Trent and Brooke Cotchin doing it 'tough' after protocol breach
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and wife Brooke are doing it "tough" but have accepted responsibility for a breach of the AFL's coronavirus protocols, which has resulted in a heavy fine.
Brooke breached rules by entering a beauty salon in Queensland last week. The club was fined $45,000, of which $25,000 was suspended, with Cotchin agreeing to pay the fine. Brooke had posted about her visit to the salon on Instagram.
Ahead of Tuesday night's heavyweight clash against the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said the Cotchins were remorseful.
Trent and Brooke Cotchin at the Brownlow. Credit:Vince Caligiuri
"I am not going to lie, it's been tough on them. But as Trent and Brooke do, they accept accountability and responsibility. They did it, they were at fault. It's been tough on them," Hardwick said.
"The situation is, we live and learn. Everyone is up here trying to do the right thing but the reality is, mistakes are going to be made. I think everyone is going to put their best foot forward as best they can but we have just got to understand sometimes people are going to get things wrong.
"It's not through any fault of their own. They just made an innocent mistake. We are supportive of them and we understand they have accepted responsibility and are prepared to move on pretty quickly. From our point of view, it's end of story."
The story, however, hasn't ended, for the reporting of it has led to the indefinite suspension of afl.com.au journalist Mitch Cleary for naming Brooke as the culprit. The story had been live on the AFL website on Friday for more than 30 minutes when Cleary was told to take it down, this coming after Brooke had deleted her Instagram post.
Hardwick said he was unsure whether there had been an agreement that Brooke would not be identified.
"The reality is, we all know how the industry works," he said, acknowledging how quickly news can spread in AFL circles.
He also said he was unsure if club bosses had contacted the AFL.
"I just concentrate on the performance side. As far as I know, I just worry about what I can control and I will let the people deal with the off-field matters," he said.
Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale took to social media on Sunday to say the dual premiership captain would personally pay the fine rather than using club money.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick is more concerned with on-field matters. Credit:Getty Images
The Tigers are one of four clubs that have been fined for contravening the AFL's COVID-19 protocols for players, staff and families based in the AFL-backed hubs, which cost the league more than $3 million per week.
Cotchin will line-up against the Lions, having emerged unscathed against the Western Bulldogs in his return from a hamstring strain, but Hardwick said it was "less likely" he will travel to Adelaide on Saturday in a four-day turnaround to face the Power.
Running defender Nick Vlastuin has recovered from a calf injury but key defender David Astbury will miss several more weeks, with Hardwick revealing he may need "clean up" surgery, having had a setback in his recovery from knee surgery.
"He is probably, once again from a game point of view, at least a couple away at this stage, which is a little bit disappointing because he was making such good progress," Hardwick said.
As debate over a more stringent holding the ball rule continues, Hardwick said he was in favour of keeping the game flowing.
"I am a big believer in the 80-20 rule - 80 per cent they [umpires] will get right, 20 per cent they will make a blue. I think what happens is we spend 80 per cent of our time moaning about the 20 per cent," he said.
"For me, I think the vast majority [of umpires] are pretty good so I would encourage them to keep going."