Cogs Gone Again

[Jackstar]

Can tell you he was offered as trade but no-one wanted him, as his asking price was too much for a player who has numerous injuries.
Was offered to freo but deal couldnt be done

[one-eyed]

Slip-up costs Coggo
5:13:36 PM Mon 5 February, 2007
Paul Gough
Sportal for afl.com.au

Richmond midfielder Mark Coughlan's second knee injury may have been caused by the 2003 Jack Dyer Medalist slipping in the shower.

The Tigers revealed on Monday their star on-baller will undergo a second knee re-construction on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after first injuring it in the opening minutes of last year's round 12 clash against Hawthorn in Launceston.

Coughlan will miss the entire 2007 season in what is a massive blow to the Tigers' finals hopes, continuing his horror run with injuries since becoming one of the youngest winners of the Tigers' best and fairest award in 2003.

While Richmond football director Greg Miller told Sportal on Monday the club had yet to pinpoint just why Coughlan's knee had failed to heal from the initial operation, he admitted the shower incident may have been a contributing factor.

"There have been a couple of incidents where he said his knee hasn't felt right and there was certainly one before Christmas when he slipped in the shower," Miller said of Coughlan.

"We can't pinpoint yet the exact reason (why Coughlan's knee now requires another re-construction) but certainly Cogs felt the incident in the shower was significant although he was able to train again after that."

Miller said there was no suggestion by the Tigers that the initial operation had not been a success or that Coughlan had overdone his rehabilitation in a bid to reclaim his place in the side for the start of the home and away season in seven weeks time.

"Not at all," Miller said.

"He wasn't doing all the training with the rest of the group, he had just been doing the (running in a) straight line stuff."

"But over the last couple of weeks his knee just hasn't felt right."

Miller said the entire club was devastated for Coughlan, considered to be one of the AFL's most courageous players and one of the most popular players at Tigerland.

"The whole club feels for him, he is a great fellow and not only is this his second knee re-construction but he has come back from a serious groin injury as well."

"As you can expect he just needs a little bit of time out mentally now to deal with this latest setback."

By the end of 2007 Coughlan will have played a total of just 41 games in four seasons since his stellar 2003 season when he burst onto the AFL scene in spectacular fashion, having debuted in 2001.

The 24-year-old Western Australian, who has played 83 games, managed just seven games in 2004 when he was crippled by a serious groin complaint before returning in 2005 when he played a full season.

He then enjoyed an excellent first half of 2006 before limping off in the opening minutes in the round 12 loss to Hawthorn.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=313689

[letsgetiton!]

Can tell you he was offered as trade but no-one wanted him, as his asking price was too much for a player who has numerous injuries.
Was offered to freo but deal couldnt be done

he must be forced to retire, he is a broken down player who just cannot heal properly, unlike say richo who has remarkable healing qualities.

cogs has nothing to offer us no more and on the market is worth peanuts, let him be gone

[the_boy_jake]

Shot to bits. Had a great attitude but wretched luck. Just can't see him getting back from this one and don't want to see us hang on like we did with Draga.

[Ramps]

the pace of the game was already going past him before he did the first one, I wish him well, he was a warrior when we were really crap and he gave supporters hope but I think this would just about be it.

[letsgetiton!]

Shot to bits. Had a great attitude but wretched luck. Just can't see him getting back from this one and don't want to see us hang on like we did with Draga.

draga was worth the risk trying to hang onto. in the end , it didnt help hanging on, but draga was a far better skilled and smarter footballer than cogs. as ramps said, the game passed by cogs b4 , when he had pubic instability.

we should have traded him to WA as soon as he won the JD medal

[DallasCrane]

i have had 3 knee recos, no felt sorry 4 me.

X, you never won a B&F for the tiges mate thats why!

Coggers was a bright hope in a pretty dark period for Richmond. I hope he can come back, but honestly if he has done it in a slight slip in the shower then you'd have to wonder if the knee is up to it.
Also agree with Ramps, I thought the game was slipping away from him. He didn't even look interested towards the end, his body language was frustrating me, and he was huffing and puffing and giving up on contests.

[Mr Magic]

Terrible news for Mark and the Tigers.
The reality is the odds really are against him making it back, particularly with a history of groin & ankle problems.
He was going to be the next captain of the RFC at one point but injuries have cruelled any chance of that.

 

[letsgetiton!]

i have had 3 knee recos, no felt sorry 4 me.

X, you never won a B&F for the tiges mate thats why!

