Steven Morris may have had only three disposals, playing his new small forward role for Richmond in last Thursday night’s Round 1 victory over Carlton, but his value to the team should not be underestimated.

Morris constantly applied manic pressure to the Blues’ backs, forcing them into mistakes, which ultimately led to the Tigers hitting the scoreboard.

“I think the great thing about ‘Morro’ is that every opportunity he’s near the footy, he’ll give his 100%.  It’s never 90% or 95%, it’s always 100, and that’s why we love him,” Cotchin said on SEN.

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“Like any individual he’ll be disappointed with just three possessions in a game, but what we’re saying from a team point of view, the pressure and perceive pressure that he puts on the opposition is going to have a massive impact this season . . .

“It’s just where the game’s going.  You want to turn the ball over as close to goal as possible to give yourself an opportunity to put another score on the board.”

Cotchin believes the move from defence into attack has revitalised Morris at the start of his fourth season of AFL football.

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“Morro had been performing a really good role for us down back . . . it’s been exciting for him to learn a whole new role, and it’s probably just given him that bit of fresh air that sometimes you need . . .

“He’s really enjoying his role and really enjoying learning, but also teaching the younger guys how he goes about it.”