Richmond coach Damien Hardwick spoke to reporters on Thursday about the status of Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin ahead of the clubs Dreamtime game on Saturday.
Cotchin has been reportedly been weighing up flying back to Melbourne to be with his family whilst one of his daughters is in hospital.
Hardwick, a friend and not just a coach to Cotchin, explained that his skipper appeared likely to stay with the playing group.
“At this stage, he will (make the trip to Perth),” Hardwick said.
“Obviously Trent’s spoken to (his wife) Brooke and ‘Kenz’ (daughter Mackenzie) as well and look at the moment, relatively stable. So from that point of view, he’ll stay but that can change.
“Once again, from our point of view as a club, family will always come first and Brooke’s adamant that she wants him to stay (with the team) and Trent will make that decision if the condition changes.
“But from our point of view, he’ll be on the plane come tomorrow."
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The Tigers are spending the week in Sydney before they are due to fly to Perth tomorrow.
“Knowing Trent as well as I do, he’d be hurting inside — there’s no doubt," Hardwick said. "No one likes to have a sick child, especially when you feel so far away from home.
“But Trent is very, very good at making sure everyone around him is OK. He’s such a selfless person and it’s what makes him a great captain and a great leader of our football club.
“Look, he’s doing a little bit tough at the moment but he’s continued to lead the club as we always know he would.
“So he’s very strong in his leadership, very vocal in his communication and we expect that (to) continue until something changes.”
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The Tigers will be hoping their triple-premiership skipper will be out there to lead them against Essendon, as a top-8 spot on the line for both clubs.
The annual Dreamtime game will kick off at 7:40 AEST on Saturday in front of a sold-out Optus Stadium.
