Blanketed last weekend by Collingwood's Brent Macaffer, Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin charged back into form on Thursday night with 32 disposals against the Brisbane Lions - and he has hard work to thank in the opinion of teammate Daniel Jackson.
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Speaking after landing back in Melbourne on Friday, Jackson conceded that Cotchin's fellow midfielders had failed to adequately protect their captain the in the face of Macaffer's ambush in round three, but that a concerted effort from both Cotchin and his on-ball company paved the way for a Tigers victory at the Gabba.
"We always try and look after him. The game moves so quickly now, if you watch, especially later in the second half, it's very, very hard to get to the stoppage in time," Jackson said. "It's just an attitudinal thing, and being more aware, and I think last week we were probably too ball-conscious and should've been looking out for our skipper a bit more.
"This week the game afforded us a bit more of an opportunity to help him out; but I think to his own credit he worked a little bit harder and put his stamp on the game."
Staring down the barrel of a third consecutive defeat after the Lions took an unlikely lead midway through the third term, the Tigers looked to be in trouble, but ultimately rallied to prevail by 43 points.
"We'd played some pretty good footy early and sometimes I guess that tires us out. They came out in the third and they fired and we weren't quite ready for it," Jackson said.
The reigning best and fairest winner emphasised that despite the at-times sloppy manner in which victory was obtained, the signs from Thursday night were positive for Richmond.
"We've probably lacked a bit of confidence over the start of the season, so it is good to get a win and I think the most important thing is we just had to show some good signs of improvement," Jackson said.
"We were back playing the style of footy that we know we can play and we know we need to play if we're going to make amends for the start of this season."
Jackson praised forward Jack Riewoldt who shrugged off an indifferent start to his year, kicking four pivotal goals.
But Jackson was equally pleased with Riewoldt for his stirring words pre-game as he was for his showing inside 50.
"It was great to hear Jack before the game; he was probably the most vocal of all the leaders," he said.
"Whilst the public outside and maybe the media have been giving him a backhander here and there around his leadership, he is one of our most integral. He might not be in the leadership group but he showed out on the field the influence he can have."
