMOND captain Trent Cotchin hopes to become a more consistent player to lift both himself and his club out of their September stuff.
In recent times, Cotchin has come under fire, both as a player and as a leader, as the Tigers have faltered in the first week in each of the past three finals series.
In his past two finals, Cotchin has performed well below expectations, the normally prolific midfielder managing just 16 touches in the 2014 elimination final loss to Port Adelaide and a career-low nine disposals in last year's knockout final against North Melbourne.
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"It was pretty average, wasn't it," he said of his output against the Kangaroos when he became a victim of tagger Ben Jacobs.
"Yes, it was a disappointing performance from an individual point of view (but) the reality is (if) we win, we don't really talk about it and hopefully I get another opportunity to perform the week after. But we did lose and I performed not so well.
"The challenge for me is to be consistent, which will go a long way to helping the team be consistent."
There have also been external calls for animated spearhead Jack Riewoldt to replace him as captain, but Cotchin, speaking at the AFL Captains' Day at Etihad Stadium on Thursday, insisted he doesn't pay attention to "outside noise".
"Everyone has their opinion. It doesn't really faze me. If it hurt I'd probably be hiding under a rock," he said.
On the eve of his fourth season as skipper, the 25-year-old said he was still developing as a leader and finding what worked for him.
"Everyone's got their own form of leading. You can look at a couple of the guys that have been successful captains that are here today and take something out of the way they lead, but it might not be the way you lead or come naturally to you," he said.
"I see leadership as something that needs to come naturally, but developing over time. I reckon if you spoke to 'Hodgey' (Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge), it wasn't something that he's been amazing at from day one, and there's been little things along the way that he's learnt and taken with him."
Cotchin admits the finals losses continue to "burn" but believes the club is well placed to finally "take the next step".
He acknowledged the Tigers would have to carry the burden of their recent September record until they break through for their first finals victory since 2001.
"Everyone keeps talking about the three years in a row that we've lost finals (but) … I'm sure if the Hawks fell out of finals in week one this year, then it would burn.
"Our maturity levels are as (high) as they've been for a long period of time (and) a lot of our players are playing consistent football – the challenge for us is to make sure that is four quarters every week.
"And having some of our youth really stand up – the likes of Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue, Daniel Rioli coming in and really impacting from the start – is going to help us take the next step.
"If we can start well, get a couple of wins under our belt and get the guys playing confident, Richmond footy, we'll be putting ourselves in a strong position.
"We know that if we play our best footy, we can take it up to anyone."
Cotchin was also pleased by coach Damien Hardwick's contract extension to the end of 2018, saying Hardwick had been instrumental in developing a strong playing list after taking over at a difficult time at the end of 2009.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-03-17/it-was-pretty-average-wasnt-it-cotchin-seeks-to-atone
