WITH Richmond's season starting to get back on track, skipper Trent Cotchin says the Tigers' challenge is to stay off the "dangerous" emotional rollercoaster and play consistent football.
After a 1-6 horror start the year, the Tigers are back in the hunt for finals with an enticing stretch of matches to come.
Richmond faces undermanned Essendon in the 'Dreamtime at the 'G' clash this Saturday night and will likely start favourite in three of the next four matches after that.
But if they're to string together a solid patch of form, Cotchin said the Tigers need to stay on a "consistent level".
"Rollercoasters - the challenge for a player is to make sure you don't ride them because that's when it becomes dangerous," Cotchin said.
"There's a lot of lows in AFL footy but there's also a lot of highs, so if you can balance that out, I think it goes a long way to performing at a consistent level."
Match preview: Essendon v Richmond
Cotchin conceded it had been a challenge to keep players upbeat and confident of turning the season around after another slow start.
However, he said wins over the Swans and Fremantle last round had shown what the Tigers were capable of when they put together four quarters.
"Obviously it's a challenge when you are losing to keep people upbeat and instill that confidence – whether it's your senior players or young guys coming into the side," Cotchin said.
"We know exactly what we were doing was going to turn, it was just a matter of stringing those four quarters of consistent performance together.
"We feel as though the last few weeks have been promising results, but we still have a long way to go.
"Confidence and belief is a big thing and your next win is really important because it continues that growth.
"The challenge, as I just spoke about with the rollercoaster, is that even if you do happen to have a loss in the next week, two-week, three-week block, you need to make sure you get back on the horse and do exactly what you know works for you."
Cotchin's return from a fractured cheekbone buoyed the Tigers against Freo on Saturday night, with the helmeted skipper gathering a career-best 39 touches – 18 contested – and 10 clearances.
The 26-year-old said having an enforced two-week lay-off had freshened him up.
"It's obviously not ideal missing games of footy, but what it does do is give you an opportunity to get a little bit of fitness in without the collision stuff you get from the weekend's games," Cotchin said.
"Where I fractured the cheek, it's pretty high-up, so (the helmet) just covers it. It just adds that little bit of cushioning.
"I didn't cop any blows on there on the weekend, so hopefully it will be gone in the next week or two, but you barely notice it once you're out there."
Cotchin hinted the Tigers were likely to recall youngster Daniel Rioli, who returned from the Northern Territory on Monday night after a family illness, for the Bombers clash and he said there was no pressure on former Blue Chris Yarran to play.
The star recruit is yet to play this season and still in the rehab group recovering from a foot injury, while also dealing with family issues.
