He was recruited by the Carlton Football Club through the 2019 Pre-season supplemental selection period.
[10] After playing his entire first season in Carlton's VFL-affiliate, the Northern Blues, he made his senior AFL debut in Round 11, 2020, against West Coast in one of three matches Carlton played in a Perth quarantine hub during the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season.
[11][12] Later that season, in just his fifth career match, Cottrell kicked the winning goal two minutes from the final siren a come-from-behind victory against Sydney, in which Carlton conceded the first seven goals of the game before recovering to win 8.9 (57) to 8.4 (52).
[9][13] Cottrell was elevated to Carlton's senior list from their rookie list for 2024 in late 2023, following an outbreak season in the Blues' first finals campaign since 2013, in which he kicked 11 goals, including 3 in his first finals campaign.
This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 2000s is a stub.