Player Watch #9: Trent Cotchin is an obscenely good 3 x Premiership Captain, Victorian Captain & Brownlow Medalist

[Tigerturbulance]

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of the extreme underrating of Trent Cotchin?

On-field:
The man is a fantastic inside mid who fights like a wolverine to win the ball. He provides a touch of class all over the ground. He can provide a great target up forward when resting. He is a Brownlow medallist and a Premiership Captain.

Off-field:
He is extremely professional. He has great work ethic. He provides immense support to his team-mates (like Dusty). He provides excellent leadership. And he is the perfect face of a football club - hard-working, clean-cut, family man, humble and positive. Not to mention he took on the difficult job of being the captain of a huge football club starved of success at a young age. And consequently he has had to deal with heaps of criticism and personal scrutiny. All of which he has handled with nothing but class.

Yet the above doesn’t seem to mean anything to the general public. They call Trent soft. They call him a poor captain. They call him the worst Brownlow medallist. I just don’t get it.

To me, Trent is an A grade player, an A+ grade captain and a A++ person. I feel privileged to have him at Tigerland.

 

[THE_GUN]

Do It For Cotchin Tonight Boys

 

[guruisatiger]

View attachment 476461

JD and the Chocolate bear

 

[Tony Stark]

Had a Barry tonight, the intent was there but it just didn't happen but then again he had plenty of friends tonight. A game to forget as a milestone, hopefully he bounces back next week.

 

[Sir_Rancelot]

Shouldn't of played wasn't right, would have been better to play his 200th on the MCG

 

[joelsyt]

Shouldn't of played wasn't right, would have been better to play his 200th on the MCG

I agree with this. I don’t want to make excuses, he wasn’t great last night, but maybe he should have been held back for the Hawthorn game? I’ve never had a migraine but I hear they’re not fun.

 

[Wacko23Jacko]

The chimp misses Prestia in the middle. Just like our backs missed Broady first 2 weeks and Vlaus last night.

 

[Madtiger2006]

Conditions sucked a bit last night. We weren't very good with the piece of soap in the second half.

 

[Rance2Mewtwo]

Flying to Adelaide two days after being hospitalised with a migraine and being solid sums up Trent's character really.

Never gives in.

 

[Sir_Rancelot]

I agree with this. I don’t want to make excuses, he wasn’t great last night, but maybe he should have been held back for the Hawthorn game? I’ve never had a migraine but I hear they’re not fun.

I suffer badly from them, I on average have them once a week and the can last up to 3 days. It really f*&^s you up days after it's gone you still don't feel right.

 

[TJTIGER]

My lovely partner gets them on occasion. She has to go into a completely dark room. It gets so bad she can be physically ill untill she can't be sick anymore & she will still continue being sick. It's just unbelievable and very distressing for me to see & hear her going through it...

 

[Moshie The Mook]

Don't put up with migraine pain.

Get stoned. Will hold you in good stead. Don't drive.

 

[Nostradumbass]

My lovely partner gets them on occasion. She has to go into a completely dark room. It gets so bad she can be physically ill untill she can't be sick anymore & she will still continue being sick. It's just unbelievable and very distressing for me to see & hear her going through it...

My mum was the same.

 

[TJTIGER]

My mum was the same.

Terrible to see, worse to go through I'd imagine...
Wouldn't wish it on anyone....

 

[Punt rd end]

Article in the hun today

amish McLachlan: Considered and wise Trent Cotchin fighting footy stereotypes
Hamish McLachlan, Sunday Herald Sun
April 1, 2018 8:00am
Subscriber only
TRENT Cotchin. Footballer. Best and Fairest. Brownlow medallist. Premiership captain. Father of two. Level headed. Wise beyond his years. Caring. Generous. Humble. Considered and thoughtful. A ripper.

Trent Cotchin and his family — wife Brooke and their two children Harper. 3 and Mackenzie, 1. Picture: David Caird
HM: How were your days spent growing up?

TC: I think being a typical kid, Hame! I grew up in Reservoir with a pretty big back yard, and I spent a lot of time with Dad kicking the footy. We had a bike track next door, so golf and footy, any sort of sport, really, was played. I’m just a typical Reservoir kid!

HM: Close family?

TC: Yep, very lucky. I’ve got an older and a younger sister. We spent a lot of time together. The younger one is a little bit further apart in years than my older sister and I. We all played together a lot, knocked teeth out with indoor basketball and footy games, all standard stuff.

HM: Pretty standard. When did you realise you could play football better than most around you?

TC: Umm … that’s a good question. It’s probably something the old man would be better answering. I was always a good player in the juniors, and I tried to play in the age group above what I was, or I’d fill in for the U/11s when I was U/9s, or U/13s when I was U/11s. I felt like I competed okay, but I was always very little, and that was my No. 1 concern.

HM: There must have been a point where you made the conscious decision that you didn’t want to be a chippie or a doctor or a lawyer, but you wanted to be a professional footballer. When was that?

