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Trent Cotchin says the ‘fire in the belly’ has been reignited at Tigerland during the off-season. He talks Richmond’s hopes for 2022 and the Tigers’ next captain.

Richmond star Trent Cotchin says watching Melbourne take the Tigers’ premiership crown has reignited “the fire in the belly” heading into 2022.

Cotchin, who was back training at Punt Road on Monday, admitted to a “weird” feeling watching the finals series after Richmond failed to make the eight for the first time since 2016.

“I can only speak from the conversations I’ve had over the off season, but also from a personal point of view watching finals this year was weird,” he said.

“I’m not a huge watcher of footy but the finals series was something that I tuned into, and for me personally the fire in the belly really reignited that time and kickstarted my off-season in a really positive way.

“I think if we reflect truly on last year we probably weren’t up to the standard.

“You look at the teams that ended up playing off in the grand final, the quality of footy they played throughout the whole season was brilliant and that’s the level we want to get back to.”

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Former Richmond captain Trent Cotchin is ready to help the Tigers bounce back. Picture: Michael Klein.

The 268-gamer is now the former skipper after stepping down from the captaincy in September after leading the Tigers to three premierships.

A new skipper won’t be appointed until early next year, and Cotchin – who said he believed he had plenty of good football left in him - doubted whether he’d have much say in finding the successor.

“There’s clearly going to be someone else who takes over that role or maybe a few people, I’m not sure exactly what path we’ll take but I’m really excited,” he said.

“We always have a vote so I’d say there would be player input.

“It needs to be the right fit for the club and I don’t know how much say I’ll have in it.

“I think my time as making any form of decision has come to an end, but I’ll be supportive to whoever is in that role and allow them to flourish and put their own spin on things.”

Cotchin said superstar Dustin Martin, who was running laps on Monday, was a strong candidate for the vacant post.

“I think he is one of many who has amazing attributes and he’s also got some weaknesses like all of us as human beings,” he said.

“But time will tell with who it is and the direction the club takes.”

Dustin Martin at Tigers pre-season training in November. Picture: Michael Klein.

Martin before the injury in July. Picture: Michael Klein

He also played down reports Martin had lost a stack of weight in his recovery from a lacerated kidney.

“Everyone’s saying how much weight he’s lost, he’s actually not that much lighter than he was before he had the injury right now,” he said,

“But he does look good and looks refreshed.

“He’s running and I’m not sure when he’ll start his contact training, but he was really excited to get back.”

Cotchin on Monday presented the Alannah & Madeline Foundation with Richmond’s 2021 donation of over $200,000.

The foundation is the leading national charity working to protect children from the effects of violence, bullying and cyber risk.