Please Explain: Why 2013 might be the making of Marc Murphy and Trent Cotchin as leaders

PLEASE EXPLAIN: Why the 2013 season might be the making of star midfielders Marc Murphy and Trent Cotchin as leaders.

Murphy Cotchin

Dear ‘Murph’ and ‘Cotch’,

Well done on winning through to your first final as captains of your respective clubs.

We know it hasn't been the easiest of transitions to the leadership role for either of you - especially for you, ‘Murph’ - but it's something you will both learn from immensely.

For you, ‘Cotch’, finals were probably never in doubt, given the Tigers' strong season, even though past history says Richmond should never take anything for granted at this time of the year.

You will finally get the sweet taste of September.

‘Murph’, you've been here before, but not as captain.

And the pathway through 2013 for you and your club has been something that no one has ever gone through.

Officially out of the finals one minute; back in it the next.

First, you had to wait for Essendon to finally do the deal with the AFL that would count them out of the finals series.

Then you had to almost single-handedly drag your team over the line with a one-point win over Port Adelaide to make it.

That was stirring stuff from a season that has been frustrating as much as anything else this year for the Blues.

In a way, the performance you gave in the second half against the Power could well be the making of you as captain.

You would have heard the criticism made of you in your first year as skipper - about whether, at 26, you were ready to take over from Chris Judd, and whether the fact that you prefer actions over words might not necessarily mean you are suited to the role.

The fact that you suffered a broken cheekbone in June didn't help. In an effort to do the right thing by your team, you probably played before you were ready, and it only fed the criticism.

It did seem to sap your confidence on the field too.

Marc Murphy

Even Mick Malthouse admitted at stages of the season that you had to start finding a way to make it happen when it wasn't necessarily happening for you.

It wasn't a criticism - it was more a statement of fact.

You've had plenty of external criticism - some of it fair and some a bit more hysterical - in relation to your ability to beat tight tags and to not let your man run off you the other way and hurt the team on the scoreboard.

Even at half-time of last week's game against Port Adelaide, several commentators were giving you some stick about not getting yourself into the game.

Well, the good thing is you shut them up.

Massively.

Trent Cotchin

An outstanding second half from you - and yes, from Carlton - is the reason the club's season is still alive, and will be at least until Sunday.

It was one of the most inspiring second half performances this season.

If we are to look back on your captaincy in three to five years, when you might be ready to hand it over to someone else, we might look back on Round 23, 2013 as the turning point for you.

And today marks another exciting chapter.

It's the first time a first-year Blues skipper has led his team into the finals since 1987. That bloke was Stephen Kernahan and he helped to lift his team to a premiership.

That is unlikely to happen this year. But there is little doubt the Blues are a realistic chance to knock off the Tigers on Sunday if you can find the same intensity and passion and lift those around you as you did last week.

We’re not suggesting you will be as good a captain as your president was (not many have been), but we suspect 2013 will be the making of you as a leader – and Blues fans will see the benefits next year and beyond.

Trent, you have had a much smoother transition to the job than Marc has. Still, it hasn't altogether been easy.

Your form, at least earlier in the season, was not quite to the same elite standard that saw you finish equal second in last year's Brownlow Medal. It was good, but not great, with plenty of attention coming your way.

But that has changed in the second half of the season and you are back to one of the very elite players in the competition again.

Whether that early season dip in form had something to do with captaincy responsibilities or not remains to be seen. It was more likely that it was just a few injury niggles that you played through.'

You seem to be a natural skipper – even at 23 - happy to lead by words and deeds. You, too, will learn so much out of your experiences from 2013 and will go on to be a great leader of the Richmond Football Club.

But that's all ahead of you,. What matters most is how you will go on Sunday, and how you can lift the Tigers to a big win. And the same can be said for Marc Murphy and the Blues.

It’s going to be a cracker, and it’s a fair bet to suggest that the best captain on the day – as well as the best player between you both - might well determine which team carries onto next week.