BRANDON Ellis says he is loving the experience of living with "ultimate professional" Trent Cotchin and his family after hitting a form slump earlier this season that saw him dumped to the VFL for a month.
The 24-year-old Richmond premiership player has recently moved from the South Yarra home he shared with teammate Nathan Broad to the captain's house in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
After spending four weeks in the VFL from the end of April, Ellis said he was determined to make sure he was entrenched in the AFL team by September.
And for now, living with Cotchin, his wife Brooke and young daughters Harper and McKenzie has given Ellis a balance in his life that he believes is helping.
"Trent had a spare room available so I asked if I could jump in there," Ellis told AFL.com.au, after the Tigers' round 16 win over Adelaide.
"I'm loving living there.
"He's the ultimate professional, he's so selfless, he'll do anything for his family, and even taking in me, it just shows that he's so selfless, he just wants to help me and get the best out of me.
"That's why he's a great captain and he deserves everything that he gets."
Ellis was ordered to go back to the VFL after having 16 possessions – just one contested – against Melbourne in round five.
It was a directive that came as somewhat of a shock to him, given he'd played 111 consecutive games.
But he copped it on the chin, worked on his deficiencies, and earned a call-up when Dylan Grimes missed the round 10 clash with St Kilda with a tight back.
Since then, he's been one of the constants across half-back with Bachar Houli missing since round 11, Nick Vlastuin out against the Crows with suspension, and now with Broad set to be sidelined for multiple games with a broken cheekbone.
Ellis said his demotion was the "wake-up call" he needed and believes he has flourished since Hardwick's challenge to match the feats of fellow defender Jayden Short and take his game to another level.
"It wasn't that I took my place for granted, but I probably got a little too comfortable because I'd played so many games in a row over so many years," he said.
"I didn't really expect to get dropped.
"But, it happened and I took it well and had a good chat to 'Dimma' about it.
"He just wanted me to go back and work on my contested ball and aerial work, so I did that and the opportunity came up against St Kilda.
"Now I've just got to keep putting my best foot forward and keep doing everything I can to stay in the team because it's a bloody good team and I want to be there when September comes around because who knows what can happen."