TC: I always dreamt of being an AFL player, but if I look back now, I probably subconsciously made decisions as a year 9 or 10 student to not attend parties as much, and things like that. It wasn’t as evident in my life as it was in a lot of my friends. There were guys that were equally or similarly talented in the sport, that may or may not have gone on because of the choices they made. That’s not to say that kids shouldn’t be kids and experience that part of their life, but I think subconsciously I made that decision as early as 14 or 15.

HM: You were making those decisions because you thought “if I sacrifice now, it will help me become an AFL footballer”, or do you think it was your personality? You’re not a big drinker now.

TC: I’m not a big drinker now, but it was probably a combination. I always made sure I was in bed at a certain time the night before a game from as young as 10! In saying that, I never prepared the same way for basketball, it was just for the footy.

HM: You were made captain of Richmond at 22, the youngest Richmond captain in 100 years. When you were asked, were there any reservations?

TC: None. There was a lot excitement and a bit of angst, but the thing that I now know is how much I didn’t know. If I had have known what I needed to know, I would have been s--- scared.

Cotchin of the Tigers celebrating his 200th AFL game. Picture: Getty Images
HM: I assume you thought you were ready.

TC: I did, but I wasn’t. I don’t think you can ever be ready.

HM: What do you know now that you didn’t then?

TC: My greatest lesson I’ve learnt came to me even as late as the 2016 off-season. I started to realise that I didn’t need to be Luke Hodge or Nick Riewoldt or Joel Selwood. I just needed to find Trent Cotchin and be the best version of me. That’s been an incredible learning for me.

HM: Who opened that door of awareness for you?

TC: Ben Crowe, who’s now a great friend. It wasn’t just about leadership and managing a team in a sense, but his No. 1 focus for me was just finding myself initially, and then determining how we would build on that once that was achieved.

HM: How did you end up talking with Ben, who has become a mentor of yours? Who introduced you?

TC: It was the morning after the 2016 Best and Fairest. I was at Crown, and I was battling a bit with a whole host of things, and (wife) Brooke and I had a conversation, and it was sort of a “what the f--- is happening with me” conversation. It was Neville Crowe’s funeral later that morning, and I spent a good hour or so on the phone to Brooke’s dad. He was talking about how he engaged with a business mentor or a life coach — however you want to put it. He put me in touch with his, and I just opened up to Dimma at the funeral. Dimma was feeling vulnerable at that time too, and he said that he was starting to see Crowey and it was really helping. I met with Ben and just connected straight away. I caught up with him and didn’t really look back.

HM: You were obviously feeling a little lost or vulnerable to ring your father-in-law, Rick Kennedy, looking for help?

TC: I think I plummeted without knowing that I’d plummeted after the 2016 season finished. Articles were still being written about me and the club. We’d had a horrible year, we were all in a bit of a free-fall. I probably don’t speak enough about the support Brooke is. She suggested that I call her dad. I also spoke to Gerard Murphy that morning; he was our leadership co-ordinator at the club at that time.

HM: Was the negativity coming through both the mainstream and social media affecting you?

TC: Yeah, it was, even though I was thinking I could block it out. I’ve always been one of those people that can say, “you know what, it’s just a keyboard warrior”, but I think the two sort of collided, and it got to me. If a journalist writes an article about your performance on the weekend, or about you not being a leader that people are expecting, then you’ve got people on social media piling on, it can get heavy. I think that was when the cracks started to appear, and it split open.

Cotchin carrying his daughters on a lap of honour after winning the 2017 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Getty Images

The Richmond banner for Cotchin’s 200th game. Picture: Getty Images
HM: And you got your head around it with help?

TC: Yeah … the greater awareness you have of yourself and what is truly important to you, and which opinions really matter, you build your resilience, and you effectively create a shield and you don’t care about what’s said.

HM: I can’t remember who it was I read who recently said: “What other people think of me is none of my business.”

TC: Yep, it’s the perfect way of approaching it.

HM: So what about those around you that aren’t as philosophical and as strong as you. How badly do you reckon they get affected?

TC: I reckon that’s the biggest part about why athletes start to suffer. Partners, parents, family, friends; they’re the ones that read most of it, because typically you’re educated not to read it or to ignore it. They don’t have the same coping mechanisms, nor do they have the opportunity to go out there and prove people wrong on the weekend or in training, or speak about it if they get a chance. The more of a burden it starts to become for them, the more it affects the way they behave, or the way they speak to you and pass on information. I think it snowballs, and those cracks become even bigger.

HM: It’s a privileged life. You get to play the game you grew up loving, you get well looked after, but you are highly scrutinised. You are judged, criticised, analysed. That’s the price you pay?

TC: I think it’s also the perspective you have on why or how they judge you. Typically, a football club is judged on wins and losses, but if you’re really confident with the work you’re doing inside the four walls, the growth you’re having from the brand of footy you’re playing, or the work you’re doing from a culture aspect; these are the things that people commentating on the game don’t really understand and don’t know. If you don’t focus too much on the outcome and just focus on the things that are actually going well for you, then typically those judgments shouldn’t affect you as much.

HM: Depending on who you listened to, Damien Hardwick “had to go” from the Richmond Football Club at the end of 2016. If the board listened to the noise outside or didn’t know itself as well as it does, there’s a high chance the Richmond Football Club wouldn’t be the premiers. It says a lot about the strength of the club’s leadership.

