Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has opened up about the personal pressure he felt in 2016. Credit:AFL Media/Getty Images In a video entitled Trent Cotchin - Defining Moment, and produced by Unscriptd, Cotchin has opened up about how he dealt with the 2016 issues and how he has changed. "The perception of the AFL world was that I this perfect person that couldn't step a foot out of line. The reality is a black cloud sat over my head for a big chunk of season 2016, in particular the back end of it," he said. "I have never really showed that I was vulnerable in some way, especially as captain of a footy club. I feel free in 2017 based on that defining moment where I stood in front of 44 teammates, friends, peers and [you] pour your heart out, is something that I was petrified of doing but was also one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."

Cotchin has previously revealed that he was particularly emotional after the death of club great Neville Crowe last year, coming after a difficult season on field and grappling internally with the man – and leader – he wanted to be. Trent Cotchin has been in superb form for Richmond as the Tigers rise in 2017. Credit:Getty Images It was at that time that coach Damien Hardwick reached out to Cotchin and reassured him he would support the champion midfielder. The year was capped off by Cotchin and Sam Mitchell being retrospectively awarded the 2012 Brownlow medal. "Sitting here right now, I feel I can be myself. I am not scared of sharing tears or pain in front of my teammates," Cotchin said. Opening up to his teammates has given Trent Cotchin a new sense of freedom, and enjoyment of football again. Credit:AFL Media/Getty Images

"It's incredible when you start to open up doors and show that things hurt, that anxiety, that shame, that emotion. The more you talk about it, the less it has power over you. "This season, football has become the game that I grew up loving. You start to think clearer, you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel is what is going to take you forward." I have never really showed that I was vulnerable in some way, especially as captain of a footy club - Richmond captain Trent Cotchin Cotchin has been in such fine form that there is a growing perception he may be one of the competition's best captains.

In his weekly column with Fairfax Media last month, AFL great Wayne Carey wrote that while Joel Selwood was the best skipper, Cotchin had improved. "At different times the leadership of Trent Cotchin and Marc Murphy has been maligned, but there seems to be a real steeliness about the way they're playing this year. Cotchin has recaptured the form that saw him share the Brownlow Medal with Sam Mitchell in 2012. He's no longer just accumulating behind the ball, but having an influence on the game," Carey wrote. Hardwick has also discussed his woes of 2016, admitting recently that he had been the "problem" in a year when he believed he had segregated himself from his players and was working harder than required. Loading "I was looking for things and creating things that weren't actually there half the time. I ended up being too worried about the micro and not the macro. So I had a really poor year," he said.

A revitalised game plan and a stand-out season from Brownlow fancy Dustin Martin have also helped the Tigers become a force, despite having dropped four consecutive matches from round six. The Tigers have won four of their past five matches, ahead of Saturday night's clash against St Kilda.