Lethal's last word: Is Cotchin overrated? ............. (afl site)

[one-eyed]

Lethal's last word: Is Cotchin overrated?

By Leigh Matthews
afl.com.au
Friday, April 26, 2013

Leigh Matthews questions Trent Cotchin's effectiveness with the ball.

The Key Player
Trent Cotchin
We can be confident that Cotchin will win a lot of the ball in this match (he hasn't had under 27 disposals in a game this season) but whether he can use it effectively will be important in the outcome of the game. Cotchin's overall disposal efficiency this season is 58 per cent (kicking efficiency is 54 per cent). In comparison his teammate Brett Deledio is disposing of the ball at 78 per cent efficiency, and Collingwood midfielder Scott Pendlebury is going at 74 per cent. The competition average is 70 per cent. There is no doubt that Cotchin is well on his way to becoming one of the elite midfielders of the competition, but his effectiveness with the ball is one area in which there is room for improvement.

Leigh says:
"Cotchin is the Tigers most consistent ball winner, but I'm a bit concerned that he's getting a lot of the ball but not much is coming from it. A lot of his disposal is rushed and under pressure. I just don't think Richmond are getting a whole lot of creativity out of Cotchin, just from what I've seen recently. He's certainly Richmond's key midfielder, but he needs to be able to be better with his ball use, and the opposition will know that too so they'll be trying very hard to make sure that he gets no time and space. He's probably going to be manned up by Crowley, who's very good at what he does."

The Last Word: Richmond to win
Leigh says: "Richmond weren't great last week, but I'm going for them over in Perth. At the moment, without the go-to player in the forward line, the Dockers are all of a sudden looking a bit sub-standard."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-04-26/is-cotchin-overrated

[bojangles17]

its a pretty good point actually , something I raised when many fans suggested a year ago he d already passed matty knights status ...least we know he s a mere mortal and still has a way to go before he s in Judd ar Gary Ablett Jr class

[Stripes]

He's out in and under ball winner firstly who is tagged mercilessly secondly. He rarely gets the ball in space and rarely has less than a split second to clear the ball from the stoppage. Perhaps he needs to handball more in heavy congestion because he frequently just tries to slap the ball to boot to clear the area and open up space for others.

You can not accurately compare Lids or Pendelbury to Cotch as they are more outside midfielders who generally have far more time and space to depose of the ball. Cotch can improve but will need more blocking and shepherding support from his team mates if he is to gain the required space/time required to execute more efficient kicks.

[Yeahright]

He's out in and under ball winner firstly who is tagged mercilessly secondly. He rarely gets the ball in space and rarely has less than a split second to clear the ball from the stoppage. Perhaps he needs to handball more in heavy congestion because he frequently just tries to slap the ball to boot to clear the area and open up space for others.

You can not accurately compare Lids or Pendelbury to Cotch as they are more outside midfielders who generally have far more time and space to depose of the ball. Cotch can improve but will need more blocking and shepherding support from his team mates if he is to gain the required space/time required to execute more efficient kicks.

I hate to talk down on Cotch but the thing is Pendlebury actually averages more contested possessions and less uncontested possessions than Cotchin aswell as more clearances.

[yellowandback]

Pendles has a power of support around him. Cotch still doesn't get enough support from the 2nd tier mids

[Ruanaidh]

Pendles has a power of support around him. Cotch still doesn't get enough support from the 2nd tier mids

Spot on....and where are the blocks/shepherds he should be getting?

[tigs2011]

In breaking news te house of former great Leigh Matthews has been burnt down with him locked inside. It's believed that the incident occurred shortly after afl.com.au claimed he had potted richmond legend Trent cotchin. Tiger fans were quick to build a gold statue of their hero on top of the burnt down house. 

[Chuck17]

He certainly doesn't have all the tools of the AFL great himself, never seen him king hit a player.

[Penelope]

Ablett does pretty good in a crap side without lots of blocking or anyone else to take the tags 

[Stripes]

Ablett does pretty good in a crap side without lots of blocking or anyone else to take the tags 

True but Ablett is the best player in the league by the stretch of a country mile and has plenty of years on our Cotch too. I think you'll find that Ablett is in fact well protected by his yound teams mates often to the determent of their own game at times. Abletts efficiency rate doesn't compare to Lids either.

In fact G Ablett is ranked 17th in the league for clangers per game so far in 2013 while Cotchin is not even on the list. Ablett is only two higher at 17th at effective disposals per game in the league to Cotchin. Cotchin is ranked 2nd to Watson (who has played an additional game so far) in total disposals with Ablett ranked 7th.

So while I don't believe that Cotchin is the player Ablett is yet, sometimes these sort of analysis pieces are speculative and based on perception rather than reality.

[Penelope]

pretty much agree with what you say stripes, although i think raw numbers would show more than rankings.

For years we heard how how deledio didnt have the support around him that the top line midfielders are getting and now we are starting to hear the same excuses for cotchin.
it just makes me wonder why there was no need to trot out these excuses  last year?

I just think it is a simple matter of him not being in the best form at the moment, which probably indicates just how good a footballer he is when on song, and could be into the future.

some people have compared him to ablett, and understandably so. sometimes you see him do stuff that is very abletesque - the ablity to get his center of gravity low in the contest so he stays on his feet and to break free of congestion, see a target and hit it up.

i've read/heard people say that ablett was so good at geelong because of the players around him. well he has put that rest IMO. I don't think he gets the chop out anywhere near what he did in geelong's experienced mature midfield.

not too much has gone south in our midfield from last year, except perhaps tucks output, so i dont buy the excuse he needs those around him to lift to produce the sort of footy we saw last year.

What causes peaks and troughs in form? Coaches and trainers have been searching for the answer to that since before JC played full back for Jerusalem.

[Smokey]

Coaches and trainers have been searching for the answer to that since before JC played full back for Jerusalem.

And I've always said he was much better suited to a flank.

[Penelope]

I was too young to remember seeing much of him, so ill have to take your word on that.

[Lozza]

Really worried about Cotch's disposal efficiency at the moment,  appears to me that all the recent scrutiny on this area of his game is playing on his mind. Last night he looked to be really concentrating on each disposal but thats not when he is at his best, the Cotch I like watching is the quick instinctive player who makes the right decisions every time. Even the shot at goal he had he looked far from confident. In fact the commentators mentioned he hasnt kicked a goal this season which is extraordinary

[Dubstep Dookie]

Was Matthews overrated?