Richmond's Brownlow Medal curse strikes star Trent Cotchin as he leaves empty-handed
HISTORY didn't favour Trent Cotchin.
HISTORY didn't favour Trent Cotchin.
If he'd done his research coming into last night's count the rising superstar would have known not to get too concerned about a victory speech.
The Tigers and the Brownlow Medal aren't a good mix.
And what's even worse - Richmond players starting favourite.
There has only been one Richmond player in the past 58 years to take home Charlie and even that has an asterix to it because he was a chap by the name of Ian Stewart whose track record in the count was fairly solid (He won two Brownlows at St Kilda before crossing to Punt Rd).
The favourite tag is a horror story for the black and gold army.
Wayne Campbell could only manage nine votes in 1995 while Geoff Raines went horribly, coming up with zero in the 1980 premiership year.
Cotchin, who had won the AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year award, fared a lot better than those two but a slow start to the season was always going to come back and haunt him, especially with the pace which eventual winner Jobe Watson set.
The 22-year-old only polled in one game - a best-on-ground against Sydney in Round 7 - in the opening eight rounds.
By that time Watson was already on 14 votes.
His last month was outrageous and showed why the money had come from him in truckloads over recent days to put him ahead of Watson and alongside Gary Ablett in the betting.
In his final four games Cotchin polled 11 of a possible 12 votes to claim a share of second with one of the plunge players of the night, Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell.
The Hawks midfielder had been sensationally backed from $17 into $6 over the last 24 hours and like Cotchin, he flew late.
There was a theory behind the cash given Mitchell was the second highest vote getter last year - he polled 30 which was the most in Hawthorn's history - but was ineligible because of suspension.
After polling four votes in the opening two rounds, the former Hawks skipper was only on nine votes after Round 13 before charging with votes in seven of the last 10 games.
When interviewed at the half-way mark of the count, Mitchell had his mind well and truly on Saturday: "I'm probably not going to get to 17 (which Watson is already on). I'm actually pretty relaxed."
The only plunge player yesterday was Sydney midfielder Josh Kennedy whose quote of $15 was halved by the time the count began.
But like Cotchin, he probably might have known that history was against him.
Kennedy had only polled three career votes - in two games - in the Brownlow Medal so it's always a big ask to suddenly find 30.
Three best-on-grounds in the opening five weeks got him shifting in his seat but he then went quiet for 10 weeks before getting busy late to finish in eighth spot with 19 votes.
