AFL Grand Final 2020: Richmond captain Trent Cotchin reveals how close he came to quitting footy forever

Cotchin told wife Brooke that if 2017 was another disastrous season for Richmond then he would have let someone else have a crack at leading the powerhouse club. But after captaining the Tigers to their third premiership in four years, Cotchin revealed it wasn’t just the captaincy he contemplated quitting. Cotchin, 30, said he was “extremely close” to walking away from the game. “Not just of being captain of such a special club, but footy as well,” he said from Richmond’s Sunday premiership party. “It got to a pretty challenging point. “That’s when you need to really most on the people that love and care most about you, because there’s always someone that wants to hear how you’re really going.” Cotchin went public with his leadership doubts at the 2017 Jack Dyer Medal, just days after leading Richmond to its drought-breaking flag. “I remember sitting with my wife after last year (2016) and telling her, ‘I’ll give this captaincy thing one more year, and if it doesn’t go well, we bomb out again or we don’t do it right then we’ll see if someone else can do the job’,” he said at the time. The Tigers finished the 2016 season with a 113-point loss to Sydney and since then have evolved into one of the AFL’s greatest teams. Chief executive Brendon Gale spoke emotively about Cotchin in the bowls of Metricon Stadium after their semi-final win against St Kilda, which was Cotchin’s 169th game as skipper – a new club record. Cotchin overtook dual premiership captain Percy Bentley (1932-40) that night and, like Bentley, has led Richmond into seven finals series, which is more than Jack Dyer (five) and Royce Hart (four).He then celebrated his 250th game in the preliminary final win against Port Adelaide. Defender David Astbury said the Tigers morphed into a premiership force when they encouraged individuals to express themselves freely – crediting Cotchin and Hardwick for that. “We were probably trying to make too many prototypes and ensure people did things a certain way,” Astbury said of the old Richmond. “Nowadays whatever you bring, whatever your strengths are, whoever you are as a person you just bring that and we’re going to piece you into our culture. “That’s certainly been a better fit for us. Dimma and Trent have certainly been catalysts for that.“It’s just a holistic investment from the group.” Hardwick said Cotchin “broke a significant record” when he became the club’s longest-serving captain against the Saints. “He’s been a warrior for us, he’ll be an all-time great and just the way he’s led this club since he took over has been enormous, really. “The club’s journey has been on the back of him.” JR DEFENDS LYNCH FROM HATERS Tigers star Jack Riewoldt has leapt to the defence of premiership-winning teammate Tom Lynch, who was jeered in the aftermath of Richmond’s AFL Grand Final win. Lynch, whose aggressive attitude led to him being fined five times by the MRO for off-the ball incidents this year, was booed when he walked up to the stage to collect his winner’s medal after Richmond’s 31-point win over Geelong in Saturday night’s Gabba decider. Lynch being targeted did not sit well with Riewoldt, who said he “constantly” supported his fellow forward. GET YOUR 24-PAGE WRAP SOUVENIR EDITION OF THE SUNDAY HERALD SUN “People have to have a villain in their life and somehow they’ve attached him as the villain of the 2020 season,” Riewoldt said of Lynch. “But he’s an outstanding person and an outstanding player, and a very good friend.” Lynch’s on-field shenanigans contributed to the Tigers being questioned and scrutinised over their behaviour this season. Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones were suspended for 10 games and kicked out of the club’s Queensland hub after getting into a fight outside a Surfers Paradise kebab shop in the early hours of a September morning. Riewoldt admitted the Tigers were far from perfect, but that his team “show up when we need to”. “We’re just a bloody good club,” he said. “There are so many things that we do that are different. “We embrace imperfection, we embrace struggle, we embrace vulnerability … to stick hard, and stick strong and come away with another premiership, in a year like this is very special.” Riewoldt said of Richmond’s three premierships in the past four years, this season’s flag would give them the most satisfaction. “This one here really symbolises what Richmond spirit is about,” he said. “We really have been in a group of 60 to 70 people in enemy territory away from home and we’ve relied on each other so much. “That’s what good clubs do, they support people through the tough times. “We’ve had as many as any other club up here, a lot of them undocumented as well with the struggles of living away from home, especially families, young guys that haven’t seen their parents for a long time. “But we're no different to anyone else in the country at the moment. There’s a lot of people that are missing family and missing being away from home. “The year has been one that I couldn’t explain ever, or imagine.” HOW COVID ALMOST BROKE TIGERS Richmond coach Damien Hardwick doubted the seriousness of COVID-19 and reached out to NFL clubs asking for advice on how to handle the global pandemic. Hardwick admitted his negativity permeated through to the players and contributed to a winless June as the disconnected Tigers restarted the season in a funk. Football boss Tim Livingstone gave Hardwick a “very stern talking to” before Richmond ripened once it relocated to Queensland. “We’re hearing all this, what I thought was propaganda, about the virus coming,” Hardwick said after coaching his third premiership in four seasons. “And I’ve gone, ‘But I can’t see it?’ I’m not seeing zombies walk down the street. “I struggled with it, I was probably the worst. “I couldn’t understand why we were made to separate from training and the early days of COVID I wasn’t quite sure what was going on. “I really struggled to get my head around it. The reality is if I’m struggling the players are certainly going to feed off that energy. “I think I was at my very, very worst early days. “I spoke to a number of other organisations (and NFL clubs) and the fact of the matter is I thought I made a crucial mistake at the start of it, and I thought our form reflected it. “I was just in a challenging view point and it was detrimental to both me and my coaching and certainly the club. “It started with a couple of Zoom calls and I wasn’t in a great place and I spoke to Tim and (chief executive) Brendon Gale, who were very forthcoming in providing me some feedback on that. “That’s what good leaders do, they don’t care who you are they’ll give you the sledgehammer at some stage to make sure you get your act together.” Hardwick’s raw honesty followed his most brilliant coaching performance as the Tigers converted a 22-point deficit against Geelong into a commanding victory on the back of a trademark Dustin Martin Grand Final performance. The revelation that the Tigers were peppered with internal problems and being led by an unhappy coach only makes this year’s triumph more impressive. “They’re (premierships) all different, but this one is extra significant,” Hardwick said. “What we had to go through to get here, the 100-odd days in a hub. “Initially we weren’t playing well. We were 1-2 and weren’t playing anywhere near as well as we would’ve liked. “We are a traditionally slow-starting side, which once again doesn’t alarm us but we would’ve liked to have been playing a hell of a lot better. “As soon as we got here (Queensland), I don’t know what it was (but we turned the corner).” CATS CONQUERED: HAWKS, LIONS RECORDS NEXT ON TIGER AGENDA Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has declared the club’s premiership dynasty can roll on as the Tigers close in on Hawthorn and Brisbane’s premiership three-peats. Hardwick’s best mate Alastair Clarkson led the mighty Hawks to four flags in eight years and the Tigers now boast three in the past four seasons. Hardwick admitted "the easy thing to do was to sack me" after a diabolical 2016 season that ended with a 113-point loss to Sydney. But the Tigers have won 71 games and lost just 23 since and they are 10-2 (83.3 per cent) in finals. They now boast another 15 three-time premiership heroes while Noah Balta was the only Tiger who claimed his maiden AFL premiership on a historic night for the AFL. “That Grand Final was something I think the whole of the AFL was looking forward to and I think it was one hell of a game," Hardwick said. “To the Queensland Government and the state of Queensland, thank you so much for allowing us to play. “To my wonderful family, who are at home, it is a little bit emotional with this, you have given me incredible support. You are not here, the circumstances we are in make it incredibly difficult, so all the Tiger faithful here we applaud you, but we also remember all the people in Melbourne who have done it tough and support us from afar. “Finally this team, we started at the bottom of the mountain with everyone else but to be the last team at the top has been an incredible journey. We’ve had an enormous amount of fun and we’ve had some incredible challenges, but when push comes to shove you guys raise the bar. You are an incredible side.” The Tigers won inside 50s 49-40, centre clearances 13-7, tackles 73-51 and broke even in contested ball, which was Geelong’s one-wood in a Saturday night demolition. Richmond slammed on 10 of the final 12 goals to convert a 22-point deficit into a 31-point triumph in another runaway Grand Final victory. Dustin Martin kicked four of those 10 majors as he became the game’s only three-time Norm Smith winner. Captain Trent Cotchin said the Tigers treated their Queensland experience like an “adventure” and they overcame a season of scandals to be the best. Cotchin’s wife Brooke breached the AFL’s COVID-19 protocols and then Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones were booted from Queensland after committing the club’s second offence late in the season. Stack and Coleman-Jones were involved in a Caville Avenue punch-on at 3am after ordering kebabs and getting evicted from a strip club. Polarising spearhead Tom Lynch was booed when he received his premiership medallion. “Well, first and foremost, I grew up a Geelong supporter, what a dream come true to play with you in a Grand Final,” captain Cotchin said. “I have been envious (of Geelong) since arriving a long time ago. It's a credit to you the way you continue to show up, perform every year. “It's been incredible. You know 110 days or so being up here. Didn't expect it to be this way. “But everyone's treated it like an adventure and it's been a lot of fun. There's been some challenges but nevertheless very grateful to be a part of it.” Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield has vowed the Cats will return “bigger, better and stronger” from their Grand Final heartbreak. “We’re down, not out. We’ll regroup,” Dangerfield said. “The strength of ours this year has been to regroup and stick together, ride the highs and lows together. “While it’s tough and our season and year is now over, we’ll come back bigger, better and stronger.” Geelong captain Joel Selwood said he was "shattered". "We knew they were going to get the momentum at some stage," he said. "I can't really remember what missed shots we had ... we've kicked 7.8, so maybe we missed a couple that we could have (kicked)." Speaking immediately after the match, Selwood said the team was yet to speak as a group - a process that is a standard part of their post-game routine. "We'll do that (chat) at some stage," Selwood said. "But we’re not a side that usually speaks on emotion and we’ve made that noted many times." RECAP ALL THE ACTION, ANALYSIS AND REACTION BELOW