Trent Cotchin must deliver for the Richmond Football Club on Friday night.
That is according to David King who is banking on the 33-year-old veteran to help guide the Tigers to victory over Geelong at the MCG to kick off Round 9.
The three-time premiership captain is back in Damien Hardwick’s side after he was managed last week, and with Richmond’s season on the line, he simply needs to play well.
King wants Cotchin to show that he still has something to offer the team has served so well for 16 years.
“I think this is a huge night for Trent Cotchin,” King said on SEN Breakfast.
“These are the sorts of games when you’re an older player coming to the end where you need to show there’s still some fight in the old dog. The ability to still impact a game like this that’s so significant.
“This is it. This is the season on the line tonight.
“It’s really critical that the older guys get the job done so you stick with the older guys in the back half of the season.
“He’s been a superstar player, Trent Cotchin. We all love what he’s been able to do, but let’s just talk about tonight and the importance of tonight and him being in Richmond’s best players.
“Having a performance that you can say to the coach, ‘I’m still here’.
“I think it’s a huge night for Trent Cotchin.”
However, Kane Cornes believes the Tigers are now at the stage where they cannot be relying on a veteran like Cotchin, but rather prioritising the development of the club’s emerging talent such as Judson Clarke and Noah Cumberland who were omitted this week.
He acknowledges that the club should get the 294-game former skipper to the 300 milestone, but feels his presence in the side should not be relied upon.
“It’s got to be the last time (he has to deliver),” Cornes said.
“This is understanding where you’re at with your list. You’ve got to get him to 300 games, so they will do that, you’ve got to get him there.
“But I don’t want to see Clarke out of the side, I don’t want to see Cumberland out of the side for Trent Cotchin.
“Because the under 23s that they’ve got, there’s not many of them. They need as many under 23s getting that experience as they can.
“(Tyler) Sonsie has got to play, Cumberland has got to play. He has the attributes to be an AFL footballer. I know he was quiet last week after he was dropped and got a reprieve.
“I just don’t want to see Trent Cotchin at this stage come in at the expense of some young players that Richmond desperately need for the future.”
King disagrees.
He says younger players such as Cumberland, who does have deficiencies, can still improve their game in the VFL.
“I think you can still develop players at the next level down,” King added.
“I still think you’ve got to knock the warts off them. Cumberland has got some warts at the moment and Damien Hardwick has been frustrated with this guy for the last two to three weeks.
“He’s got areas in his game that he needs to work on. I think those are structural. He’s not really playing his role at the right times and his defensive side of the game needs to really improve.
“You have to drop players at this stage of their career otherwise they’ll carry those bad habits.”
Cornes posed the following question: “Is it season over for the Tigers if they lose? Or can they recover from this?
“I think it is.”
King replied: “It probably is and they’re outsiders.”
Cornes added: “If you look at Richmond, their draw is pretty soft after this.
“They’ve got some really winnable games, but if you go two wins after nine games you’re not going to make the finals from there.
“So it’s all on the line.”
King concluded: “This is the night they need (under) the bright lights.”
The Tigers get the Cats at a good time.
Captain Patrick Dangerfield is out injured and Brad Close has been suspended, adding to the already absent group consisting of Jack Bowes, Sam De Koning, Cam Guthrie, Jack Henry, Sam Menegola, Gary Rohan, Rhys Stanley and Tyson Stengle.