Richmond captain Trent Cotchin was at his inspirational best in last Friday night’s spirited victory over Collingwood, and he duly received maximum votes in the AFL Coaches Association’s Player of the Year award for Round 20.
Respective coaches Damien Hardwick (Richmond) and Nathan Buckley (Collingwood) gave Cotchin 10 out of 10 for an excellent performance that netted him 28 disposals, including an equal game-high 14 contested possessions, a game-high eight clearances, game-high five centre clearances, three inside-50s, three rebound-50s, plus five tackles.
The Tigers’ star key defender Alex Rance was next best afield, according to the coaches, picking up eight votes after finishing the match with 26 disposals, including 11 contested possessions, a game-high 10 intercepts, nine rebound-50s and eight marks.
Dynamic Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin consolidated his third placing in the AFLCA Player of the Year award by polling five votes, to take his overall tally for the season to 84 (nine behind Adelaide’s Rory Sloane and 15 behind Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield) with three rounds to go.
Martin had a game-high 34 disposals against the Magpies, including an equal game-high 14 contested possessions, seven clearances, nine score involvements and one goal.
Hard-running Tiger midfielder Shaun Grigg also was awarded five votes for his 26-disposal display that included 10 score involvements, five inside-50s, plus an equal game-high 14 marks, six tackles and a goal.
Star key forward Jack Riewoldt rounded out Richmond’s dominance of the Round 20 voting in the prestigious coaches award.
Riewoldt received one vote for his valuable contribution to the Tigers’ success on the night – 12 disposals, 10 score involvements, six marks (four of them inside 50), and a game-high four goals.
Full voting details for the Round 20 Richmond v Collingwood match are . . .
10 – Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
8 – Alex Rance (Richmond)
5 – Dustin Martin (Richmond)
5 – Shaun Grigg (Richmond)
1 – Jack Riewoldt (Richmond)
1 – Brodie Grundy (Collingwood)
