Trent Cotchin has been in the news this week for all the wrong reasons, with his wife's quarantine breach indirectly causing a storm at AFL Media. Back in the realm of football, the Richmond captain has passed his physical peak and has slowed down in the past couple of years, but he can still contribute to the team by leading the system and directing others to follow it. This doesn't always translate into startable fantasy scores, and his scoring floor is just about too low to be startable in draft leagues. He is more of a Tiger legend than a fantasy star.
Trent Cotchin has been in the news this week for all the wrong reasons, with his wife's quarantine breach indirectly causing a storm at AFL Media. Back in the realm of football, the Richmond captain has passed his physical peak and has slowed down in the past couple of years, but he can still contribute to the team by leading the system and directing others to follow it. This doesn't always translate into startable fantasy scores, and his scoring floor is just about too low to be startable in draft leagues. He is more of a Tiger legend than a fantasy star.
Trent Cotchin had about as good a first year as any player has ever had in the modern era, with the possible exceptions of Chris Judd and Cyril Rioli. The challenge for him and his club is to find another level in 2020, as they will need him to do even more on an annual basis to lift them out of the cellar. There has been some murmurings that maybe his ceiling is not quite elite, but so far every post has been a winner for him and it would be folly to write him off as a Daniel Rich type at this early stage. Fantasy coaches eagerly await what he does in season two.
Set your watch by Cotch's hammy
Three separate hamstring injuries threatened to ruin Trent Cotchin's 2019 at various stages, before he returned for round 23 and survived through to the grand final, albeit he failed to reach his season rate of 21 disposals in any of those four games. His five-year run of averaging 25+ possessions ended in 2016, and he passed the midfielder baseline in only 11 of his 36 games across the past two years. Like his now-retired old teammate Brett Deledio, the late stages of Cotchin's career have been plagued by soft tissue weaknesses that he can never quite shake, carrying soreness through long stretches of games where his output is below his peak levels. At this point he's going to get drafted on name recognition alone, probably by a homer coach who remembers the glory days.
Trent Cotchin looms as the most important midfielder in today's grand final, as he is arguably the main reason why Richmond have got to this point with his tireless work in the packs to give the team drive from the middle. Despite the hype around Dustin Martin, he is the obvious tagging target for Matthew de Boer, and if he has a quiet one then the Tigers will have to rely on their defence to withstand repeated advances from the orange horde. Or he could play the same role as Luke Shuey did last year, and deserve the Norm Smith medal.
Cotch stays in the clutch
After enjoying one of the best injury runs on their way to the flag, the Tigers carried a few at times last season and Trent Cotchin was one of them, in doubt for much of the year with knee and hamstring soreness after some in-game knocks. He delivered his worst statistical output since his 2011 breakout, dropping 15 fantasy points from 2017 and 30 off his Brownlow-winning peak. Cotchin has only missed six games in eight seasons, but he has a tendency to play through injuries when perhaps more of a rest would fix them, leading to some underwhelming scores. His trailing average suggests he may not even be startable from week to week, and he's too young to have gone over the cliff just yet. Many eyes will be on him in preseason, as a bounce back is very much on the cards.
Trent Cotchin has been having his poorest year for fantasy scoring in all formats since before coming into his full powers in 2011. Like his midfield partner Dustin Martin you could accuse him of experiencing premiership hangover, but it's more that the team has managed to find a way to keep winning despite their midfield not being laden with fantasy studs, which is probably a healthy thing in the eyes of their coaches. He was always more of a Supercoach play, and he's kind of approaching a low-end keeper in that comp, but he needs a good finish to 2018.
Gotta Cotch 'em all
When you look at Trent Cotchin's numbers from his flag year, they don't look all that dissimilar to the plateau he's been on since the Brownlow year spike of 2012; his actions just seem more meaningful in the light of how the team performed. The captain actually delivered his worst disposal count since 2010 but posted a new personal best in tackles, underlining his centrality to the Hardwick game plan. Speculation about Richmond suffering a Bulldogs-style hangover the year after the flag as work rates slacken off is valid, though that effect would be highly unlikely to apply to Cotchin as he is an ultimate professional. He still suffers under a tag, and that trend even extended to the grand final. As a fantasy player, his value is limited by how good a captain he is, as he works for his team and not yours.
Cotchin catching up
The number two pick in the 2007 draft, Trent Cotchin has proved to be a classy player in his limited opportunities in between injuries.
Cotchin debuted in round 8 of 2008 and went on to average a respectable 68.5 in Dream Team and 66.8 in Super Coach despite his interrupted pre-season.
So far in 2009 he has been restricted to the past four games returning from an achilles injury, but has maintained his reasonable scores for a player of his age.
While he is probably not fantasy-relevant in 2009, look for him to explode in 2010 if he gets his first full pre-season under his belt, particularly in SC as he bulks up and moves to a more inside role which, coupled with his fantastic disposal, should see him rack up the SC tons.
Given the talent Cotchin has displayed in his brief AFL career, he will almost certainly break out in the not too distant future so keep a close eye on pre-season form in 2010.
