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Richmond star Trent Cotchin has revealed Ben Cousins still advises some Tigers about their AFL performances, two years after the Brownlow Medallist retired from the game.
While Cousins continues to struggle with his well-publicised drug addiction issues away from football, Cotchin said the fellow midfielder made a big impact in his two seasons at Punt Rd.
Cousins returned from an AFL suspension to play 32 games for the Tigers in 2009-10, taking the former West Coast player’s total to 270 matches.
“Football-wise, he was an absolute star of a person and he probably taught our midfield group some things that some people will never know,” Cotchin told FoxSports’ On The Couch program.
“He’s a fantastic guy off the field – I hadn’t had much to do with him away from the club and he liked to live his own life.
“It’s sad to hear what he’s had to go through, especially with a little boy.
“But he’s always there for support and he still speaks to a couple of the guys, just about their football, and how they can improve.”
The Tigers are becoming one of the stories of this season and scored a landmark 62-point win on Saturday over Hawthorn.
That sets up a Friday night blockbuster against St Kilda, a side they have not beaten since 2003.
While Jack Riewoldt kicked six goals against the Hawks in his best game so far this season, Cotchin revealed he and teammate Shane Edwards took the key forward to task for ignoring them in front of goal.
“There was one … where he missed Shane Edwards on the left and I was on the right and we both gave him a fair old spray,” Cotchin said.
He added Riewoldt has become much better at dealing with teammates during the highly-charged emotion of a game.
“It has to be constructive and it’s something Jack has learned over the last couple of years, his feedback has been in a lot more of a positive manner,” Cotchin said.
“He’s starting to develop guys with his feedback rather than whacking them.”
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