Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has received a glowing endorsement from two of the Tigers’ most seasoned campaigners, for the work he’s done in developing his leadership skills.

Former skipper Chris Newman and experienced defender Troy Chaplin have praised the way the young leader has grown into the key role at the Club.

“Trent’s been fantastic,” Newman said.

“He was really young and raw coming into this role, and he’s just continued to develop . . .

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“This year he’s been outstanding, not only with his on-field leadership, but his off-field leadership.

“He’s got a really strong presence within the group.  That’s something he’s been working really hard on.

“He’s really engaging when he talks in front of us.  As soon as he speaks, everyone shuts up, and they listen.  He’s very, very respected within the group.”

Chaplin is full of admiration for Cotchin’s response to honest feedback he received about his captaincy earlier this season from the Club’s playing group.

“He’s been absolutely brilliant, ‘Cotchy’,” Chaplin told SEN.

“He got some really good feedback and he acted on it.  We wanted him to be more boisterous and put it on guys, and he’s been doing that.

“Probably the thing you don’t see game-day, because we get to see so much vision, his physicality game-day has been fantastic.

“His work-rate, defensively, is leading the way, and it’s fantastic for him as a captain to set the example, and set the standard for the rest of the guys.”