The fire fanned by finals failure has burnt deep within Trent Cotchin since the end of last season.

Richmond’s captain and star midfielder, who was tightly tagged and restricted to just nine disposals in the Tigers’ 2015 elimination final loss to North Melbourne, has spent the past months devising ways of staying more involved in the contest when opponents apply the clamps to him.

“I’ve done a lot of work over the pre-season with dealing with tags, knowing exactly how I can impact the game, whether it’s touching the footy or going forward and kicking a goal, or maybe even playing half-back, or tagging another opponent,” Cotchin said on ‘Footy Classified’. 

“That’s the sort of stuff that we’re going to have to work on throughout the season, and hopefully, when we get to that position, if we do, the latter part of the season I’ll be better.”

Cotchin played down talk that he needed more big-bodied support around him in the midfield.

“The reality is I’m out there playing the game of footy.  I’ve got 21 mates around me, and if I don’t ask for help then they’re not aware of it.  And, I also need to be better myself,” he said.