Tiger Mark steps up a cog
12:09:51 PM Wed 11 May, 2005
Chris Riches
richmondfc.com.au
The broad smile across Mark Coughlan’s face was there for all to see.
The reasons for the smile were probably many, including delight at Richmond’s record-breaking 85-point rout of traditional rival Carlton, the sheer dominance of the team’s performance on “a big stage” at the MCG, and the fact that the Tigers had, with five wins from seven rounds, already eclipsed last season’s total number of victories.
But surely a little bit of that smile would have been drawn from his own brilliant performance, that went beyond the impressive numbers (38 possessions, eight clearances, seven tackles, six inside 50s and five marks) and signified much, much more – both to Tiger fans and possibly Coughlan himself.
The message was clear – Mark Coughlan has faced up to challenges, stared them down and is back . . . with a vengeance.
Wind the clock back 18 months, and the Richmond faithful believed that they had found a new star in Mark Coughlan, the quietly-spoken 21-year-old from Perth.
Richmond’s selection of Coughlan at pick 25 in the 2000 draft was a much discussed one. The Tigers could have used the pick to select young tall Jason Cloke as a father-son selection, but instead chose the midfielder from Western Australia – a decision that ultimately saw all three of David Cloke’s sons end up in Magpie colors.
While Jason Cloke made big strides throughout 2001 and 2002, Coughlan’s progress initially was much slower. He played only five games in 2001, struggled to cement a senior berth, and Richmond fans wondered if the right decision had been made.
An impressive second half of the 2002 season started putting those fears to rest. Coughlan played 16 games, including the last 13 on-the-trot. In the last 10 of those 13 games, the youngster gathered 20 or more touches, highlighted by a 29-possession haul in the Round 13 loss to Geelong.
All this, however, was just a preview to Coughlan’s 2003 season. As Richmond suffered a succession of disappointing results, Coughlan turned the season into his own ‘coming-of-age party’.
Averaging more than 23 possessions a game, Coughlan’s highlights included a career-high 34-possessions against Essendon in Round 20, and 32 touches against Fremantle in Round 18 and Geelong in Round 15 – the latter game almost turning into a stirring, come-from-behind win on the back of last-quarter heroics from Coughlan and Kane Johnson
In fact, it was often Coughlan and Johnson who were left to fight lone hands for Richmond against opposition midfields, with the youngster from Perth rising to the challenge superbly with his hard-at-it, in-and-under style of play.
His victory in the 2003 Jack Dyer Medal – aged just 21 – excited long-suffering Richmond fans. Was he the new great hope for a success-starved side? Was he to be the next midfield general – and maybe captain – who could lead the Tigers out of the wilderness?
Coughlan’s name and face quickly became a major part of Richmond’s 2004 membership drive, and Tiger fans spent the summer thinking about how good he would be with another pre-season under his belt.
It was only in the first couple of rounds of the 2004 season that many Tiger supporters sensed something was wrong with the rising star. Gone was his hard running, that strength to shrug tackles, and his ability to win the hard ball.
Seemingly overnight, something had reduced the Tigers’ great young hope to just a shadow of his former self.
Ultimately, it was announced that Coughlan had been diagnosed with debilitating pubic instability. Rest and careful treatment were needed to rebuild Coughlan’s strength and allow him to overcome the injury. In the meantime, Coughlan was not to play.
The bright light that had illuminated Richmond’s dark 2003, was snuffed out … and with it went many Tiger fans’ hopes for the team’s improvement in 2004. Only late in the year did Coughlan make his careful return to senior ranks, playing in the final two home-and-away rounds.
For supporters, questions about Coughlan remained over the off-season. A modified training program, including stability and strengthening exercises, had been the order of the day; and while Coughlan was training with the main group, he was going at far from full pace.
Even as Round 1 of the 2005 season approached, media reports suggested Coughlan was still in doubt because of the pubic instability and his resultant lack of match fitness. It was becoming clear that Coughlan’s game time and workload would have to be carefully managed upon his return to the seniors.
Because of this, his start to the season was a slow one. He spent limited time on the ball as coach Terry Wallace not only slowly worked him back into the midfield rotation, but endeavoured to build his fitness and play him in other positions in a bid to to rebuild his confidence.
Coughlan took a major positive step in the Round 4 clash with Fremantle at the MCG. Given a tagging job on gun Docker midfielder Paul Haselby, Coughlan triumphed. He not only shut down the Fremantle star, but gathered plenty of the ball himself (21 touches) in Richmond’s eight-goal win.
The Round 6 win against Port Adelaide marked another stride forward for Coughlan. He gathered 20 possessions, including 10 in the first quarter where the Tigers struggled to stay in the game, and played a key role in the team’s stunning come-from-behind victory.
Last Saturday, however, was something else again . . . it was the return of the 2003-vintage Mark Coughlan.
Matched up on Carlton’s Nick Stevens, Coughlan was constantly at the contest when the ball hit the ground. He would boldly throw himself in to win the hard ball, before firing out a handball or short pass to a teammate.
Time and again the inspirational youngster would win the ball and either stand up in tackles or shrug them with a turn of his hips and flick of his arm – moves his pubic instability stopped him from doing in 2004 – before unerringly finding a teammate in the clear to launch another attack.
Solid-bodied Carlton midfielders like Stevens, Heath Scotland and Anthony Koutoufides simply could not shift Coughlan from his position over the ball. And, when the Blues did win possession at a contest, Coughlan frequently was snapping at their heels, ready to rack up one of his seven tackles.
Of Coughlan’s career-high 38 touches, 24 came during the rampaging Tigers’ first-half scoring blitz. Testament to his effort was the lop-sided hard-ball get figures at the main break, which favored Richmond 34 to 18.
Coughlan continued to throw himself into contests in the second half, ensuring Richmond kept winning the hard ball. And, while Stevens ultimately picked up 30 touches, Coughlan’s 38 (including 24 handballs) were infinitely more damaging than those of his Carlton opponent.
Simply put, it was a masterful display of hard-working, blue-collar football from the young gun. It also was a reminder that he is now fully-fit and ready to step up and grasp that leadership role he was growing into during 2003.
Hopefully, Mark Coughlan will be the general of an exciting new Tiger midfield – including the likes of Chris Hyde, Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Danny Meyer, Richard Tambling and Andrew Krakouer – for many, many seasons to come.
www.yellowandblack.infohttp://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=201870
