Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest winner, a Brownlow medallist, and a three-time premiership winning captain. Cotchin represented the Victorian Metro side at the 2007 AFL Under 18 Championships and captained the Vic Metro side at 2006 Under 16 Championships. He played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup as a junior, before being drafted to Richmond with the second overall pick in the 2007 national draft. He led the club to a 37-year drought-breaking premiership in 2017 before taking them again to a premiership in 2019 and 2020.
Early life and junior football Cotchin grew up in the northern Melbourne suburb of Reservoir and spent his later teenage years in the suburb of Wollert, 27 kilometres north of Melbourne. He played his junior football with West Preston Lakeside in the Northern Football League before moving on to play with the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup at the age of 16.
In 2006, Cotchin captained the Victorian Metro side in the under-16 national championships.
In January 2007, Cotchin spent time training with the Richmond Football Club senior list as a member of the AIS/AFL Academy. Cotchin later spoke of being taken under the wing of Richmond player, Brett Deledio. At the time Deledio was his favourite AFL player, with a poster of him hanging on Cotchin's bedroom wall in his family home. At the 2007 AFL Under 18 Championships, Cotchin was a member of the runner-up Victorian Metro side. Cotchin suffered a broken foot while playing with the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup finals in September 2007, which saw him face more than six weeks away from football.
Cotchin attended high school at Parade College and Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School. He was named among the team's best in the latter's 2007 state school championship victory.
AFL recruitment Prior to the 2007 AFL draft, Cotchin was notable for his "class, balance, (and) ability to read the play". He was projected to be a high draft pick, with recruiter Derek Hine telling the Herald Sun that Cotchin would be his choice for the number one pick had it been in Collingwood's hands. In October that year, Cotchin's father Peter had spoken to the media expressing concern over the possibility that his son may be drafted by . He cited the club's then-issues with recreational drug use among its playing list.
Cotchin missed most of the AFL's pre-draft camp testing on account of the ankle injury sustained earlier in the year. In the days prior to the draft, Cotchin was heavily linked to Richmond with the second overall selection. The CEO of , who held the number one pick, confirmed that the club would choose between Cotchin and Northern Knights teammate Matthew Kreuzer with their pick.
AFL career 2008 season Cotchin was drafted by with the club's first selection and the second overall in the 2007 AFL draft. He was assigned the number nine guernsey, which had remained unused since the retirement of former club captain Wayne Campbell at the end of the 2005 season. Upon joining the club, Cotchin began to rehabilitate his injured foot but suffered the effects of an inflamed Achilles tendon on just his second treadmill run. He missed much of the club's standard pre-season training, forced instead to stick to swimming and exercise bike sessions to maintain fitness. Cotchin returned to full training the week of round 1 but was not declared fit to play for a further four weeks. He subsequently played four matches with Richmond's Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate side, Coburg. Cotchin made his senior debut in round 8 of the 2008 season in a match against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He recorded sixteen disposals and an equal team-high two goals, one of which came with his first kick. In round 11, Cotchin recorded 17 possessions in the first half of Richmond's match against . He finished the match with 25 disposals and a goal to his name. After further impressive performances, Cotchin received the AFL Rising Star nomination for round 12. He kicked a goal and gathered 14 possessions on his way to the nomination. Cotchin did not miss a game after making his debut, finishing the season having played fifteen games, kicking nine goals and averaging 16.4 disposals per game. He ultimately finished third in the AFL Rising Star Award with 21 votes, behind 's Cyril Rioli (37 votes) and 's Rhys Palmer who topped the poll with 44 votes.
2009 season
Cotchin again struggled with Achilles issues in the pre-season and early stages of his second season. He missed the first seven matches of the season, instead playing limited game-time in VFL games with Coburg. He eventually returned to the club's senior side in Richmond's round 8 match with . Cotchin's season came to an end after sustaining a hip injury in the round 18 match against . He would undergo surgery in August that would keep him from training and playing until late October. He finished the season averaging 17.7 disposals and kicking three goals in ten games.
