Cotchin a chance this week
RICHMOND captain Trent Cotchin’s latest hamstring injury may cost him just one week as he pushes to return against North Melbourne on Saturday night.
The Tigers midfielder hurt his hamstring against Melbourne in Round 5 and missed Sunday’s dour win over Sydney, but had already started light running and was boxing on the sidelines at training on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Fellow midfielder Kane Lambert said the Tigers would be cautious with Cotchin. “He’s going really well, I think he has a couple of sessions to tick off before he’s given the all-clear,” Lambert said.
“I’m not sure whether that will be this week or next week, he said he’s moving freely, but obviously he’s got a history of hamstrings so we have to be a little bit conservative with him.
“But he’s in great spirits, so we’re looking forward to getting him back out.”
Richmond’s low-scoring win over Sydney (4.10 to 3.8) sparked a war of words between coach Damien Hardwick and Sydney counterpart John Longmire, who blamed each other for the dour affair.
Lambert said the weather also played a part.
“We haven’t done our team review yet, but what I think we forget is the weather probably compounded the situation as well,” he said.
“Three quarters of the game it was coming down with rain and we also didn’t kick very straight, so we missed a lot of opportunities as well.
“Credit to Sydney, they made it really difficult for us, but with the significant outs we had it was a great opportunity for players to come in and execute and to walk away with the four points.”
Like the other Victorian teams, the Tigers are bracing for an long stay interstate.
“I think with the situation back home (there) is the assumption that we will be here for a little bit longer than what we expected,” he said.
“On a personal level I avoid it (the news in Victoria), but there are plenty of people here who are right into it, there’s a lot of chat around about what’s happening, but for me I focus on what I need to do, which is perform.”
Lambert said if North Melbourne sends tagger Luke McDonald to Dustin Martin at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, they would be ready. “One thing we know about North Melbourne is they are going to be hard at the footy and make it really, really difficult to play against,” he said.