TC: Absolutely. That’s right. If you took the populist view from outside at the time, Dimma probably goes. But the populist view, although easy to take, isn’t always the right one. I commended Peggy, Brendon and the board in my season launch speech. They stood firm. Dimma was the right man, they knew that, and they didn’t get swayed by people yelling opinions formed with limited information.

HM: Damien Hardwick in a sentence?

TC: A true family man that values more than just his job.

Cotchin with Tigers coach Damien Hardwick. Picture: Getty Images

Trent Cotchin as the Grand Prix AFL Ambassador with his daughter Harper. Picture: David Caird
HM: Last year lots of things changed. What were the three pieces you all had to talk of in front of everyone?

TC: A hero, a hardship and a highlight.

HM: Everyone did it. What has it done to the club and the individuals within it?

TC: It’s really hard to explain. We can bring a football player here from another football club and show him the facilities and some really good people, but for them to really understand what we’re so proud of, and what makes our club so great to be a part of, you’d have to live it for months.

HM: It’s different to what it was because you all allowed yourselves to be stripped back?

TC: It is, yeah. I know everyone very differently to before we had the chats. It is like we are all brothers, rather than just football colleagues. It is powerful, and as a result, I just love walking in here in the mornings.

HM: That hasn’t always been the case?

TC: No, it wasn’t, and that was my fault. It comes back to letting the weight of the world sit on your shoulders, because you were expected to win or you were expected to have a good year. Everyone is expecting to have a good year, but what are we actually doing to ensure we give ourselves an opportunity to have a good year? What are we valuing every day that makes us feel good? As you said before, we’re playing a game that people walking past us right now would dream of having one shot at, for one game or one minute.

HM: Just on the learnings from last year: your acceptance of your own vulnerability and others seems to be almost the key pillar of the change. Is that fair?

TC: I wouldn’t say the key pillar, but maybe one of the pillars. The moment I showed up in pre-season, going into 2017, I just laid out how I felt. What I was good at, what I wasn’t good at, what I loved, what I didn’t love. I talk about the weight on the shoulders. That instantly made me relax into life, not just footy. I think it gave guys the power to come forward and speak about the same struggles, or the things that they love, and it just instantly helped with connection. When I was having a coffee with some of the youngest players on the list, I thought I had good relationships with them, but it went from just being teammates to being brothers.

HM: Has your family life strengthened through the process as a result of how you’ve treated yourself and everyone at the club?

TC: Yeah, absolutely. The greatest thing about finding my “why”, in a sense, was just the connection it’s had in all walks of life, not just footy. Every relationship I have is stronger.

HM: Two hundred games last Thursday night. From them, excluding the (2017) grand final, which is the one moment you’ve enjoyed the most?

TC: It would have to be the prelim last year. It was the purest of Richmond football fans that were watching the game at the ’G. Ninety-five per cent of the crowd was on our side. The noise at the end, and the passion, and the joy it gave people to get through to the grand final … it was a feeling that gave me shivers then, and gives me shivers now just talking about it. The other one would be my 150th game running out with Harper, and I can’t wait to do it with both girls this week.

HM: One of the best photos that I have I took on the iPhone. It’s of you with your two daughters on the ground. It was the ultimate. The premiership captain with his family, on the MCG in front of still 80,000 people after the 20,000 crows had disappeared.

TC: I must admit, for a lot of the lap of honour all I wanted to do was see all my girls — not just the kids — on the field, which I was very thankful for in the end. Not everyone got their family on the field, but it was a pretty special moment.

HM: You’re a young husband and a young father. You always wanted to be both from what I gather?

TC: Yeah. You also need to find the right partner for that too! I probably wouldn’t have had kids quite as young if I hadn’t met Brooke, with the love she has for children and family. I wouldn’t change it for the world. While I really enjoyed my wedding, I wish I had had the chance to speak as a more mature person.

HM: What has fatherhood given you that you didn’t think it would?

TC: That’s a tough question. I think I always had pretty high expectations around fatherhood and how much I would love it. There’s a lot more challenges than you think, but lessons that you can’t learn in any other way, I don’t reckon.

Trent and Brooke celebrate the Tigers’ Grand Final win. Picture: Getty Images

Brooke Cotchin with their girls outside the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

Trent and Brooke at the Australian Open. Picture: Ian Currie
HM: Did you think it was possible to love something like you love your kids?

TC: Nope — it is actually hard to describe to people who don’t have kids. You get excited about your mother-in-law or parents having them for a night, and then half an hour after they are gone, you’re missing them! I get upset when Brooke tells me her mum is picking up Harper from kinder, because I want to pick them up!

HM: Will you have more if you can?

TC: Maybe one more. A wise man once told me: “You’ll never regret the kids you do have, but you might regret the ones you don’t.” Maybe we’ll end up with 10! (laughs).

HM: Why did you fall in love with Brooke?

TC: She’s very attractive, but I think her heart is just full of goodness. There’s a lot of detail behind Brooke herself, and I’ll keep that to myself, but she is a unique person. The care she has for people is nothing short of outstanding.

HM: At what stage last year did you think the Tigers could win the premiership?

