Thoughts on Coughlan?

[the_boy_jake]

Anyone who has watched the first three games care to give their view on where Coughlan is at?

He should be well and truly over OP by now and hitting his straps but I just sense that he has petered out a bit and perhaps is not going to get much better. No doubt you need a tough nut in the middle, but his disposal lacks penetration for mine.

[WilliamPowell]

With the speed of the game that we are seeing at the moment - he seems to be struggling because I don't think leg speed wise he is that quick.

Agree with the disposal Jake - especially his kicking since the OP it's been a area of concern.

I posted on another thread he said at the after match function that he said "the body's the best it's ever been" but to me something just doesn't seem right to me

[the_boy_jake]

With the speed of the game that we are seeing at the moment - he seems to be struggling because I don't think leg speed wise he is that quick.

Agree with the disposal Jake - especially his kicking since the OP it's been a area of concern.

I posted on another thread he said at the after match function that he said "the body's the best it's ever been" but to me something just doesn't seem right to me

Thanks WP. The next logical question is, do we think about trading him if his form persists?

IMO he doesn't look like he is going to become a prime mover in a premiership midfield, best case scenario is that he becomes sort of what Craig Lambert was to the Brisbane midfield.  Gritty in and under type who will handball twice from a pack for every time he kicks it. He has some way to go though and if you look around the top sides, there are not too many who are interested in these types anymore, so you might be right in saying the game has passed him by to a degree. So with this in mind, do we keep him, or think about trading him as his trade value has probably reached its zenith....

[PuntRdRoar]

jake you may need to talk to mr jackstar about coghlan...my view is at the moment is that weve seen his best, he could go to a hbf and run with players...rumours do persist however that if the right deal came along...anything is possible.

PS- also ask Jacko about Mr Schulz...I believe he is in the same boat as Coughlan. People must remember- you gotta give something to get something...and truth is we aint got that much which is of much worth.

[the_boy_jake]

jake you may need to talk to mr jackstar about coghlan...my view is at the moment is that weve seen his best, he could go to a hbf and run with players...rumours do persist however that if the right deal came along...anything is possible.

PS- also ask Jacko about Mr Schulz...I believe he is in the same boat as Coughlan. People must remember- you gotta give something to get something...and truth is we aint got that much which is of much worth.

Cheers Ramps and I am totally in favour of proactive recruiting.

[JohnF]

Coughlan's disposal has been subpar from day one. The only difference is that now with injuries it lacks penetration as well as accuracy.

I think Coughlan will get better as the season progresses and the pace of the game slows down, but he'll never be more than a good honest scrapper no matter what the case.

He is definitely tradeable and I say if we get a high end first round pick (10-15) and a low end second round pick (18-25) we should take it and run.

Having said that, pushing for a Coughlan trade wouldn't be the first thing I'd be doing to set us on the right path. Though we wouldnt get much for them, I'd be looking to trade every over 26+ year old  player on the list for youth. Unfortunately we won't be doing stuff all premieship-contention-wise in the next 3 years, so the guys over 26 will by and large be useless to us. You'd only keep them for their leadership qualities and so at our club there's no reason to keep them at all becuase there isn't a leader amongst them.

[F0551L]

I'd be looking to trade every over 26+ year old  player on the list for youth. Unfortunately we won't be doing eff all premieship-contention-wise in the next 3 years, so the guys over 26 will by and large be useless to us. You'd only keep them for their leadership qualities and so at our club there's no reason to keep them at all becuase there isn't a leader amongst 


Really !!!   we have some wonderfull players in our team 26+  and our young guns are only to pleased to be in the same side with them  i agree that youth is our future but we still need experience and our 26+ have that to offer

Cogs is improving week by week   still not at his best from past seasons but  certainly should be staying   

if some of you guys had your way we would be fronting up by about round 11 with the boot studder in a back pocket and the ticket stamper rucking 2nd for simmo 

come in fellas

[Tiger Spirit]

If the next draft is as good as they’re saying then what are the chances of any club giving up any round 1 – 3 picks?  Unless it's North of course.

And we don’t need to trade for some other club’s problem child(ren) either.

[WilliamPowell]

Thanks WP. The next logical question is, do we think about trading him if his form persists?

