Ottens made his debut in 1998, rising to prominence with Richmond as a strong overhead marker, with an accurate and long kick for goal.

He kicked 47 of his goals in 2001 for Richmond In search of a ruckman and key forward target, Geelong picked up Ottens in a trade for the 2005 season.

After debuting in Round 1, and becoming the one thousandth player to play a game for Geelong, he again struggled to have a major impact in the first year at his new club.

The week after Geelong's exit from the 2006 AFL season, Ottens was involved in a drink driving incident which saw him have his licence cancelled for 11 months.

During the Cats' five-point preliminary final win against Collingwood Ottens was voted best-on-ground after giving a game-winning performance in the ruck.

The following week he capped off a stellar season, among the best players in his side's record breaking grand final victory over Port Adelaide.