Reuben Cotter has a reputation for being non-stop at both ends of the footy field.
Yet official NRL 2025 stats show a significant chunk of his efforts have, technically speaking, been for nothing this season.
In his seventh NRL season, the Queensland star and Cowboys co-captain has recorded 128 decoy runs in just nine games—an NRL-leading average of more than 14 phantom runs a game.
Cotter, 26, is also averaging just under nine actual hit-ups per game in 2025—meaning he only receives the ball around forty percent of the time he hits the line at speed.
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Standing at just 180cm and weighing in at 95kg, Cotter is smaller than many outside backs. But his work-rate remains higher than almost every rival in the NRL.
“Reuben being so small doesn’t matter because he has a big heart and big ticker and keeps going all day,” Tom Dearden explained of his Maroons and Cowboys team mate in the lead-up to last year's State of Origin Series.
“He's just one of those players you know is never going to let you down.
“He keeps moving. He competes. He makes his tackles. He is always there.”
Treading the fine line between obstructions and game-breaking plays, we salute the decoy runners of 2025—the unsung heroes of the NRL.
NRL Top 5 Decoy Runners after Round 16
*Minimum five matches
| Player | Total Decoys | Average |
| Reuben Cotter (Cowboys) | 128 (9 games) | 14.2 |
| Terrell May (Tigers) | 145 (14 games) | 10.3 |
| Siosiua Taukeiaho (Sea Eagles) | 102 (11 games) | 9.2 |
| Cam McInnes (Sharks) | 129 (15 games) | 8.6 |
| Zac Hosking (Raiders) | 94 (11 games) | 8.5 |