Cameron Ling reveals Matthew Scarlett’s ‘dark moments’ after poor finals performance

Geelong great Cameron Ling says Sunday’s elimination final stinker may stick with Richmond captain Trent Cotchin for a long time.

He said a poor finals performance had a significant impact on former teammate Matthew Scarlett early in his career.

Cotchin collected just nine disposals in Sunday’s loss to North Melbourne, leading Ling to cite the Cats’ infamous 2004 preliminary final loss to the Brisbane Lions.

Former Lions star Daniel Bradshaw proved the match-winner on the night with four goals opposed to Scarlett.

And he didn’t forget about it any time soon.

‘Matt Scarlett had his worst game for the year… Just got destroyed by Bradshaw,’ Ling explained on 3AW Football.

‘That affected him – knowing ‘Scarlo’ so well – for about another 12 months.

‘He just kept going back to his dark moments. He said that to me ? ‘whenever I get a quiet moment, I go back to the MCG preliminary final and Bradshaw is towelling me up’ ? so that sort of thing sticks.’

But as Ling and Matthew Richardson pointed out, Scarlett went on to play in three premierships and became one of the greats of the game.

LISTEN: Cameron Ling explains the impact of a poor finals performance