Richmond captain Trent Cotchin made a typically smooth return to the playing field last weekend.

Cotchin lined up for the Tigers in their final – and his first – match of the pre-season period, against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, after recovering from hamstring soreness.

He proceeded to pick up 20 disposals (including 14 contested possessions) in the first three quarters, before being rested in the final term.

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“I pulled up pretty well.  It was good to be back out there and feel the intensity of the game.  Obviously the pressure’s right up . . . I have a few hits on the body, general soreness, but nice to be back and at it,” Cotchin told ‘Roar Vision’.

“I probably could have played on through the last quarter, but better to be safe than sorry. 

“The body went pretty well.  I think I ended up playing about 66% of the game, so not much less than I would normally play anyway . . .

“It was a good game to get involved in and set yourself for a big clash in Round 1.

“No issues . . . I’ll be out there, ready to go.”

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Cotchin declared the Tigers in excellent shape following a strong pre-season.

“The boys have been fantastic . . . really attacked it positively,” he said.

“Each session’s been an opportunity to get better, and that’s how they’ve attacked it. 

“Obviously now it’s important to make sure we put all that work that we’ve done into the season proper . . .

“The Club’s been really good at managing players throughout (the pre-season) and changing it up a little bit. 

“There’ve been times where we haven’t done what we’ve done in the past, which is good to refresh the body and brain.

“The boys are set to go.”