Coughlan and Polak, a tale of two Tigers (The Age)

[one-eyed]

Coughlan and Polak, a tale of two Tigers
Steve Butler | March 19, 2008

MARK Coughlan and Graham Polak are climbing into the new season from two different perspectives. But they share one team goal as they prepare to face old foe Carlton in the AFL's season opener at the MCG.

Polak is desperate to prove his detractors wrong in his second season with the Tigers since leaving Fremantle.

He admitted he had fallen victim to a comfortable West Australian lifestyle away from football, which once led to the Dockers suspending him for a week in 2005 after he broke team drinking rules.

The 23-year-old has added three kilograms of muscle to his now 95-kilogram frame and despite a sound 22-game debut season for the Tigers, he feels his mission for respect has just begun. He is on target to notch his 100-game milestone against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome in round five.

"At the start of last season, Terry (Wallace) said he wasn't expecting much out of me being my first season, but personally, I wanted to have a good year," Polak said.

"I had high expectations on myself, regardless of what anybody else was thinking or saying. It was my sixth year in the system and I was demanding something from my body.

"I wanted to concentrate on my footy and nothing else because I know back home there were distractions and in a two-team town in Perth, the media can get hold of you at times.

"So it was a fresh start, which is what I needed. The coaching staff here gave me a real crack at it and backed me in and I want to repay them. I'm really enjoying my footy and I feel a lot more settled, but I've just got to start from square one again.

"I'm the fittest I've ever been, I'm running better than I ever have and I can't just leave it on the training track now.

"I've still got to gain the respect of this club and as a team, we've got a point to prove."

While Polak aims to become a noted key-position player at either end of the ground, possibly more as a forward,

[one-eyed]

Coughlan is simply keen to get back out on the ground after missing the past two seasons with successive knee reconstructions.

He laughed as he said he had bought a new slip-free bath mat after his second reconstruction followed a fall in the shower. But after admitting injuries had had him on the verge of quitting, he was serious about recapturing his best.

With 83 games under his belt since being drafted at No. 25 in 2000, an injury-free season also would give Coughlan the chance to notch his 100th AFL game.

"I've done every session since we've come back from the Christmas break and you realise how much you miss it when you're back out on the ground," he said.

"When I first did my second knee, quitting does go through your mind, but you've probably just go too much time to think about it while you're sitting on the couch for three months twiddling your thumbs.

"But I'm feeling good about myself and my body again. I feel like a new recruit and I'm pretty set on having a consistent year. Carlton in round one is our focus now and we might surprise a few people.

"I'm much more confident with how the side looks at this stage in comparison to 12 months ago."

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/coughlan-polak-a-tale-of-two-tigers/2008/03/18/1205602388395.html

[tigersalive]

Good boys.  Kill em tomorrow! 

[Tigermonk]

where is our great player Cogs who should have been delisted, seems to be under the radar recently his not giving the club any service at any level & is money wasted & a postion on the list wasted. When his big return & whats wrong with him now l thought he was primed for round one 

[mightytiges]

Polak's days as a key defender are numbered. Too slow to go with leading forwards. Surprised Schulz didn't start on Cloke instead. Polly was disappointing up forward too as his goalkicking ruined 5 marks on the lead inside 50 in good shooting spots (35m out on 45 degree angle). He should have kicked 5 goals today.

[Francois Jackson]

Polak's days as a key defender are numbered. Too slow to go with leading forwards. Surprised Schulz didn't start on Cloke instead. Polly was disappointing up forward too as his goalkicking ruined 5 marks on the lead inside 50 in good shooting spots (35m out on 45 degree angle). He should have kicked 5 goals today.

another pathetic dud pick.
drop hughes for missing goals last week and this idiot stays. he cant play back and cant play forward.

he is so slow its not funny

[Tigermonk]

they got him cause his got a good pair of hands  only thing is his got to get to a contest to get them hands on the pill. got polaxed yesterday & spent alot of time on the pine. Blame his poor performaces on being switched from front to back & back again over the last 2 seasons & beleive his destroyed by the Suntanned man


No-one answered my Coughlan question  ??? where is our lost warrior is he in service yet or its going to be another wasted year
did he play on the weekend ??? where is he

[TFL]

Cogs was touch and go on the weekend to play at Coburg, hopefully he will be back this week against Nth Ballarat on Saturday at Coburg.

