The 30-year-old, who has played in Geelong's last two matches after missing eight games with a stress reaction in his foot, told geelongcats.com.au that he lacked the necessary belief to play as a key forward in the Cats' set-up.
"The ruck is my spot with a little time up forward," he told Cats TV.
"That is my go. I didn't have the confidence as a key forward. I played a bit up there with Richmond and had some success, but I never got consistent results up there."
Ottens, who played 129 games for Richmond from 1998-2004 and was an All-Australian selection in 2001, predicted that he would have given the game away long ago had he not moved to Geelong from Punt Road.
"I'd be well and truly retired by now," he said.
"It's great to see them having a bit of success now and having some improvement, but it would have been a long few years between then and now."
Ottens, a key part of the Cats' 2007 and 2009 premiership sides, also said that he almost ended up at the Sydney Swans before staying in Victoria and playing for Geelong.
"Sydney showed a bit of interest. I went up to Sydney, and it was (case of) trying to decide where I wanted to go. In the end, I decided that Geelong was the place I wanted to be."
