…this feeling about Cogs has been stirring up inside me for a few weeks now and is actually the thing I felt most passionate about at the Hawks game.
I’ve been a bit the same DC. I know injury can stop a player in his tracks and frustrate his efforts, but as has been said before, why play if it’s that bad? So I can understand your query about his attitude. Guess we just want that Mark Coughlan back.
I'm sorry to have to ask this because you might not be able to reveal it even if you know it to be true. But are you suggesting that Coughlan was forced into all that crap.
Shouldn’t have made it sound like I knew something DC, not sure what I was thinking there. Sorry to do that to you. Nothing more than a hunch really, just from some of the comments he’s made here and there, that I’ve read. Reading between the lines, you just get the feeling that if he did have a choice in the whole thing, he just wasn’t comfortable/confident enough to speak up about it. What was he gonna say anyway? No? I suppose Cogs, being Cogs, just went with it, whether he was ready for it or not and anyone else would’ve done the same thing.
You just hope though that when RFC decided to go down publicity street with him that they were a little bit considerate of who they were dealing with, whether it was Cogs or anyone else, and what the consequences could be if he wasn’t ready to handle everything that went with it. After all, we’re talking about someone’s career. You just wonder how much thought was given to that side of things and, looking back at it now, you probably have to say not a lot.
Not saying his form now has anything to do with that, but does all of that bring extra attention that maybe other players might not get in a similar situation? I guess we can speculate all we like about the reasons for his current form but, more than anything else, what’s been missing, since Round 22, 2003, is that edge to his game that he had before. Which seems to link up with the injury theory. And if you’ve seen something in his attitude then maybe that could explain things a bit further; who knows.
Some on here have mentioned about his skills and so on, but really, his skills aren’t much different now to what they were 2 and 3 years ago. What is different is that edge he had before that’s missing and hasn’t really been there this season. I’d even say that much of the criticism would probably all but disappear if that came back. The closest I’ve seen to that form was the Freo game a few weeks ago, where he did a couple of things that reminded me of 2003, but there aren’t too many examples that easily come to mind, unlike those of a couple of seasons ago.
I guess any criticism now is an indication of how much more forgiving and appreciative people can be when they see someone play with real commitment and heart. Whether his previous good form just masked things, or it just means that you don’t need to be the most skilful player going around to make it probably depends on which view people want to take.
People don’t actually stop criticising players just because they have good skills. In fact, as a Richmond supporter, I’d suggest that they are a whole lot more scathing when they play without any sort of desire, passion or heart. You want and need skill in any team, but all the skill in the world doesn’t mean a whole lot when you see even the most skilled of players (at other Clubs obviously
) seemingly going through the motions game after game. Someone with average skills, but with a fair amount of confidence and/or drive can be just as effective and awesome to watch. Not only that, they’re probably the heart and soul of any team.
Not sure what most of that’s in response to DC.
Absolutely TS. Not just a player to a level that's above average, but several players to a level of excellence! Has the club ever promoted it? Obviously that's why there is so much excitement around Deledio winning the rising star award.
Players like Deledio can probably consider themselves lucky, because you would think that RFC has managed to make every conceivable mistake a footy club can possibly make and that there are none left for us to make. If nothing else, RFC can be a shining example to all other clubs of how not to run a footy club, or to treat people and players. On that basis, you would think it would be safe to assume that players will now have a better chance of playing at a level they’re fully capable of.
I hope not TS, Mark Coughlan's early career form was amongst the most exhilirating, brave and thrilling football that I've ever seen.
For you, me and a lot of other people too DC. Would be a dream to see him play that way again. For whatever reason, even though this season hasn’t been anywhere near his best, this year can be a real learning curve for him and set him up for the seasons ahead. I have that faith in him.
