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Ballan Football Netball Club President David O\u2019Hanlon said he was thrilled to have someone of Cotchin\u2019s calibre at the Blues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really happy. To get someone like Trent Cotchin to your club doesn\u2019t happen every day,\u201d Mr O\u2019Hanlon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a bit of a rough couple of years with new renovations taking way longer than expected, so to get an AFL superstar who pretty much everyone in the country knows is pretty special.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had our first home game since 2021 a few weeks ago, and in a few weeks\u2019 time we\u2019ve got Trent coming to town, so it\u2019ll be massive.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked where the club plans to play Cotchin \u2013 in the midfield as he played for Richmond, or elsewhere \u2013 Mr O\u2019Hanlon joked that Cotchin could \u201cplay wherever he wants\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll have a run through the midfield at some stage, we\u2019d love to see him kick a goal and the crowd celebrate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving someone like Trent with three premierships, and captain of probably the biggest and most passionate club in the AFL, we were pretty keen to go for him, and it\u2019s come our way.\u201d<\/p>\n
AFL Hall of Famer and Bombers premiership player Matthew Lloyd went at Pick 3 for Old Collegians FNC, while the Toora Magpies picked Blues and Giants player and popular podcaster, Dylan Buckley, with Pick 4.<\/p>\n
Last but certainly not least was Saints legend and 287-game AFL player Leigh Montagna, who was taken at Pick 5 for Castlemaine FNC.<\/p>\n
Cotchin said he was looking forward to pulling on a Ballan jumper.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m excited to get out there. You watch the Seniors growing up playing for your local footy club, and realise how big it is for the community,\u201d Mr Cotchin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum did barrack for Carlton when I was growing up, so I think I\u2019ll be alright putting on a navy blue jumper\u2026and it\u2019s way better than putting on a jumper in Collingwood colours!<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it, and trying a few different parts of the field, seeing what the game throws up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each player will play one game for the club who selected them, with match days set to commence from late May.<\/p>\n
Trent Cotchin will play for Ballan at the Ballan Recreation Reserve for the Round 8 game against Newlyn, which kicks off at 2.30pm on Saturday 1 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A PREMIERSHIP captain for the Richmond Tigers will don navy blue this month \u2013 but relax Richmond fans, it\u2019s for a local footy club, not Carlton. The Carlton Draft took place on Tuesday 30 April, with five grassroots football clubs, including the Ballan Blues, picking a retired AFL player to play a game for their […]<\/p>\n