Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has praised the tireless efforts of Tigers captain Trent Cotchin in last Saturday’s two-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.

Cotchin was clearly Richmond’s best player on the day, finishing with a team-high 28 disposals, including a team-high 19 contested possessions, a team-high 11 clearances, team-high five centre clearances, and team-high five inside-50 entries.

“I thought his centre-bounce work in the third quarter and fourth quarter, got us back into the contest,” Hardwick said.

“He was probably a little quiet in that second quarter, but when we needed him to stand up, and get us back in the game, he was one guy that led the charge, which was really impressive.”