Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin isn’t usually given to over-the-top goal celebrations, but his sheer joy at the Tigers’ stunning grand final win over GWS had been too great to hold in.
With the game well in his side’s keeping in Saturday’s final term at the MCG, Cotchin received the ball in the centre circle, took a bounce and set sail passing the 50m arc.
Most of the 100,014 fans shared his unbridled exhilaration as he leapt into the air to celebrate not just a goal but also a second premiership in three years.
“I don’t typically celebrate goals like that but this footy club means so much to me,” Cotchin said.
“The amount of love I have for our boys, for the coaches and everyone that’s put their heart and soul into it … it’s pretty special.
“I was probably carrying on a bit but I’ll take my moment.”
There was little to suggest an 89-point drubbing was in the offing during a tense opening quarter, but the floodgates opened in the second as the Tigers slammed through 11 goals in succession.
Struggling at 7-6 and with injuries to key players Alex Rance, Jack Riewoldt and Cotchin himself, Richmond overcame plenty of adversity to claim a flag that seemed fanciful at the halfway point of the season.
But Cotchin maintained an almost Zen-like optimistic demeanour throughout.
“We’ve spoken many times about how this result today wouldn’t determine our fulfilment,” he said.
“It’s just a special organisation.
“We continue to talk about our journey and it still hasn’t finished.
“But it’s not the destination that brings you happiness – it’s the journey.
“That’s not just in football but in life.
“I’m just thankful to have such amazing people around me and I’ll cherish these moments.”
Coach Damien Hardwick paid tribute to the role the previously unheralded skipper had played in helping to transform his team.
“What he’s very good at is that he doesn’t have to be at the front to be a leader,” Hardwick said.
“He parks his ego and he drives from the bottom up.
“His best form of leadership is on-ground, but he’s prepared to step back, to let others grow.
“He copped a lot of whacks early in his career, but he will go down as one of the great leaders and players at Richmond.”