TC: I was in bed with Brooke, and I reckon it was round six. We lost to Adelaide on a Saturday night, and I remember distinctly saying the words: “I don’t know what it is, but I just have a weird feeling about us as a group. We are unique, and I reckon we can win the whole lot.” That’s not to say that those words mightn’t have been challenged at times!

HM: You become a premiership captain. Just the eighth premiership captain at the club. Do you have a sense of how significant that is in terms of the history of the club?

TC: I don’t think about what it means to me, but they way we’ve impacted people’s lives is incredible. I love that, and the stories that have humbled me. I spoke at the season launch about a family who consisted of two brothers and a father. They said the one thing they would ensure they’d do together was see a Tigers premiership. One of the brothers passed away at the start of last year, but they continued to purchase a ticket for him all year. That included a grand final ticket. They shed tears in the last quarter, and then they had an opportunity to have a photo with the premiership cup. They left a space for the brother. They’re the sorts of stories that are just incredible, and make the journey absolutely worth it.

HM: Such a great story. I reckon the moment of the season for me was when the cameras caught Brendon Gale breaking down, Peggy consoling him, and Richo just unable to control his emotions. It is a game that makes people feel so much.

TC: More than I can imagine. I get it now; I understand it. Early days, even the love I had for footy growing up, I don’t think I was ever a passionate football supporter, but living and breathing yellow and black for the last 10 or 11 years, I now get it. Fans have supported them for their whole lives!

HM: Dustin Martin. What do you reckon the greatest misconception is about your great mate?

TC: There’s a lot! I think the best thing about him having to do more media in the last 12 months is that people are starting to see the genuine loving and caring human being that Dustin is. He would literally die for people.

HM: He is one of your choices as babysitter of your kids.

TC: Yep.

HM: I don’t think you can basically give someone more praise than saying: “I will leave my two children with you, and you’re in charge.”

TC: He was coming over for dinner, and asked me what I was doing in the afternoon. I said I had Harper’s swimming lessons, and he immediately he was like, “Oh, what time, I’ll pop over”. There’s a lot of people there and he had to have a couple of photos, and that can sometimes challenge Dusty, but for a guy that could have easily just said that he’d meet us back at home in five, only to come an hour and fifteen minutes earlier because he knows how much it means to Harper; that’s just special.

Dustin Martin laughing with Trent Cotchin at training. Picture: Michael Klein

Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin with Cotchin’s daughters after winning the 2017 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Getty Images
HM: You at one point said to Dusty, “you’ve got a bumpy road ahead of you, come and live with me”.

TC: Yeah, I think he’d be the first to say that was his lowest point.

HM: What was he battling at the time?

TC: Just everything, really. How to live the right life to get the best out of himself. He had challenges with a bit of anxiety and so forth that he was seeking help for, but I think he just needed an arm. Brooke and I welcomed him into our house.

HM: So give me the Dustin Martin — as you know him — in a sentence.

TC: One of the most genuine and caring humans that’s grateful for what he has.

HM: When I say “grand final”, what immediately comes to your mind?

TC: Just happiness. And a smile.

HM: Jack Riewoldt. Better on field, or on stage with The Killers on Grand Final Day last year?

TC: (laughs) Horrific on stage! His voice could penetrate any ear drum, violently, he’s a terrible singer and a poor dancer. Good footballer though.

HM: I feel like you have never been more connected with football than now.

TC: I tried to live a life where I was Trent Cotchin, the Richmond AFL player, and Trent Cotchin the family man. I pushed footy away, but one of my light-bulb moments was that I could be both and still be the one person that I really wanted to be. I was forever trying to push away the stereotypes that all AFL players take drugs or they treat women with disrespect. I thought that if I lived a life where I was still embracing being Trent the AFL player, people would still paint me with that brush. Now I’m mature enough to know that I can still live by the same morals and behave in the same way and try to be an example for people, but be Trent in both senses.

HM: You won the Brownlow in 2016, four years after you’d played out the year. You’ve always slightly been uncomfortable about it. Do you feel more at ease with being a Brownlow medallist now you’re a premiership captain?

TC: I just feel at ease being a premiership captain, I think. I accept and acknowledge that taking out one of the game’s greatest honours for a season is a real feat, but for me, I’ve played the game because I love team sport, and being a premiership captain resembles exactly what I’m about.

HM: You are the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the land. Steve Smith is captain of, arguably, our most followed national team. How do you think he will be affected going forward from here, given the past week?

TC: It’s really hard for any individual to comment on without having all the information. It’s going to be the most challenging time of his life. He’ll have some people that support him, and he will need them, and he’ll have others that want his head cut off, in a sense. That’s the nature of sport, Australian sport, and being the leader of your team. I hope he copes with it. We all make mistakes.

Trent and Brooke with baby Harper in 2014. Picture: Jason Edwards

Trent Cotchin describes himself as just a ‘typical Reservoir kid’. Picture: Getty Images
HM: What would you do on returning home?

TC: Geeee … mmm … maybe get on the front foot. I think I’d be inclined to just open up to the world as to why. There may be a reason — who knows — and people won’t agree with it, but if you put yourself out there and just own it, and acknowledge it and accept that it was a huge mistake, maybe some good would come of it. It would be horrifically tough to deal with.

