Richmond keep season alive with win over Geelong as Trent Cotchin silences his critics

Nathan Broad first felt it against Melbourne three weeks ago and on Friday night against Geelong Richmond’s signature game style was back in full force.

The intercepts across half back, the quick-surge forward-handball and the unrelenting pressure in attack.

In a way, the Tigers’ season was on the line against a quality opponent at the MCG.

And while plenty of pundits have written off the Tigers’ chances in 2023, Broad said the Tigers’ self-belief has never wavered.

Geelong might have been missing some key players, but Broad said the signs over the past month have all pointed to a Richmond revival after a sluggish start to the season.

“If you take the Gold Coast game out of it, we have been really building over the past month,” Broad said.

“Yeah there has been plenty of external noise – Richmond is gone and all that sort of stuff – but internally we feel like we have been back on track.

“Looking at the stats I think we were first for inside 50s (over the past month), so we have been able to get it in there, we just have not been able to lock it in there.

“But we had Melbourne on the ropes for three quarters, and Gold Coast we were off, but we had a good game against West Coast last week.

“So we went into the game against Geelong believing over the last five or so weeks things were starting to work for us and, we put it all together against the Cats.

“It’s that organised chaos.

“We really feel like we have building and we have not lost any faith whatsoever.”

It means the Tigers’ season is alive at the end of their third-straight six-day break, which saw the Tigers opt for a light week and more “mental reps” and “walk-throughs” rather than the regular training, according to coach Damien Hardwick.

But it was a big win, in particular, for some under-fire individuals including veteran Trent Cotchin, who snagged three goals in his new forward role, and jet midfielder Tim Taranto.

Broad, who played a crucial role stopping Jeremy Cameron helping keep the superstar Cat to only one goal, said he had heard the criticism of Taranto and the claim he was not in the league’s top-150 players.

But on Friday night Taranto was important again racking up 28 disposals and 12 tackles.

Broad said internally Taranto and Jacob Hopper’s start to the season had been rated extremely highly.

“It’s hard not to read it sometimes, but I was pretty disappointed with the comments that were made about Timmy and Hopper,” Broad said.

“If we didn’t have those two, we would be up s*** creek.

“If we didn’t have them tonight, we wouldn’t have got the win.”

Hopper nicked his calf, however, and is expected to miss several games after being subbed out of the game.

Cotchin made a statement about the valuable contribution he can still make to the Tigers, providing some of the class they had been missing earlier in the season.

Hardwick said it has been harder for some of the forwards this year due to the unpredictability of the ball movement.

But Cotchin on Friday night provided some signature moments.

Broad said the veteran, who has played 295 AFL games, showed how damaging he could be forward of the ball.

“His role might have changed but we know what he brings, and what we want as a club,” he said.

“That Jason Castagna role, the Dan Butler role. They might not get a lot of the footy, but their role off-ball is critical. Trent is awesome for us.”

Broad is equally important after returning from a dangerous tackle suspension which sidelined him for four matches.

The Tigers have missed him, and the club is working on a contract extension to keep the Western Australian at the club for several more seasons.

Hardwick joked that the club might give Broad’s manager a miss this week after Broad raised his contract price, stopping Cameron.

“While he is really highly-rated in our four walls, he probably doesn’t get the respect outside of that,” Hardwick said.

“The four games he missed, as harsh as it was, were crucial.

“All those players he generally takes were sort of hurting us.

“We are really pleased he is back in the side and understanding how important he is.”

About a contract extension, Hardwick said tongue-in-cheek “He is playing hard ball I suppose”.

“We won’t answer his manager’s calls this week though, he’ll be wanting too much money.”

Broad said he primed himself for the Cameron contest, knowing the superstar forward was one of the best players in the league.

The Tigers’ defender said the plan was to try and keep Cameron as far away from the goals as possible.

“It’s always good to get the good players, I really enjoy that,” Broad said.

“We thought we could let him have the touches up there (in the midfield) and try and soak him up when he comes back through.

“I just tried to get him when I could and let him have his touches up top.

“And try and nullify him (inside 50m), but he can kick goals from 60m, so you have got to be on your game.

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“I went into the game really pumped for the challenge.

“I really pride myself on trying to take a dangerous forward each week but I’ve got great help around me – Dylan Grimes, Noah Balta, Nick Vlastuin.

“These blokes put their body on the line to help me out.”

Originally published as Richmond keep season alive with win over Geelong as Trent Cotchin silences his critics