Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin is set to travel to Perth for the Tigers' clash against Essendon, despite concerns about his ill daughter back in Victoria.<\/p>\n
The Tigers are currently based in Sydney after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne led to a lockdown, and the team are set to play the blockbuster Dreamtime At The 'G clash at Optus Stadium.<\/p>\n
But Cotchin was reportedly considering returning home and missing the game against the Bombers after one of his children was in hospital.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said after consulting his family, Cotchin is planning to remain in Sydney and go with the team to play in Perth.<\/p>\n
"At this stage, he will (go to Perth)," Hardwick said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"Obviously Trent's spoken to (his wife) Brooke and 'Kenz' (daughter Mackenzie) as well and look at the moment, relatively stable. So from that point of view, he'll stay but that can change.<\/p>\n
"Once again, from our point of view as a club, family will always come first and Brooke's adamant that she wants him to stay (with the team) and Trent will make that decision if the condition changes.<\/p>\n
"But from our point of view, he'll be on the plane come tomorrow."<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/COxcmJ3AMD1\/<\/a><\/p>\n Hardwick, the club and Cotchin's Richmond teammates have all backed their captain with whatever decision he makes, despite the difficult situation.<\/p>\n "Knowing Trent as well as I do, he'd be hurting inside \u2013 there's no doubt. No one likes to have a sick child, especially when you feel so far away from home," Hardwick said.<\/p>\n "But Trent is very, very good at making sure everyone around him is OK. He's such a selfless person and (it's) what makes him a great captain and a great leader of our football club.<\/p>\n "Look, he's doing a little bit tough at the moment but he's continued to lead the club as we always know he would.<\/p>\n "So he's very strong in his leadership, very vocal in his communication and we expect that (to) continue until something changes."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"