HM: You don’t drink much, you don’t bet, I’m guessing you’ve hardly had a speeding ticket. Is there anything that you would classify as a vice in your life?

TC: Chocolate.

HM: The perfect citizen. It’s good.

TC: I’m not perfect — I’ve got a lot of flaws — but I just hide them, mate.

HM: What would you say your greatest flaw is, then?

TC: The inability to say no. Dusty and I actually speak about that a lot. I feel guilty every time I do, but sometimes you have to. I need to be better at it.

HM: You’ve got to. Give me your perfect day.

TC: The perfect day would be waking up in the morning with the kids, giving them brekkie, then dropping them off to kinder because I know how much they love that. Then I’d have coffee with Brooke, pick the kids up, whack them in the car, let them have a nap in the car, drive down to our future farm, spend the afternoon down there, put the fire on and have dinner by the fire. That’s me.

HM: When it’s all over, after another 150 games or so, what do you think you’ll be doing with your life?

TC: I want to be involved in something where I’m helping others find themselves, or helping them realise their potential. That, for me, would be very fulfilling.

HM: Well done on captaining a premiership, and I’ll see you at the farm.

TC: I always look forward to that — thanks, Hame.

 

[prodigy]

Article in the hun today

amish McLachlan: Considered and wise Trent Cotchin fighting footy stereotypes
Hamish McLachlan, Sunday Herald Sun
April 1, 2018 8:00am
Subscriber only
TRENT Cotchin. Footballer. Best and Fairest. Brownlow medallist. Premiership captain. Father of two. Level headed. Wise beyond his years. Caring. Generous. Humble. Considered and thoughtful. A ripper.

Trent Cotchin and his family — wife Brooke and their two children Harper. 3 and Mackenzie, 1. Picture: David Caird
HM: How were your days spent growing up?

TC: I think being a typical kid, Hame! I grew up in Reservoir with a pretty big back yard, and I spent a lot of time with Dad kicking the footy. We had a bike track next door, so golf and footy, any sort of sport, really, was played. I’m just a typical Reservoir kid!

HM: Close family?

TC: Yep, very lucky. I’ve got an older and a younger sister. We spent a lot of time together. The younger one is a little bit further apart in years than my older sister and I. We all played together a lot, knocked teeth out with indoor basketball and footy games, all standard stuff.

HM: Pretty standard. When did you realise you could play football better than most around you?

TC: Umm … that’s a good question. It’s probably something the old man would be better answering. I was always a good player in the juniors, and I tried to play in the age group above what I was, or I’d fill in for the U/11s when I was U/9s, or U/13s when I was U/11s. I felt like I competed okay, but I was always very little, and that was my No. 1 concern.

HM: There must have been a point where you made the conscious decision that you didn’t want to be a chippie or a doctor or a lawyer, but you wanted to be a professional footballer. When was that?

TC: I always dreamt of being an AFL player, but if I look back now, I probably subconsciously made decisions as a year 9 or 10 student to not attend parties as much, and things like that. It wasn’t as evident in my life as it was in a lot of my friends. There were guys that were equally or similarly talented in the sport, that may or may not have gone on because of the choices they made. That’s not to say that kids shouldn’t be kids and experience that part of their life, but I think subconsciously I made that decision as early as 14 or 15.

HM: You were making those decisions because you thought “if I sacrifice now, it will help me become an AFL footballer”, or do you think it was your personality? You’re not a big drinker now.

TC: I’m not a big drinker now, but it was probably a combination. I always made sure I was in bed at a certain time the night before a game from as young as 10! In saying that, I never prepared the same way for basketball, it was just for the footy.

HM: You were made captain of Richmond at 22, the youngest Richmond captain in 100 years. When you were asked, were there any reservations?

TC: None. There was a lot excitement and a bit of angst, but the thing that I now know is how much I didn’t know. If I had have known what I needed to know, I would have been s--- scared.

Cotchin of the Tigers celebrating his 200th AFL game. Picture: Getty Images
HM: I assume you thought you were ready.

TC: I did, but I wasn’t. I don’t think you can ever be ready.

HM: What do you know now that you didn’t then?

TC: My greatest lesson I’ve learnt came to me even as late as the 2016 off-season. I started to realise that I didn’t need to be Luke Hodge or Nick Riewoldt or Joel Selwood. I just needed to find Trent Cotchin and be the best version of me. That’s been an incredible learning for me.

HM: Who opened that door of awareness for you?

TC: Ben Crowe, who’s now a great friend. It wasn’t just about leadership and managing a team in a sense, but his No. 1 focus for me was just finding myself initially, and then determining how we would build on that once that was achieved.

HM: How did you end up talking with Ben, who has become a mentor of yours? Who introduced you?

TC: It was the morning after the 2016 Best and Fairest. I was at Crown, and I was battling a bit with a whole host of things, and (wife) Brooke and I had a conversation, and it was sort of a “what the f--- is happening with me” conversation. It was Neville Crowe’s funeral later that morning, and I spent a good hour or so on the phone to Brooke’s dad. He was talking about how he engaged with a business mentor or a life coach — however you want to put it. He put me in touch with his, and I just opened up to Dimma at the funeral. Dimma was feeling vulnerable at that time too, and he said that he was starting to see Crowey and it was really helping. I met with Ben and just connected straight away. I caught up with him and didn’t really look back.