2010 season In 2010, Cotchin approached the season fully fit for the first time in his career. He spent periods of the pre-season on a limited program however, aiming to build the fitness base that he lacked in his first two seasons. Prior to the season, Cotchin was voted by his teammates into the club's leadership group, a sign of endorsement for his leadership qualities even before reaching his 20th birthday. For the first time in three years Cotchin was a member of Richmond's round 1 side when they played at the MCG. He went on to play in 15 of the club's first 16 matches, notching more than 20 disposals in seven of those games. When captain Chris Newman missed the club's round 4 match with Melbourne, Cotchin filled in, captaining the club for the first time in his career. In round 16, Cotchin was reported for a late bump on 's Sam Wright. Wright was concussed in the incident and the AFL's match review panel judged the hit to be reckless with high contact and of high impact. Cotchin was offered a three-match suspension, which he and the club subsequently challenged. The AFL Tribunal found him guilty, and upgraded him to a four match suspension as a result of the unsuccessful challenge. Cotchin returned to football for Richmond's final two games of the season against and Port Adelaide. He recorded twenty-two disposals and kicked two goals in each of the two matches. His season total of 17 matches was his highest to date and was his 19.5 disposals and 4.8 clearances per game. Cotchin finished seventh in the club's best and fairest award that year.
2011 season Building on the fitness he showed the previous year, 2011's pre-season saw Cotchin train with the main group more than ever before. In a profile published in The Age prior to round 1 he cited a previous tendency to fade out late in games due to a low fitness base, but that he believed his first full pre-season would allow him to correct this. It proved to be the case, with Cotchin showing the strong form in the early part of the year. Cotchin had his first career game with 30 disposals in a round 4 loss to Collingwood at the MCG. In round 7, he kicked four goals in a match against , his highest tally to date. In round 9, Cotchin received the Yiooken Award as the best on ground in the Dreamtime at the 'G game against . To that point he had not had a game with less than 20 disposals, averaging 24.4 per game. When captain Chris Newman was ruled out late in the season, Cotchin took over as captain, leading the club in its last five matches of the season. In late-August, Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph claimed Cotchin was a certainty to be named Richmond's next captain, but that it was unlikely to be so until at the least the end of the 2012 season. Cotchin finished the season having played all 22 matches, a career-first. He topped the club for kicks, inside-50s and clearances during the season. He also received a club-best 15 Brownlow Medal votes at the end of the year award. For his performances during the season Cotchin received his first club best and fairest award, the Jack Dyer Medal.
2012 season Ahead of the 2012 season, Cotchin was officially appointed the club's vice-captain. He spent a week of pre-season away from the main training group, after minor hip surgery underwent at the end of the previous season. He talked in February about a growing confidence in the club's ability to qualify for finals, citing the progress of key draftees in the "developing years" previous.
In round 12, Cotchin recorded 25 disposals in a win against and was awarded six votes in the AFL Coaches Association's player of the year award. The haul moved him into second on the award's leader-board. To that point he had held averages of 26.4 disposals and one goal per game. He was also ranked seventh in the league for total disposals and fourth for inside 50s. He had an equal then-career-best 38 disposals in a match against in round 16. Arguably his best game of the season came in a round 20 victory over the . He recorded 35 disposals, seven marks and kicked three goals in a best on ground performance.
By mid-August, Cotchin began to receive significant praise from members of the football media. The Herald Sun's Mark Stevens called Cotchin Richmond's best player since Kevin Bartlett, while The Age's Jake Niall described his attributes as similar to Chris Judd and Gary Ablett Jr. at the same age.
Prior to the season's final match, Chris Newman announced he would be standing aside as captain. At the time Cotchin was earmarked by fans and media as a near-certainty to take up the mantle. The Tigers would ultimately miss out on finals in 2012, with six losses by less than two goals (and one draw) marking a significant opportunity gone missing.
Cotchin received a bevy of awards for his season including a first career selection to the All-Australian team. Cotchin received the most votes in a week-by-week tally to be awarded the AFL Coaches Association's champion player of the year award. In addition Cotchin was anointed The Age's Player of the Year in 2012. He also placed third in the Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFL Players Association most valuable player award). As the club's best player that season, Cotchin was award his second straight Jack Dyer Medal. He led the club in total disposals (606) and placed second in contested possessions (273), inside 50s (116) and clearances (113). He also recorded his best goal-kicking tally to date with 21 across his 22 games.
On the night of the Brownlow Medal count, Cotchin entered as equal favourite alongside Gary Ablett. Though he started the count slowly, Cotchin polled 11 out a possible 12 votes in Richmond's final four matches of the season. He finished the night with a total 25 votes to finish second tied with 's Sam Mitchell and behind 's Jobe Watson. Four years later though, in November 2016, the AFL Commission ruled Watson ineligible for the award after his involvement in the Essendon supplements saga. Watson had previously served a 12-month suspension handed down by the World Anti-Doping Agency and four days earlier had voluntarily ceded the medal in anticipation of the AFL's forthcoming decision on its future. Mitchell) was formally presented with the medal in a private ceremony in Melbourne on 13 December 2016.
2013 season