Recently re-appointed Richmond captain, Trent Cotchin, spoke to SEN Breakfast on Monday morning ahead of the season opener against Carlton this Thursday.

What’s the atmosphere at Richmond currently like?

"Obviously it’s very different compared to leading into the season opener in previous years. Training wise, nothing has changed. Being a football club and having an amazing supporter base, you want to give your fans as much of an opportunity to connect. But that’s been a little bit challenging and obviously with no crowds, it’s going to be a little bit different. We’re still really excited about what Thursday brings, it’s the start of a new season and we’ve worked pretty hard across the summer to make sure we’re in the best possible nick going forward."

Richmond VFL practice match v Coburg cancelled last Friday 

"With ongoing recommendations from governments and so forth, the Club decided that given it was a practice match, it wasn’t as necessary, and to see how things play out over the next few days."

What measures has Richmond put in place?

"We’re trying to be as restrictive as possible with regards to our facility, to reduce any risk of infection coming into our environment. First and foremost, we want to keep our group as healthy as possible but we don’t want to be carriers of this bug and pass it onto the community out there as well. All that sort of thing, any hint of any form of cold symptoms are to be reported to our doctor before even coming in and the testing and that sort of stuff takes place as well."

Seeing other leagues around the world shutting down

"It certainly raises an alarm, and that’s the conversations we're having with the AFL and the AFLPA. For me, first and foremost, the health and safety of our players is absolutely paramount. And that obviously extends to our families as well. So, I would like to think the decisions that are being made are purely the safest decisions."

"Everyone’s opinions are going to differ…The reality is, there’s quite a few meetings going on today and ongoing with regards to what the plan is, how we best protect each other and the community. Obviously, the government is doing plenty in that regard as well."

Preparing to play in front of no crowds

"It’s about the acceptance of that and knowing it’s going to be different. The reality is, it’s going to be a bit of an eerie feeling playing in front of no crowd. The whole environment changes when the stands are empty, and given our membership and how strong we have been in the last few years, I think we’ve averaged over 60 thousand at each home game…Typically we try to focus on the things we can control. There’s been other challenges we’ve overcome and we’re confident we can do it in a different way."

The importance of leaders within the team   

"We’ve got a lot of youth but (also) the maturity of some our leaders. Whilst we love having the crowd there and knowing how much support is behind us, I’d like to think we’re competitive beasts and that’s what holds us in pretty good stead no matter what opposition or who or how many people we’re playing in front of."

Full list available for Round 1 selection

"I’m pretty sure our whole list is available for selection…I think the years prior to last year, we had a pretty clean bill of health. Last year, we had a heap of injuries. I think there’s a big element of good management. We have an amazing team, we’re very well across each and every individual that’s in our footy club and I take my hat off to them and the consistency of conversations that they have about the guys’ bodies...They’re tremendous at doing that. But also, there needs to be a lot of luck that goes your way as well."

Last year’s success

"If you spoke to any of our guys, I would like to think that we would all talk about the journey that we’re on, not so much the destination or the results that have happened over the last few years. That’s what we’re excited about. Last year was amazing and we went through some adversity to get there in the end, but we also took a lot of lessons out of that and equally so, out of 2018. We’re just really enjoying the journey that we’re on at the moment, our focus is on growing and continuing to get better and helping each other get better as well. I would like to think you’d still see a fair attitude of hunger and hopefully humility as well."