Tigers' skipper Cotchin to get til last minute to prove fitness
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick will give his captain, Trent Cotchin, up until the last minute to prove his fitness for the Tigers’ clash with Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday.
The premiership star has been battling a knee complaint during the week and hasn’t done any training since playing two games in the space of five days.
The way he trains will go a long way to determining whether or not he lines up against the Dockers.
“We’ll make a call after training, today’s our main session so we’ll give him every opportunity,” Hardwick said at Punt Road on Friday.
“He’s a probable at this stage, but once again training will give us a fair indication of where he’s at.
“We’ll obviously give him as much time as possible, he’s a pretty good player, so we’ll make a call in due course.
“At this stage we’ll probably give him until the last minute but that may change. If we know he’s not going to play, we’ll just call it and we won’t play him."
If Cotchin is deemed incapable of taking his place in the Tigers’ line-up, they have a bevy of capable replacements with Brandon Ellis, Jacob Townsend and Sam Lloyd all added to their squad of 26.
The trio were in good form prior to being omitted from the side and Richmond’s competition for spots is something that pleases Hardwick greatly.
“The quality of our list at the moment and the depth of our playing list is really important to how we’re going at the moment,” he said.
“We’ve got players in terrific form at VFL level that are consistently putting their hands up. I look at young Anthony Miles – every week I’ve got to go to him and say, ‘Listen, you’re not quite there’, and he’s destroying VFL level, he’s too good for it.”
Richmond seem invincible at the MCG, having just registered a club record 12th consecutive win at the venue last week against Collingwood.
But if it’s one team that knows how to bring down the Tigers on their home turf, it’s the Dockers.
Ross Lyon’s men have won their past three meetings with Richmond at the MCG, with the last two of those decided by match-winning David Mundy goals at the death.
“He’s a good player. He’s put the nail in our coffin quite a few times, David,” Hardwick said with a smile. “If he doesn’t make the plane trip, I’ll be happy.
“We probably only get 100 per cent home-ground advantage (at the MCG) versus sides like Fremantle and from what you’re saying it’s not a great home-ground advantage!”
The Tigers have won four final quarters this year, most notably in their past two games against Melbourne and Collingwood when they turned arm wrestles into blowouts, and their ability to run out games enthuses Hardwick.
“It’s been a common trend of us for probably the last 12 months ... it’s a strength of ours, there’s no doubt,” Hardwick said.
Hardwick admitted he would be resting a little easier knowing that Dockers superstar Michael Walters (knee) won’t be playing on Sunday.
“He’s a fantastic player. I only look back on him and Brad Hill obviously who’s not playing as well, those two boys I think had 30-plus [disposals] last time [they played each other at the MCG] and I think Michael might have kicked five goals,” Hardwick said.
The Dockers have had a tumultuous week off the field with coach Ross Lyon caught up in a sexual harassment scandal at the club, but Hardwick predicted it would have a galvanising effect on the team.
“The ‘us-against-them’ mentality – Fremantle’s a club very much like that anyway,” he said. “They’re a great side, they’re really hard to play regardless of their position on the ladder.”