Richmond CEO Brendon Gale has confirmed that skipper trent Cotchin will go around again in 2022.
Cotchin's future has been debated in public circles after the three-time premiership captain had a quiet season compared to his usual lofty standards. Add to that, the Tigers missing the finals all together, some were beginning to think it was time for a new chapter at Punt Road.
However, speaking on SEN, Gale confirmed that Cotchin would in fact play in 2022 and serve the final; year of his current contract.
"He'll be there. There will be no question about that," Gale stated.
"Funnily enough, if you actually get under the hood, his last three of four games were pretty good."
Gale pointed out Cotchin's interrupted 2021 campaign and said while the vertran didn't look to be moving at his best at times, there were valid reasons for the slump.
"The period before that he looked tired," said Gale.
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"But his preparation was interrupted. He missed games mid-season, came back and tried to pick up the pace."
The Richmond CEO has lead the club to tremendous success and has been a pillar behind the Tigers dominance since 2017 said that the fact the Tigers had played so deep into September between 2017 and 2020 meant that players had essentially played an extra season over that time.
"He'll play next year. I heard someone say the other day that we had played the equivalent of a whole extra (home and away) season over the last four years (with finals included)," Gale said.
"That has to have an impact."
Speaking on the Tigers inability to make finals despite having won back-to-back flags, Gale said quite simply they weren't good enough this year.
He did say however that the club was looking forward to the challenge of returning to the finals next season.
"Teams played better than us this year," Gale added.
"There were 11 teams that were better than us. We've got a bit of work to do."