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.
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 Collingwood 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 West Coast. 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 Carlton, who held the number one pick, confirmed that the club would choose between Cotchin and Northern Knights teammate Matthew Kreuzer with their pick.
Cotchin was drafted by Richmond 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 Geelong 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 Adelaide. 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 Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli (37 votes) and Fremantle's Rhys Palmer who topped the poll with 44 votes.
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 Port Adelaide. Cotchin's season came to an end after sustaining a hip injury in the round 18 match against Melbourne. 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.
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 Carlton 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 North Melbourne'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 St Kilda 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.
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 Fremantle, 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 Essendon. 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.