Coggers was a bright hope in a pretty dark period for Richmond. I hope he can come back, but honestly if he has done it in a slight slip in the shower then you'd have to wonder if the knee is up to it.
Also agree with Ramps, I thought the game was slipping away from him. He didn't even look interested towards the end, his body language was frustrating me, and he was huffing and puffing and giving up on contests.

lewis roberts thompson would have won a brownlow 4 us in that yr, ffs, if my knees never caved in and i played for the tigers that yr i would have won one.

cogs won won , but he will be forgotten in no time. he will be like pope john paul I, the pope that was really never the pope, forgotten in no time

[Moi]

some may even think im an a hole

Cant imagine who'd think that 

[Stephanie]

Poor bugger 
Wish him well in his op, hope everything goes fine. Would like to see him finish his career on a high, not like this 

[Jackstar]

Realistically though, his field kicking was poor last year, this will only set him back further.
For what its worth, i reckon we train much too hard. Too many players are injured at present at thats a real worry.
Even this NAB thing in regards to players earning there spot makes young players peak way too early and by round 14 onwards, they are stuffed.
Dont see the swans or West Coast having too many injury problems lately

[julzqld]

Yes I agree with Jack - it's a bit of a worry.

[one-eyed]

Coughlan's year over before season begins
06 February 2007   Herald-Sun
Bruce Matthews

RICHMOND is banking on gun midfielder Mark Coughlan's youth to help resurrect his AFL career after requiring a second knee reconstruction.

Coach Terry Wallace said yesterday the Tigers' 2003 best-and-fairest winner was overdue for a change of fortunes after being ruled out for the entire 2007 season.

"He just hasn't had any luck or any run at all. But . . . he is young enough that he will go through the surgery and get himself right and have another go at it," Wallace said.

Coughlan will have surgery within the next two weeks after re-injuring the repaired right knee in a freakish accident six weeks ago.

"He had a mishap just prior to Christmas when he slipped in the shower at home and felt something give a little bit," Wallace said.

The young Tiger tried to continue his rehabilitation when pre-season training resumed. And he was even talking of stepping up to full training by late January.

However he couldn't put weight on the knee, which required an operation last June to repair a ruptured cruciate ligament.

"He went and had scans done at that point and it looked structurally OK," Wallace said. "But when he came back after Christmas, he had two or three incidents where it just felt unstable.

"On Friday he went to the specialist, who said it was loose, so he has to go back in to have it done again.

"He has had no luck. The first time it was a nothing incident."

Coughlan has struck nothing but trouble since that brilliant 2003 season.

A nagging groin ailment forced him to sit out most of the next season.

He was well on the way to re-establishing himself as an elite midfielder when his cruciate ligament collapsed against Hawthorn in Round 12 in Launceston last year.

Neither Coughlan nor the Tigers' medical staff realised the gravity of the injury at the time, and he even briefly returned to the field.

The shattered young Tiger made the 135km trip to Cowes yesterday morning to give an emotional explanation of his latest setback to teammates.

It cast a pall over the start of the club's three-day community camp on Phillip Island and surrounding south Gippsland centres.

Last month a more hopeful Coughlan said 2007 would be an important year for him.

"I just want to get things right now," he said.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21176658%255E19742,00.html

[mightytiges]

Realistically though, his field kicking was poor last year, this will only set him back further.
For what its worth, i reckon we train much too hard. Too many players are injured at present at thats a real worry.
Even this NAB thing in regards to players earning there spot makes young players peak way too early and by round 14 onwards, they are stuffed.
Dont see the swans or West Coast having too many injury problems lately

I wouldn't blame our intensity at training. We didn't train as intense last preseason compared to this or the year before and it didn't make any difference injury-wise. The Swans have hardly had an injury for the past two years even though they've played an extra 6 full-on finals.

I think it's a combination of things. The first best bad luck. I've never seen a side cop more broken bones in a sort period of time as we have. Next the Swans have hardly anyone in their best 22 under 21 years old. We don't have that luxury thanks to past recruiting efforts leaving a massive whole in our mid-age bracket. Cogs' injury at 25 years of age only exaccerbates that problem meaning a youngster will need to fill the void again. It also means despite whatever limitations Cogs has with his kicking that we lose one midfielder from our rotation. Once again a youngster will need to fill that void against top sides with up to 14-16 seasoned midfielders.

Interesting stat in the Australian today saying the Swans and Eagles rotate their players off the bench up to 50% more during the finals than the League H/A average. You need a strong deep list to do that and conserve the energy of the players. Tired bodies are more prone to injury. The Saints are a case in point. Their best 22 is/was top 4 quality but they have poor depth. Grant Thomas road his senior players into the ground to compensate.

I also think skill level has partly to do with it as well. Cleaner skills that hit their mark mean fewer contests especially in modern footy and less exhurtion. Every stray kick or handpass equates to a loose footy up for grabs. Many poorer teams like creating stoppage after stoppage to shut the game down so they don't get blown away.