Elmer_Hauser
Future Member of Parliament
I think you're not looking in the right direction.
Their entire game worked because the B tier functioned as a pressure generator to enable the A tier to have more breaks and to funnel the ball to them. Cotchin served as both sides of that; he was an exemplar of their increased pressure game, going from averaging 3.9 tackles over the course of his career to 5.6 in 2017 and 4.7 in 2018 when they were establishing their method, and he became a much more impactful player because he didn't have to work so hard to win the ball. His teammates looked for him, and he imposed himself when he needed to or the moment came.
You don't know what he does off-field, and he's been their leader since 2013. He's a three time premiership captain, and a Brownlow medalist. I don't know how you can make the claim that they'd not have won their flags in his absence, because without him they wouldn't be the same team, and in a very real sense they are the truest team of the modern football era.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I now have to go and punish myself.
I'll be honest, that is probably the most intelligent and well thought out rebuttal to anything I have ever posted so here, so I have nothing i can do but to bow down to your expertise and football knowledge
The quote from the RFC board i posted is still pretty funny though I think