RICHMOND midfielder Trent Cotchin says his four-week lay-off from AFL football made him hungrier to make an impact when he returned against St Kilda on Saturday.

Cotchin and his Tiger teammates weren’t able to get the four points against the Saints, but the young midfielder played a big part in ensuring they stayed with last year’s grand finalists for much of the day.

After serving a four-match suspension Cotchin returned to have 22 possessions (11 contested) and two goals to be clearly among his side’s best.

“I was very, very hungry,” the 20-year-old told richmondfc.com.au after his side’s 21-point loss.

“Just being around the boys for those four weeks made it even tougher, and seeing them go through a couple of tough losses has made it even more difficult.

“But it’s not about me, it’s about the team and I was just happy to be back out there, helping them out, whether it was my voice or trying to win the footy and give it to someone else.

“I suppose that was the most important thing for me.”

Richmond was gallant on Saturday, leading by as much as 17 points before Ross Lyon’s men gradually got on top in the second half.

Despite the Saints’ apparent superiority in general play, the Tigers fought hard to boot 2.7 in the final term, and could have finished closer had it not been for some wayward kicking.

“With us, that’s what we’re working at - staying in games and giving ourselves opportunities to win,” Cotchin said.

“As much as you probably wouldn’t have thought that we had an opportunity to win in the last quarter, I suppose mid-way through the last quarter we still gave ourselves a good opportunity to compete well and I think we did that to the end.”

The Tigers have come a long way in 2010, and while Saturday will go down as a loss Cotchin said the performance was another sign his team was improving.

“Obviously a disappointing result but I thought we were in the thick of it for most of the game and showed that we can play a good brand of footy,” he said.

“They’re going to be a contender for the grand final this year, so it’s nice to keep up with them for most of the game.

“I think competing with top sides definitely gives you a lot of belief, especially with a young side.”