Inspirational Richmond captain Trent Cotchin is confident he has overcome the hamstring issue that’s restricted him to just five games this season.
Cotchin is a welcome addition to the Tigers’ line-up for Sunday’s clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
“I feel really healthy and I’ve done a lot of strength work. In theory, it should be stronger than it’s ever been,” Cotchin said on SEN’s ‘Whateley’ program.
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The 2012 Brownlow Medallist explained why he missed the Richmond’s last match before the bye, against Adelaide in Round 13, after just two games back from nearly two months on the sidelines with his hamstring complaint.
“I suppose when you scan anything, particularly when you’ve already had an on-going issue, there typically seems to be a little bit of stress around areas . . . I was aware of it (the hamstring) more than I had been for the couple of weeks prior and decided it was a smart move, given the history, to make sure it was okay,” he said.
Cotchin acknowledged it had been a challenging time dealing with his lengthy lay-off.
“It’s something that I haven’t really faced in my career to date,” he said.
“I suppose the beneficial thing of having a bigger group (in rehab) is that you’re all sort of suffering the same sort of challenges . . .
“We had a (rehab) session the day before the boys played in Adelaide (Round 13), and to warm up and feel like you’re in a training group, because of the amount of numbers, was a very weird feeling.
“But we’ve created an environment where we all talk about it a lot. And, we get really excited about what other guys, that may not have got an opportunity, have been able to do.
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“That’s been the pleasing thing from my point of view.”
Cotchin is now looking forward to regaining continuity with his football.
“Like anything, whether it’s sport or business, you just want continuity. That’ll obviously give me a lot of trust and confidence in my body, and give me an opportunity to really perform my role for our group,” he said.