The Tackle: Jay Clark names his likes, dislikes from round 13Like 5. Can Saints spoil next milestone party?St Kilda crashed Lance Franklin’s party and will set its sights on ruining the celebrations for Trent Cotchin at the MCG this Saturday night.
Tigers’ interim coach Andrew McQualter said “we sometimes forget how good a footballer” Cotchin is heading into his 300th match.
But there was a timely reminder in the upset win over Fremantle on Saturday night when Cotchin had a season-high 28 touches, 15 contested possessions and seven clearances in the win in the west.
While there were some doubts about his ability to contribute forward at the start of the season, his move back into the midfield reaped rich rewards for McQualter with the big win over the Dockers.
But in reality Cotchin’s legacy is clear, anyway.
The premiership captain had a Joel Selwood-style impact on Punt Rd after one of their lowest ebbs at the end of 2016 when Cotchin became a more selfless and impressive, inspirational player in the heart of the Richmond engine room to lead the club to three premierships.
Geelong champion Steve Johnson was full of praise for Cotchin’s transformation.
“He will go down as a legend of their club,” Johnson said on Triple M.
“He has had a massive impact in regards to the way they were able to turn it around, him and Dusty (Martin).
“I always thought Trent Cotchin was an individual. He racked up touches, liked the short kicks, the one-twos.
“But when he went away from that and was willing to accept 10 less possessions for the betterment of the team and went harder defensively, he got players on his back by playing that way.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/the-tackle-jay-clark-names-his-likes-dislikes-from-round-14/news-story/f2ea62230dc4c9a8e405f8bc18a69245
