Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has been ranked No. 9 out of the top 50 players in the competition by his peers, in a special survey conducted by afl.com.au.

The website presented AFL players with the challenge to rank the top 50 players, and the star Tiger midfielder has come in ninth.

Rival captains Jobe Watson (Essendon) and Travis Boak (Port Adelaide), along with St Kilda’s veteran champion Lenny Hayes, explained the reasoning behind Cotchin’s top-10 ranking.

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“He’s very good around the clearance, but he’s also got that turn of speed, where he can break away, a lot like Ablett, pick up the ball at great pace, without breaking a stride, and then hit a target,” Hayes said.

“He rarely goes to ground, and he’s very hard to tag because he does have that explosiveness, but he’s also good in traffic as well.

“Trent Cotchin is a player that I reckon young footballers aspire to be like, because he’s very good on both sides of his body, he’s very balanced, he’s very clean, and he can also go forward and kick goals.  As a midfielder, that’s crucial.”

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Watson said:  “I think that he has a great blend of inside and outside game. 

“His acceleration out of a contest is special.  He has that Paddy Dangerfield-type burst and, for midfielders, I think it’s pretty valuable.

“He has poise, balance, explosiveness, and the ability to influence others on the ground.”

Boak said:  “He’s a very, very clever player.  He knows exactly where the ball’s going to end up, and how to lose an opponent in traffic.

“His skills around the ground, his ability to just keep winning the ball, and then go forward and be dangerous as well, is what sets him apart.

“He definitely leads by example in the way he goes about it.  He doesn’t talk too much to the opposition, he just goes about his business and gets the job done for his team.”