AFL 2020: Richmond need Trent Cotchin to win the premiership will happily take on title contenders Port Adelaide without him

Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin won’t play in the huge Saturday clash against Port Adelaide as the Tigers put management of their skipper at the forefront of their premiership ambitions.

Richmond needs Trent Cotchin to win a third flag in four years, and his availability for that trumps the need to play him off a five-day break against title contenders Port Adelaide.

Coach Damien Hardwick had flagged a management plan for his Brownlow Medal-winning captain as the Tigers push through three games in 14 days.

So Cotchin won’t even fly to Adelaide for Saturday’s clash with the ladder-leaders which gives the 30-year-old, who has a history of soft-tissue injuries, 13 days before he fronts up against Gold Coast in Round 12.

“He’s probably the one player that we have a little bit of a plan in place with regards to his injury history and his hamstring,” Hardwick said on Friday.

“He won’t board the plane but he will be right for nine or 10 days later.”

Hardwick said he went into the condensed fixture list with an “open mind” about player rotations, other than Cotchin.

He was happy he wouldn’t have to make too many changes with Richmond now on a roll, including back-to-back wins over the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane.

“Our strength and conditioning guys have done a wonderful job, our player wellness and health and wellbeing markers are very strong,” he said.

Defender David Astbury has had a setback in his recovery from a knee injury, needing a “clean-out” which will keep him sidelined for at least another two weeks.

“Are you lost, Grimesy?” 😂 #gotiges pic.twitter.com/UeH2f4Of4m

— Richmond FC 🐯🏆 (@Richmond_FC) August 7, 2020

That gives Noah Balta the chance to take down Power forward Charlie Dixon, who Hardwick said had been in “incredible” form this year.

“His contested marking has been very good for a while, and his consistency this season has by far exceeded years gone past,” he said.

“We’re probably looking at Noah Balta to have the opportunity on him first and see how that goes. It’s an enormous opportunity for Noah and one we are prepared to back him in.”

Hardwick said Port, with eight wins from 10 games this season, presented an “enormous challenge” for the Tigers.

“They play a dynamic style of footy, we know they like to use their speed and get the ball to Charlie (Dixon) as much as they can,” he said.

“It’s going to be an enormous challenge for us on their home deck.”