The Richmond of today bears little resemblance to the Richmond that Trent Cotchin joined, when he was drafted to the Club as an 18-year-old in 2007.
Cotchin, who has since won three Jack Dyer Medals and become the Tigers’ captain, highlighted the significant changes that have taken place at Punt Road throughout his tenure there, in his acceptance speech after being awarded life membership of the Club at Wednesday night’s 2015 Annual General Meeting.
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“When I first got to the football club, we weren’t in a position of power. We had just come off a pretty poor season in 2007,” Cotchin said.
“To see the changes over that time . . . I was once one of these guys sitting there in the second row, ready to embark on a journey that you never know how long is going to last.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a very successful club, a very proud club . . .
“It’s an honor. I’m very proud that I’m part of Richmond’s history now.
“But while it’s nice to be recognised with an award, I feel as though we have a lot of unfinished business.
“Especially being captain of the football club, hopefully I can impact, in particular, these young guys in the second row . . .
“The rest of the squad, we’re striving towards doing what we haven’t done for a long period of time.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge going forward.”
