He told Fairfax Media of the huge physical demands required to play League football and of his doubts that his body would cope with a long career.
He said while he loved the challenges and the people of football, he was not consumed by it.
''But I'm looking forward to it being over as well.
"I reckon if we won a premiership in the next three years I'd pretty much be done.''
Cotchin joined the Tigers in 2008 as the second pick in the NAB AFL Draft but didn’t play pain free until his third season, which helps explain his mixed feelings about his longevity in the game.
''It was horrible … when I got there it was football, football, football and pretty much from day one I was doubting myself and whether I'd be able to play the game or perform like I wanted to,'' he said.
''I wasn't able to train like I needed to train, let alone play, so I didn't know if I was going to be physically up to it and the game changed for me then. It made me think, maybe it's not healthy to only be about footy.''
Cotchin is in his first year as skipper of the Tigers and has played 93 games. He already has several interests outside the game, particularly property.
