FORMER Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has turned back the clock in his 300th game to inspire the finals-hunting Tigers to a crucial 20-point win over St Kilda.
In the first half alone at the MCG, Cotchin had 19 disposals, eight contested possessions, three clearances, three inside 50s and booted two clutch goals that brought the house down and revived the Tigers after a slow start.
With former coach Damien Hardwick among those in the stands watching on, Cotchin finished with 29 disposals to help Richmond prevail 13.12 (90) to 11.4 (70) in teeming rain and leave them just two points outside the top eight.
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"He played a game of football, didn't he?" interim coach Andrew McQualter said of, and to, Cotchin, who was sitting next to him post match, before cheekily adding "what have you been doing all year?"
"Trent was huge. That first quarter, first half in particular, then some huge moments again late.
"It shows you the leader he has been for our football club for such a long period of time. He stood up again."
Boom recruit Tim Taranto (38 disposals, 10 tackles, six clearances and a goal) continued his stellar form, while Dustin Martin (34 touches, seven clearances) and defenders Nick Vlastuin and Jayden Short were excellent.
St Kilda's Brad Crouch (33 touches) and Brad Hill (31) fought hard while former Tiger Dan Butler (three goals) provided a spark as the Saints spurned a chance to draw level with the top four on points.
Richmond's Noah Balta arguably won an entertaining duel with Max King.
Cotchin led the Tigers up the race but stopped at the top to high-five every teammate.
Last up was fellow stalwart Jack Riewoldt, who threw an arm around Cotchin as they ran out together to a rousing reception from the pro-Richmond crowd.
But initially, the Saints appeared poised to spoil the party.
St Kilda booted the first four goals of the game before Shai Bolton stopped the rot and Short launched a long bomb to get Richmond back within reach.
Just before quarter-time, with Richmond trailing by 15, Cotchin marked just inside 50 and lined up for goal.
The former captain used the maximum possible run-up, drove through the goal and sent the MCG into raptures.
Every Tiger on the field ran to Cotchin - and it started a run of four consecutive majors.
"That was very much on my limit with regards to the distance, so I did think it would fall 10 metres short but gave it everything I had," Cotchin said after the game.
"But they're the moments that are really special. The way that I've been supported, not just this week, throughout my career, from particularly my teammates has been really special.
"And that's the stuff that I'll cherish when it's all said and done - whenever that'll be."
Cotchin booted the first goal of the second term and the Tigers nudged out to an 18-point lead at half-time.
Young Richmond tall Samson Ryan was substituted out at half-time with an ankle concern.
In the third quarter, Vlastuin intercepted at will then snapped his first goal since 2020 to send the Tigers out to a game-high 25-point lead.
But Saints smalls Butler, Jack Higgins and Ryan Byrnes struck to cut the deficit to seven points at the final change.
The final quarter proved a genuine arm wrestle.
But with barely two minutes left, Taranto burst through a stoppage and booted a wonderful goal with the outside of his right boot, then Bolton added another to ice the game.
"We wanted to take the emotion out, silence the crowd and we did that really well, I thought - we had four on the board early," St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said.
"So we were really clear on a couple of things Richmond did, particularly through their midfield about how they position and come out of stoppage. Even off turnover, their positioning.
"We weren't at the level of applying the method we wanted with that and that hurt us."
'Cotch' winds back the clock
It was always going to be a big night for Trent Cotchin as the club celebrated his 300th game, but the guest of honour wasn't about to sit back and leave the work to everyone else. Cotchin came out with a spring in his step reminiscent of his youth and had 19 disposals and two goals to half-time, his first savoured by everyone wearing yellow and black at the 'G. The 33-year-old finished with 29 disposals, on the back of 28 last round, suggesting he isn’t going to leave anything in the tank when he finally calls it quits … whenever that may be.
Sparks fly as a new rivalry catches fire
A great rivalry may have been born at the MCG on Saturday night when Max King and Noah Balta lined up on each other. There's no questioning the massive potential of the two young stars, but now there's a bit of spice that'll be sure to keep things interesting through the next decade or so. King had two goals on the board by quarter-time and let Balta know about both of them, however, the Tiger was also one of his side's best. When the rain came it didn't suit either, but they maintained their intensity at the ball, and each other, throughout.
WLWLWLWLWL
It's an unusual headline and it's something St Kilda players and fans will want to see the back of as soon as possible - although not next week. The Saints haven't had consecutive wins - or losses - since their opening unbeaten run was broken in round five. However, they'll be hoping to maintain the sequence just a little bit longer with a win against Brisbane next week before, all red-white-and-black fingers crossed, breaking it in round 16 against West Coast at Optus Stadium.
RICHMOND 6.4 10.7 11.10 13.12 (90)
ST KILDA 5.0 7.8 11.3 11.4 (70)
GOALS
Richmond: Bolton 3, Short 2, Miller 2, Cotchin 2, Vlastuin, McIntosh, Baker, Taranto
St Kilda: Butler 3, King 2, Higgins 2, Gresham, Caminiti, Byrnes, Battle
BEST
Richmond: Vlastuin, Cotchin, Taranto, Balta, Short, Martin
St Kilda: Sinclair, Crouch, Butler, Hill, Wilkie, Marshall
INJURIES
Richmond: Ryan (ankle)
St Kilda: TBC
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Hugo Ralphsmith (replaced Samson Ryan at half-time)
St Kilda: Cooper Sharman (replaced Dougal Howard in the third quarter)
Crowd: 62,686 at the MCG