HM: You were obviously feeling a little lost or vulnerable to ring your father-in-law, Rick Kennedy, looking for help?

TC: I think I plummeted without knowing that I’d plummeted after the 2016 season finished. Articles were still being written about me and the club. We’d had a horrible year, we were all in a bit of a free-fall. I probably don’t speak enough about the support Brooke is. She suggested that I call her dad. I also spoke to Gerard Murphy that morning; he was our leadership co-ordinator at the club at that time.

HM: Was the negativity coming through both the mainstream and social media affecting you?

TC: Yeah, it was, even though I was thinking I could block it out. I’ve always been one of those people that can say, “you know what, it’s just a keyboard warrior”, but I think the two sort of collided, and it got to me. If a journalist writes an article about your performance on the weekend, or about you not being a leader that people are expecting, then you’ve got people on social media piling on, it can get heavy. I think that was when the cracks started to appear, and it split open.

Cotchin carrying his daughters on a lap of honour after winning the 2017 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Getty Images

The Richmond banner for Cotchin’s 200th game. Picture: Getty Images
HM: And you got your head around it with help?

TC: Yeah … the greater awareness you have of yourself and what is truly important to you, and which opinions really matter, you build your resilience, and you effectively create a shield and you don’t care about what’s said.

HM: I can’t remember who it was I read who recently said: “What other people think of me is none of my business.”

TC: Yep, it’s the perfect way of approaching it.

HM: So what about those around you that aren’t as philosophical and as strong as you. How badly do you reckon they get affected?

TC: I reckon that’s the biggest part about why athletes start to suffer. Partners, parents, family, friends; they’re the ones that read most of it, because typically you’re educated not to read it or to ignore it. They don’t have the same coping mechanisms, nor do they have the opportunity to go out there and prove people wrong on the weekend or in training, or speak about it if they get a chance. The more of a burden it starts to become for them, the more it affects the way they behave, or the way they speak to you and pass on information. I think it snowballs, and those cracks become even bigger.

HM: It’s a privileged life. You get to play the game you grew up loving, you get well looked after, but you are highly scrutinised. You are judged, criticised, analysed. That’s the price you pay?

TC: I think it’s also the perspective you have on why or how they judge you. Typically, a football club is judged on wins and losses, but if you’re really confident with the work you’re doing inside the four walls, the growth you’re having from the brand of footy you’re playing, or the work you’re doing from a culture aspect; these are the things that people commentating on the game don’t really understand and don’t know. If you don’t focus too much on the outcome and just focus on the things that are actually going well for you, then typically those judgments shouldn’t affect you as much.

HM: Depending on who you listened to, Damien Hardwick “had to go” from the Richmond Football Club at the end of 2016. If the board listened to the noise outside or didn’t know itself as well as it does, there’s a high chance the Richmond Football Club wouldn’t be the premiers. It says a lot about the strength of the club’s leadership.

TC: Absolutely. That’s right. If you took the populist view from outside at the time, Dimma probably goes. But the populist view, although easy to take, isn’t always the right one. I commended Peggy, Brendon and the board in my season launch speech. They stood firm. Dimma was the right man, they knew that, and they didn’t get swayed by people yelling opinions formed with limited information.

HM: Damien Hardwick in a sentence?

TC: A true family man that values more than just his job.

Cotchin with Tigers coach Damien Hardwick. Picture: Getty Images

Trent Cotchin as the Grand Prix AFL Ambassador with his daughter Harper. Picture: David Caird
HM: Last year lots of things changed. What were the three pieces you all had to talk of in front of everyone?

TC: A hero, a hardship and a highlight.

HM: Everyone did it. What has it done to the club and the individuals within it?

TC: It’s really hard to explain. We can bring a football player here from another football club and show him the facilities and some really good people, but for them to really understand what we’re so proud of, and what makes our club so great to be a part of, you’d have to live it for months.

HM: It’s different to what it was because you all allowed yourselves to be stripped back?

TC: It is, yeah. I know everyone very differently to before we had the chats. It is like we are all brothers, rather than just football colleagues. It is powerful, and as a result, I just love walking in here in the mornings.

HM: That hasn’t always been the case?

TC: No, it wasn’t, and that was my fault. It comes back to letting the weight of the world sit on your shoulders, because you were expected to win or you were expected to have a good year. Everyone is expecting to have a good year, but what are we actually doing to ensure we give ourselves an opportunity to have a good year? What are we valuing every day that makes us feel good? As you said before, we’re playing a game that people walking past us right now would dream of having one shot at, for one game or one minute.

HM: Just on the learnings from last year: your acceptance of your own vulnerability and others seems to be almost the key pillar of the change. Is that fair?

TC: I wouldn’t say the key pillar, but maybe one of the pillars. The moment I showed up in pre-season, going into 2017, I just laid out how I felt. What I was good at, what I wasn’t good at, what I loved, what I didn’t love. I talk about the weight on the shoulders. That instantly made me relax into life, not just footy. I think it gave guys the power to come forward and speak about the same struggles, or the things that they love, and it just instantly helped with connection. When I was having a coffee with some of the youngest players on the list, I thought I had good relationships with them, but it went from just being teammates to being brothers.

