Cogs threads [merged]

[one-eyed]

What the box taught a Tiger about footy
Geoff McClure
The Age
February 29, 2008

SPENDING long periods on the sidelines through injury tends to teach footballers a lot about themselves, about how they cope with such cruel twists of fate and, when they return, how they get through the fear of repeating the injury.

Nobody knows that more than Richmond ball-getter Mark Coughlan, who has had two knee reconstructions in the past two years and has not played an AFL game since round 12, 2006.

But the Tigers' 2003 best-and-fairest winner, who turns 26 in April, has revealed his long stint out of the game taught him something else — he now knows why, on those odd occasions when he has been dragged from the ground, his coach did it.

It is, he said, all a result of spending time in the coach's box alongside Terry Wallace and his team, an experience he said he would recommend to all players should they ever get the chance because it had shown him a lot more about on-field reality than he previously had encountered.

"I was in the box a couple of times. It was good … different," Coughlan said this week.

"It was quite hard not to say anything and I had to bite my lip a few times. It was my first time and a fair bit different to what I expected. There's so much going on that you don't actually realise. I've never been in a commentary box before, but I imagine it was almost like that in some ways just because of the number of stats that are being read out. It's all, 'This bloke's struggling against this bloke and this match-up's struggling, so we have to make this change'."

Then this: "Meanwhile, Terry's got to take it all in and make a move, so it's really quite complex. I understand more now why I do get dragged sometimes."

Oh, and being out of the game also taught the unlucky Tiger a few things other than football.

You see, Coughlan, whose second reconstruction came after an unfortunate slip in the shower, also revealed he had bought himself a new bath mat … this time, a slip-free one.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/what-the-box-taught-a-tiger-about-footy/2008/02/28/1203788542347.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[mightytiges]

What the box taught a Tiger about footy

Bring spare headsets  .

If we want Cogs to play round 1 then he's going to have to play next week against Geelong.

[one-eyed]

SEN has someone on before 2pm talking about Beau Muston and he mentioned he also dealt with Cogs. Not sure if he's a doctor or physio but he said Cogs is mentally right about his knee but so far his 25 possession (for Coburg) are more like 18 handballs and only 7 kicks rather than a bag of kicks.

[richmondrules]

SEN has someone on before 2pm talking about Beau Muston and he mentioned he also dealt with Cogs. Not sure if he's a doctor or physio but he said Cogs is mentally right about his knee but so far his 25 possession (for Coburg) are more like 18 handballs and only 7 kicks rather than a bag of kicks.

Those are pretty normal stats for Cogs aren't they? He's always been good at extracting the footy and getting it into space. I don't care if he never kicks the ball as long as his hand passes hit their mark to a player in a useful position.

[mightytiges]

Agree RROFO. From the scratch matches I've seen Cogs play this year he's used handball not because he was trying to avoid to kick but more in and around contests to get the footy out to a teammate in a better position running past into space.

[WilliamPowell]

Seriously, I'd much rather see Coughlan handballing than kicking

Much better skill as a handballer compared to kicking

[torch]

so did Coughlan get 7 kicks and 18 handballs playing half a match with Coburg ???

that is a good sign ...

i think he should play again Geelong ... not the full match obviously ..

i actually thought he would play last week

[Mr Magic]

Seriously, I'd much rather see Coughlan handballing than kicking

Much better skill as a handballer compared to kicking

lol.
Will be interesting to see how Mark goes against the Cats.
Bartel is the benchmark for his type. It'll be no easy task.

[one-eyed]

Tiger Coughlan's luck due to change
Sam Edmund | March 07, 2008 12:00am

MARK Coughlan will today take the biggest step in his latest recovery from injury when he plays his first senior game for 18 months.

Richmond's gun midfielder will line up against Geelong at Skilled Stadium long overdue for a change of fortunes in the club's last practice match of the year.

Coughlan has struck nothing but trouble since winning the 2003 best-and-fairest.

The 25-year-old missed most of 2004 with a nagging groin injury. He has had two knee reconstructions in the past two years and has not played an AFL game since Round 12, 2006.

Richmond assistant coach David King said last night the club was itching for Coughlan to recapture his best form.

"We'd love to see him up and firing and back to the Mark Coughlan of old, but we're just not sure how far away that is," King said.

"He's had a couple of runs at Coburg and he hasn't missed any preparation so it's just a matter of finding out if he's at the right level."

King said Coughlan would be rotated through the midfield today and predicted he would play about 65 per cent of the game.

He said Coughlan's renowned courage would be the one thing unaffected by back-to-back knee reconstructions.

"One thing you know about Mark Coughlan is he's a very tough, hard at the ball player and that's something that hasn't been impacted by being injured for two seasons.

"I think he'll be fine."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23332359-19742,00.html

[mightytiges]

Although the team copped a confidence whack, today was big one for Cogs and a major boost for his confidence in his knee. On ya Cogs