RICHMOND midfielder Brandon Ellis has called on his Tiger teammates to step up and help Trent Cotchin break free of hard tags.
 
Cotchin has attracted the attention of some of the competition's best taggers this season and as a result has struggled at times to stamp his influence on games.
 
Last Sunday against Hawthorn, the Richmond captain had 10 touches in the opening term before young Hawk Will Langford restricted him to just 11 possessions over the next three quarters. 
 
In round four, Cotchin was held to 13 disposals by Collingwood tagger Brent Macaffer, his lowest tally since round 16, 2010.
 
The Magpie's tactics on Cotchin drew criticism from many and Cotchin stated after the match he thought they were "illegal".
 
Ellis told AFL.com.au it was up to Cotchin's teammates to help him out when the heat was on.
 
"We’ve just got to look out for him a bit more, give him those blocks and just hit into his opponent," Ellis said.
 
"We just need to do it, he hasn't asked us. He doesn't ask for much 'Cotchy', we need to help him out as a midfield group and going forward we just need to keep doing that.
 
"When Cotchy is getting punched and kicked and scragged, he needs more help. But it comes down to our game-plan as well, which the boys aren't really following at the moment.
 
"We're not hitting those little kicks and those handballs, so everyone is getting caught out a little bit. If we can get back on track, Cotchy will be fine."
 
The likely return of Brett Deledio to the side might help relieve some of the pressure on Cotchin when Richmond faces Geelong at the MCG on Sunday.
 
But Ellis, now in his third AFL season, admitted he was feeling the pressure to consistently produce good performances every week.
 
"I'm getting closer to 50 games now so I think there is a bit more pressure for me to stand up and perform each week," Ellis said.
 
"I've had the experience in my first two years so hopefully this year and over the next couple of seasons I can stand up and help Cotchy and Lids (Deledio) and (Dan) Jackson out when they need help and they're not going so well."