HM: Has your family life strengthened through the process as a result of how you’ve treated yourself and everyone at the club?

TC: Yeah, absolutely. The greatest thing about finding my “why”, in a sense, was just the connection it’s had in all walks of life, not just footy. Every relationship I have is stronger.

HM: Two hundred games last Thursday night. From them, excluding the (2017) grand final, which is the one moment you’ve enjoyed the most?

TC: It would have to be the prelim last year. It was the purest of Richmond football fans that were watching the game at the ’G. Ninety-five per cent of the crowd was on our side. The noise at the end, and the passion, and the joy it gave people to get through to the grand final … it was a feeling that gave me shivers then, and gives me shivers now just talking about it. The other one would be my 150th game running out with Harper, and I can’t wait to do it with both girls this week.

HM: One of the best photos that I have I took on the iPhone. It’s of you with your two daughters on the ground. It was the ultimate. The premiership captain with his family, on the MCG in front of still 80,000 people after the 20,000 crows had disappeared.

TC: I must admit, for a lot of the lap of honour all I wanted to do was see all my girls — not just the kids — on the field, which I was very thankful for in the end. Not everyone got their family on the field, but it was a pretty special moment.

HM: You’re a young husband and a young father. You always wanted to be both from what I gather?

TC: Yeah. You also need to find the right partner for that too! I probably wouldn’t have had kids quite as young if I hadn’t met Brooke, with the love she has for children and family. I wouldn’t change it for the world. While I really enjoyed my wedding, I wish I had had the chance to speak as a more mature person.

HM: What has fatherhood given you that you didn’t think it would?

TC: That’s a tough question. I think I always had pretty high expectations around fatherhood and how much I would love it. There’s a lot more challenges than you think, but lessons that you can’t learn in any other way, I don’t reckon.

Trent and Brooke celebrate the Tigers’ Grand Final win. Picture: Getty Images

Brooke Cotchin with their girls outside the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

Trent and Brooke at the Australian Open. Picture: Ian Currie
HM: Did you think it was possible to love something like you love your kids?

TC: Nope — it is actually hard to describe to people who don’t have kids. You get excited about your mother-in-law or parents having them for a night, and then half an hour after they are gone, you’re missing them! I get upset when Brooke tells me her mum is picking up Harper from kinder, because I want to pick them up!

HM: Will you have more if you can?

TC: Maybe one more. A wise man once told me: “You’ll never regret the kids you do have, but you might regret the ones you don’t.” Maybe we’ll end up with 10! (laughs).

HM: Why did you fall in love with Brooke?

TC: She’s very attractive, but I think her heart is just full of goodness. There’s a lot of detail behind Brooke herself, and I’ll keep that to myself, but she is a unique person. The care she has for people is nothing short of outstanding.

HM: At what stage last year did you think the Tigers could win the premiership?

TC: I was in bed with Brooke, and I reckon it was round six. We lost to Adelaide on a Saturday night, and I remember distinctly saying the words: “I don’t know what it is, but I just have a weird feeling about us as a group. We are unique, and I reckon we can win the whole lot.” That’s not to say that those words mightn’t have been challenged at times!

HM: You become a premiership captain. Just the eighth premiership captain at the club. Do you have a sense of how significant that is in terms of the history of the club?

TC: I don’t think about what it means to me, but they way we’ve impacted people’s lives is incredible. I love that, and the stories that have humbled me. I spoke at the season launch about a family who consisted of two brothers and a father. They said the one thing they would ensure they’d do together was see a Tigers premiership. One of the brothers passed away at the start of last year, but they continued to purchase a ticket for him all year. That included a grand final ticket. They shed tears in the last quarter, and then they had an opportunity to have a photo with the premiership cup. They left a space for the brother. They’re the sorts of stories that are just incredible, and make the journey absolutely worth it.

HM: Such a great story. I reckon the moment of the season for me was when the cameras caught Brendon Gale breaking down, Peggy consoling him, and Richo just unable to control his emotions. It is a game that makes people feel so much.

TC: More than I can imagine. I get it now; I understand it. Early days, even the love I had for footy growing up, I don’t think I was ever a passionate football supporter, but living and breathing yellow and black for the last 10 or 11 years, I now get it. Fans have supported them for their whole lives!

HM: Dustin Martin. What do you reckon the greatest misconception is about your great mate?

TC: There’s a lot! I think the best thing about him having to do more media in the last 12 months is that people are starting to see the genuine loving and caring human being that Dustin is. He would literally die for people.

HM: He is one of your choices as babysitter of your kids.

TC: Yep.

HM: I don’t think you can basically give someone more praise than saying: “I will leave my two children with you, and you’re in charge.”

TC: He was coming over for dinner, and asked me what I was doing in the afternoon. I said I had Harper’s swimming lessons, and he immediately he was like, “Oh, what time, I’ll pop over”. There’s a lot of people there and he had to have a couple of photos, and that can sometimes challenge Dusty, but for a guy that could have easily just said that he’d meet us back at home in five, only to come an hour and fifteen minutes earlier because he knows how much it means to Harper; that’s just special.