IMO he doesn't look like he is going to become a prime mover in a premiership midfield, best case scenario is that he becomes sort of what Craig Lambert was to the Brisbane midfield.  Gritty in and under type who will handball twice from a pack for every time he kicks it. He has some way to go though and if you look around the top sides, there are not too many who are interested in these types anymore, so you might be right in saying the game has passed him by to a degree. So with this in mind, do we keep him, or think about trading him as his trade value has probably reached its zenith....

To be honest jake I don't know....the reason I say that is - I reckon it's hard to determine because I don't think he is in great form at the moment as well so it's probably unfair after 3 rounds to make that call and I have this almighty question mark over his fitness despite the "i feel great" comments.

I think teams need the "in and under mid-fielders" to feed it out to the fast runners but how many of these "in and unders" do you have in your mid-field? Again I reckon the discussion gets clouded at times because we don't have our quickest blokes in the centre as much as we should.

I mean we usually start with Tuck, Johnson and Coughlan in the mid-field - all similar types (especailly Coughlan and Johnson) and that hurts us big time IMHO. Why don't we start with say Coughlan, Tuck and Delidio. With Coughlan doing what he does best (the in and under stuff) feeding it out to a Lids who's super quick and that way we wouldn't look so slow in the mid-field

It's just a thought

[mightytiges]

I mean we usually start with Tuck, Johnson and Coughlan in the mid-field - all similar types (especailly Coughlan and Johnson) and that hurts us big time IMHO. Why don't we start with say Coughlan, Tuck and Delidio. With Coughlan doing what he does best (the in and under stuff) feeding it out to a Lids who's super quick and that way we wouldn't look so slow in the mid-field

I agree WP. We're pretty good at winning the contested footy but we get smashed once the ball gets tapped into open space because we don't have the speed. Lids too can win the hard ball along with Tucky so we probably don't need Cogs and Johnson in there to start with but instead another silky speedster. Cogs and Johnson alternating can then give Tucky a rest which would help all of them last through 4 quarters of getting crunched.

Cogs needs to mix it up a bit when he gets first possession in the centre. He's not the greatest kick in terms of penetration but his first option always seems to be now wanting to dish off a handball even if just booting it inside 50 to a open forward line was the better option. We get into trouble and cough up the footy in the middle by predictably over-handballing.   

[Mr Magic]

Very concerned about Coughlan.

Overated at the RFC big time.

He is not an elite onballer & has mostly struggled for the past 3 years after a promising start.

Can't kick straight.

Can't kick goals.

Injury concerns.

Leadership lacking and body language issues.

Handballs at the first opportunity.

Lacks pace.

His only real strength is his ability to put on a decent tag.

I'd put him up as trade bait for sure.

[mightytiges]

If Cogs plays the way he did tonight for the rest of the year he won't be traded. Arguably his best game since the first 9 rounds of last year. Threw his body in in the centre and around the ground to win the hard ball, used the ball well and ran hard into space to offer an option. Just like the old B&F Cogs pre-groin  .

[PuntRdRoar]

he seems to have lost some speed as well, whilst he was never quick...i wouldnt want to see him lose any more pace.

[Tiger Spirit]

If RFC were to trade Cogs then they would need their collective heads read; for a number reasons.  One of them being that TW has been lamenting the lack of players in his age bracket and now with his games experience.  If we’re trying to build a team for the future then we have to have a base of players you can rely on to be consistent and reliable contributors, on and off the field.

No doubt, Cogs’ strength is his ability to find the footy and win the hard ball.  As much as fads and trends come and go in footy, they are two aspects of the game that will never get old.

If the St. Kilda and Brisbane games are anything to go by, then he’s starting to get some confidence back in his body, to be able to stand up to playing the way he knows how.

We’ve got the in and under type players covered, now we need to get the players around them sorted.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[Mopsy]

If RFC were to trade Cogs then they would need their collective heads read; for a number reasons.  One of them being that TW has been lamenting the lack of players in his age bracket and now with his games experience.  If we’re trying to build a team for the future then we have to have a base of players you can rely on to be consistent and reliable contributors, on and off the field.

No doubt, Cogs’ strength is his ability to find the footy and win the hard ball.  As much as fads and trends come and go in footy, they are two aspects of the game that will never get old.

If the St. Kilda and Brisbane games are anything to go by, then he’s starting to get some confidence back in his body, to be able to stand up to playing the way he knows how.

We’ve got the in and under type players covered, now we need to get the players around them sorted.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Now 'That's the Spirit'