SKIPPER Trent Cotchin believes an "insane connection" among this year’s squad has Richmond well placed to challenge for the premiership.

The Tigers are fourth on the ladder heading into their round 16 match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. Their 9-5 record has them poised to challenge for a top-four spot.

Richmond played in three straight finals series from 2013-15, losing elimination finals each time.

Cotchin, in his fifth season as captain, describes the 2017 team "as probably the strongest group I’ve been part of". 

He said the Tigers had learned plenty from their disappointing 2016 campaign, which saw them finish 13th with only eight wins. He dismissed suggestions they might be scarred by the string of elimination final losses.

"That connection is what’s going to drive us going forward and I look forward to what the rest of the season holds," he said in the second episode of The Chase video series. 

Cotchin also speaks openly about his changing leadership style, inspired in part by the poor 2016 season when he had a "lightbulb moment" while questioning his capacity to continue in the role. 

"My greatest lesson came last year … I always thought I had good relationships with my teammates but I don’t think I had great relationships," the 27-year old Cotchin said. 

"I was trying to be this perfect leader, this perfect person in all aspects of my life, not just football.

 "It was a challenging year for the club but also from an individual point of view. It was a really important moment in my career," he said.