As for Polak, he needs to be settled into a position and left there. I think he has some upside still.

Collingwood are a very good team.

[Tigermonk]

Cogs was touch and go on the weekend to play at Coburg, hopefully he will be back this week against Nth Ballarat on Saturday at Coburg.

As for Polak, he needs to be settled into a position and left there. I think he has some upside still.

Collingwood are a very good team.

l know Collingwood are a very good team l get to see them live alot. l picked them last year to win the Premiership at the start of the season & they came close.  Yes Polak needs to placed in a KP & left there like many other players need also
Players need a chance to study there position & opponants just like other teams study us & l see this as one of problem areas they cannot grasp because they have too much going on inside their heads

[mightytiges]

got polaxed yesterday & spent alot of time on the pine.

He actually was better after he was flattened 

[tigersalive]

they got him cause his got a good pair of hands  only thing is his got to get to a contest to get them hands on the pill.

Exactly, which is why I couldn't work something out.

Polak takes a mark, if his kick is that stuffed put him at CHF to take marks at 60m-odd (where for god sake we could kick it long to him to beat the floods) and then have the little guys running by for the handball to either have a shot at goal or gain the handball and find a forward on a short pass on the odd occasion.

Must be a lost art. 

[Francois Jackson]

Polak's days as a key defender are numbered. Too slow to go with leading forwards. Surprised Schulz didn't start on Cloke instead. Polly was disappointing up forward too as his goalkicking ruined 5 marks on the lead inside 50 in good shooting spots (35m out on 45 degree angle). He should have kicked 5 goals today.

was that u mt that said hughes was dropped last week possibly due to bad kicking for goal, well then i expect polak to go back to coburg then.

my point is that if wallace does somehing right this year, just one thing he would leave hughes in this side and this kid develop for crying out loud, instead of trying to save his own job.

i see this kid as our future in the forward line not brown and richo sadly

[Tigermonk]

they got him cause his got a good pair of hands  only thing is his got to get to a contest to get them hands on the pill.

Exactly, which is why I couldn't work something out.

Polak takes a mark, if his kick is that stuffed put him at CHF to take marks at 60m-odd (where for god sake we could kick it long to him to beat the floods) and then have the little guys running by for the handball to either have a shot at goal or gain the handball and find a forward on a short pass on the odd occasion.

Must be a lost art. 

you know thats a very good post
& l'm stumped to give you a answer why its not being done because it sounds great to me

[mightytiges]

Polak's days as a key defender are numbered. Too slow to go with leading forwards. Surprised Schulz didn't start on Cloke instead. Polly was disappointing up forward too as his goalkicking ruined 5 marks on the lead inside 50 in good shooting spots (35m out on 45 degree angle). He should have kicked 5 goals today.

was that u mt that said hughes was dropped last week possibly due to bad kicking for goal, well then i expect polak to go back to coburg then.

my point is that if wallace does somehing right this year, just one thing he would leave hughes in this side and this kid develop for crying out loud, instead of trying to save his own job.

i see this kid as our future in the forward line not brown and richo sadly

Yep it was me and I've got Polak out and Cleve in as my changes this week. Btw Cleve was putting them right through the eye diddle diddle today at training. Now for him to do it consistentely during a game  . Agree he is our future.

[Mopsy]

Polak's days as a key defender are numbered. Too slow to go with leading forwards. Surprised Schulz didn't start on Cloke instead. Polly was disappointing up forward too as his goalkicking ruined 5 marks on the lead inside 50 in good shooting spots (35m out on 45 degree angle). He should have kicked 5 goals today.

was that u mt that said hughes was dropped last week possibly due to bad kicking for goal, well then i expect polak to go back to coburg then.

my point is that if wallace does somehing right this year, just one thing he would leave hughes in this side and this kid develop for crying out loud, instead of trying to save his own job.

i see this kid as our future in the forward line not brown and richo sadly

Yep it was me and I've got Polak out and Cleve in as my changes this week. Btw Cleve was putting them right through the eye diddle diddle today at training. Now for him to do it consistentely during a game  . Agree he is our future.

As i said on another thread "when he kicked that goal late in the game against the kangaroos  he has got the monkey off his back