Dustin Martin laughing with Trent Cotchin at training. Picture: Michael Klein

Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin with Cotchin’s daughters after winning the 2017 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Getty Images
HM: You at one point said to Dusty, “you’ve got a bumpy road ahead of you, come and live with me”.

TC: Yeah, I think he’d be the first to say that was his lowest point.

HM: What was he battling at the time?

TC: Just everything, really. How to live the right life to get the best out of himself. He had challenges with a bit of anxiety and so forth that he was seeking help for, but I think he just needed an arm. Brooke and I welcomed him into our house.

HM: So give me the Dustin Martin — as you know him — in a sentence.

TC: One of the most genuine and caring humans that’s grateful for what he has.

HM: When I say “grand final”, what immediately comes to your mind?

TC: Just happiness. And a smile.

HM: Jack Riewoldt. Better on field, or on stage with The Killers on Grand Final Day last year?

TC: (laughs) Horrific on stage! His voice could penetrate any ear drum, violently, he’s a terrible singer and a poor dancer. Good footballer though.

HM: I feel like you have never been more connected with football than now.

TC: I tried to live a life where I was Trent Cotchin, the Richmond AFL player, and Trent Cotchin the family man. I pushed footy away, but one of my light-bulb moments was that I could be both and still be the one person that I really wanted to be. I was forever trying to push away the stereotypes that all AFL players take drugs or they treat women with disrespect. I thought that if I lived a life where I was still embracing being Trent the AFL player, people would still paint me with that brush. Now I’m mature enough to know that I can still live by the same morals and behave in the same way and try to be an example for people, but be Trent in both senses.

HM: You won the Brownlow in 2016, four years after you’d played out the year. You’ve always slightly been uncomfortable about it. Do you feel more at ease with being a Brownlow medallist now you’re a premiership captain?

TC: I just feel at ease being a premiership captain, I think. I accept and acknowledge that taking out one of the game’s greatest honours for a season is a real feat, but for me, I’ve played the game because I love team sport, and being a premiership captain resembles exactly what I’m about.

HM: You are the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the land. Steve Smith is captain of, arguably, our most followed national team. How do you think he will be affected going forward from here, given the past week?

TC: It’s really hard for any individual to comment on without having all the information. It’s going to be the most challenging time of his life. He’ll have some people that support him, and he will need them, and he’ll have others that want his head cut off, in a sense. That’s the nature of sport, Australian sport, and being the leader of your team. I hope he copes with it. We all make mistakes.

Trent and Brooke with baby Harper in 2014. Picture: Jason Edwards

Trent Cotchin describes himself as just a ‘typical Reservoir kid’. Picture: Getty Images
HM: What would you do on returning home?

TC: Geeee … mmm … maybe get on the front foot. I think I’d be inclined to just open up to the world as to why. There may be a reason — who knows — and people won’t agree with it, but if you put yourself out there and just own it, and acknowledge it and accept that it was a huge mistake, maybe some good would come of it. It would be horrifically tough to deal with.

HM: You don’t drink much, you don’t bet, I’m guessing you’ve hardly had a speeding ticket. Is there anything that you would classify as a vice in your life?

TC: Chocolate.

HM: The perfect citizen. It’s good.

TC: I’m not perfect — I’ve got a lot of flaws — but I just hide them, mate.

HM: What would you say your greatest flaw is, then?

TC: The inability to say no. Dusty and I actually speak about that a lot. I feel guilty every time I do, but sometimes you have to. I need to be better at it.

HM: You’ve got to. Give me your perfect day.

TC: The perfect day would be waking up in the morning with the kids, giving them brekkie, then dropping them off to kinder because I know how much they love that. Then I’d have coffee with Brooke, pick the kids up, whack them in the car, let them have a nap in the car, drive down to our future farm, spend the afternoon down there, put the fire on and have dinner by the fire. That’s me.

HM: When it’s all over, after another 150 games or so, what do you think you’ll be doing with your life?

TC: I want to be involved in something where I’m helping others find themselves, or helping them realise their potential. That, for me, would be very fulfilling.

HM: Well done on captaining a premiership, and I’ll see you at the farm.

TC: I always look forward to that — thanks, Hame.

Great read, thanks for posting that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Master class with a few Dusty stiff arms

 

[26_Miles]

Was Cotch at his best today, was great to watch. So smooth around the contest.

 

[smasha]

Cotchin brilliant today from the get go.

 

[joelsyt]

Best game I’ve seen from the skipper since the preliminary final last year. he was awesome today.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

We got a good 'un...

 

[26_Miles]

Another top game from Cotch again today, he's in great form.

 

[RedmanWasHere]

Another top game from Cotch again today, he's in great form.

That's premiership captain Cotch to the Tigers faithful.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

That's premiership captain Cotch to the Tigers faithful.

That's Premiership and Brownlow Captain Cotch to the many tiger faithful...

 

[RedmanWasHere]

That's Premiership and Brownlow Captain Cotch to the many tiger faithful...

While your DP would've been you after his goal last Qualifying Final.