Cotchin, a former West Preston junior, was a runaway winner in the Tigers’ Best and Fairest count, polling 296 votes, with dual Jack Dyer Medallist Brett Deledio runner-up, on 263 votes, and Ivan Maric in third place, with 248 votes.
At just 22 years, five months, Cotchin is the same age as Deledio, when he won his second consecutive Jack Dyer Medal in 2009. You have to go back to Richmond ‘Immortal’ Kevin Bartlett, in 1967-68, for a younger winner of back-to-back Best and Fairests at Tigerland.
Cotchin was prominent from the outset in the vote count. He held a one vote lead over Maric at the halfway mark, with Deledio a further five votes behind in third place at that stage.
As the rounds rolled on, however, Cotchin’s superb form saw him forge further ahead, and he put the result beyond doubt with a scintillating Round 20 display against the Western Bulldogs, which earned him a season-high 22 votes in the Best and Fairest.
Cotchin, who played all 22 games in season 2012, was ranked No. 1 at the Club for total disposals, with 606, at an average of 27.6 per match. On 21 occasions, he had 20 disposals or more, and he racked up 30 disposals or more seven times (four of those coming in the last four rounds), with a season-high 38 against Gold Coast in Round 16.
He was ranked No. 2 at the Club for total contested possessions (273), No. 2 for inside-50 entries (116), No, 2 for centre clearances (113), No. 4 for uncontested possessions (328) and finished fifth on the Tigers’ goalkicking table with 21 goals.
Not surprisingly, the star midfielder is the favourite to win the AFL’s most prestigious individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, next Monday.
