Cotchin has played multiple seasons and did not miss a game last year along with best and fairest and 15 brownlow votes, the most out of any richmond player, and has also been picked in the all australian squad as a starting center picked by the professional commentators on channel seven after the game between geelong and carlton! A total of 5 richmond players were picked in the team including maric, riewoldt, rance, newman and cotchin!
You clearly know nothing about richmond, trent cotchin or the definition of the word elite!
Richmond will make finals this season, and there is know doubt about it matt!
Are you serious?
Not missing a game doesn't make you elite. Neither does receiving the most Brownlow votes at Richmond in a season that you went 8-14, especially considering the winner polled 34...
Winning a Richmond best and fairest doesn't exactly make you elite either. Let's face it, this is the same award that Joel Bowden managed to win back-to-back. You remember him right? Richmond whipping boy of the mid-2000's?
And don't even get me started about the embarrassingly pathetic team picked by Channel 7! This is the same team that has Gary Ablett selected on the Half Forward Flank. The greatest midfielder in the competition on the HF line!? This a guy that has had 42, 40, 45, 33, 33, 29, 25 and 53 possessions in his 8 games this season! That's an average of 37.5 touches per game! If they're selecting a man that's average 37.5 disposals to play on the HF line, I don't think we need to pay attention to the rest of their selections.
I had this same discussion with tremell earlier tonight, they seem to have rewarded players that have improved since last year, or had better seasons in comparison to previous years, rather than guys that are having good seasons, but might not have improved on last year (i.e. because their performances have been damn good in the past and we just expect that from them now). Ivan Maric? Please. Good season? Yes. Improved on last year? For sure. Best ruckman currently in the competition? No. Same goes for Alex Rance, Ted Richards, Leyroy Jetta, Chris Newman...
Going back to your definition of 'elite', you've either got much lower standards than me, or I'm too harsh of a judge. James Kelly is a triple premiership player and an All-Australian midfielder. Do I consider him an elite midfielder? No. I love him, but he's not 'elite' when compared with the likes of Ablett, Judd, Swan, Pendlebury, Selwood. Cotchin is also not in that class.
I never said you don't have a bunch of talented players, but like a lot of Tigers fans you seem to have gotten over-excited about where your club is actually at. Don't fool yourself into thinking you have a bunch of elite player just yet, on the back of a couple of strong performances.