PAST and present Richmond players at Monday night's Brownlow Medal count could not help but ponder what might have been if equal second place-getter Trent Cotchin had not left his run so late.
Despite heading into this year's count as one of the strong favourites, Cotchin did not poll a vote until his three-vote, 27-possession game in round seven against the Sydney Swans.
When eventual winner Jobe Watson stretched his tally to 29 votes in round 19, Cotchin's chances of winning were already over as he trailed by 14 votes with just four rounds to go.?
However, the 22-year-old Richmond midfielder flew home in those games to poll 11 of a possible 12 votes to join former Hawthorn captain Sam Mitchell as joint runner-up on 26 votes, four behind Essendon skipper Watson.
First-year Tiger Brandon Ellis and Richmond great Kevin Bartlett both lamented Cotchin's slow start.
"We knew he was going to finish pretty strong. I thought if he was in the top five with five rounds to go he was actually going to win it," Ellis told AFL.com.au.
"But not getting a vote until round seven really hurt him. If he had polled before then he would have come home with the bacon."
Bartlett said: "He just missed out I suppose in those first half dozen games of the season."
"He had a fantastic last four games and a wonderful season and he polled marvellously well."
Veteran Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck could not speak highly enough of Cotchin as a person, footballer and leader.
"I've known Trent since he's been at the club. I've seen him grow as a player and it's hard to come across a more genuine human being than Trent Cotchin," Tuck said.
"I've become good friends with him over the last four years and I'm really proud and happy for him.
"And I just think that to come second in the Brownlow when he's only 22 is a great accomplishment and I look forward to him leading the club in the future."
Traditionally, Brownlow Medal night has its hard-luck stories and, along with Cotchin, this year's included Mitchell, Adelaide's Scott Thompson and Gold Coast skipper Gary Ablett.
For the second consecutive year, Mitchell finished second in the Brownlow, following his runner-up finish to Collingwood's Dane Swan in 2011.
Thompson loomed as Watson's main challenger for much of Monday night's count, but was ultimately hurt by teammate Patrick Dangerfield's hot finish to the season that saw him poll 10 votes in the final six rounds.
Thompson finished equal fourth on 25 votes with Swan, while Dangerfield climbed into seventh on 23. The pair's combined tally of 48 votes was the best of any club duo, four better than Swan and Collingwood teammate Dayne Beams (19 votes).
Crows captain Nathan van Berlo told AFL.com.au Thompson and Dangerfield's vote tallies reflected how vital they had been to Crows' rise from 14th in 2011 to third this year.
"They both had outstanding seasons and deservedly polled a high number of votes together," van Berlo said.
"It reflects the year we've had as a team. The boys obviously made a huge improvement on last year and those boys certainly contributed hugely to that with their great form."
Ablett won the 2009 Brownlow but has also had a string of narrow misses, finishing second in 2010, equal third in 2008, equal sixth in 2007 and 2011, and sixth again this year (24 votes).
Making this year's effort even more outstanding was the fact Ablett's Gold Coast team won only three games. Not since Hawthorn's Col Austen won in 1949 has a Brownlow medallist come from a team that won three games in a season.
After Monday night's count, Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna paid tribute to Ablett's ability to perform so well in a fledgling team.
"He's been super on and off the field and again tonight I think it proves just how well he's played," McKenna said.
"He's certainly led from the front. At the moment, he's the engine and the icing on the cake at the Suns.
"But I'm sure when three wins turn into six, nine or 12, he's certainly going to move up the leaderboard."
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
