Coughlan next year?

[sabre_ac]

Freo just offloaded two big contract players (especially Croad) for draft picks.
Seems to me we are clearing out room to make a play for this kid when he comes out of contract next year.
Could be the difference between a premireship and merely regular spot in the top 4.

 

[Rob]

Would have to be the big target for next year, unless he's met some stunner of a girl over there I can't see why he'd want to stay at Richmond, they've just p*ssed off their top draft picks for an overrated player AGAIN. They'd be lucky to make the 8 in the next 5 years.

 

[Tigers_Goddess]

Not a chance Cogs wants to stay a tiger

Coughlan's Tiger pledge
Paul Gough
afl.com.au
1:01:14 PM Thu 9 October, 2003


Richmond club champion Mark Coughlan says his future lies at Punt Road, adding he wants to be part of an on-field revival at Tigerland.

Even before Coughlan became the youngest winner of the Tigers’ Jack Dyer Medal since Matthew Knights in 1990 – speculation had begun that West Coast and Fremantle will attempt to entice the 21-year-old Western Australian back home when his contract expires at the end of 2004.


However Coughlan, whose fanatical playing style has made him a huge hit with the 'Tiger Army', says he wants to be a long-term player at Richmond and is desperate to be part of some on-field success.

Coughlan’s rapid improvement in the past two years – he finished third in the Tigers’ best and fairest last year – has coincided with two dreadful years for the club in which they have finished 14th and 13th.

But now having achieved the ultimate individual success at Richmond, Coughlan wants the team success to go with it.

“Absolutely,” he replied when asked if he saw his long-term future at Richmond.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that (talk about Fremantle or West Coast wanting to entice him home) and that’s pure speculation.”

“Richmond is my home – I’ve got a lot of good friends here and I want to create some history in this club between ourselves.”

“To win this award is the most proud I’ve ever been in my life, but to win it in a team that plays finals and is really successful it would mean more and that is definitely the next step.”

“There is a lot of history at our club but we (the current playing group) haven’t achieved any ourselves and I want to be here when we do that.”

Coughlan said the key to his huge improvement since the middle of 2002 has simply been getting more game time and for that he is grateful to coach Danny Frawley.

“It’s just been about getting an opportunity,” he told afl.com.au of his rise from young hopeful to club champion in less than two years.

“There are a lot of young guys out at the clubs that might get only 20 minutes (of game time) in an AFL match and it’s hard to make your mark in that sort of time.”

“I don’t really think I am an impact player, I rely on playing a whole game in the midfield to get a good performance in and I needed a few games like that to get my confidence up.”

Coughlan, who lives with skipper Wayne Campbell who he admits has had the greatest influence on him, says another of the Tigers’ experienced midfielders also helped him this year – Adelaide recruit Kane Johnson.

The 21-year-old said from the moment the dual Crows’ premiership player arrived at the Tigers in 2003, he realised he would have to lift his game.

“I remember looking back to an intra-club game we played in the pre-season and he stitched me up,” Coughlan said of Johnson.

“He had 20 possessions and three goals on me by midway through the second quarter and I started to question where I was at as a player.”

“He has taught me a lot this year and what he has really done is kept me alert on the field and taken some of the attention off me.”

Johnson finished second in the Jack Dyer Medal for 2003 with 294 votes, 31 votes adrift of Coughlan.

(Richmond are already negotiating his new contract)

 

[LongBombFromOutside50]

I can't see Coughlan or S Black wanting to leave their respective clubs next season. I think we'd have more of a chance going after Josh Carr, who has the lure of playing with his brother at Freo.

However, considering the way Port played hardball with Stevens and demanded two first round picks or a first round pick and Didak/Prestigiacomo/Cole for him, I have my doubts over what they'd expect for Carr.

 

[Rob]

Originally posted by Tigers_Goddess
Not a chance Cogs wants to stay a tiger

Coughlan's Tiger pledge
Paul Gough
afl.com.au
1:01:14 PM Thu 9 October, 2003


Richmond club champion Mark Coughlan says his future lies at Punt Road, adding he wants to be part of an on-field revival at Tigerland.

What else is he going to say? That he wants out with a year of his contract left to run?

When he gets over his delusion that there will be an on-field revival at tigerland and realises that the club has virtually no decent youngsters bar him and a recruiting team straight out of kindergarten that insist on mortgaging the club's future year after year, he'd be nuts to resign any time soon, especially given richmond's tendency to to sign reasonable players on superstar contracts. Even if he wanted to stay there, he could con them into paying him 600k a year.

1 finals series in 20 years? Sh*t, even *we've* done better than that.

 

[kretchy]

Originally posted by Rob

1 finals series in 20 years? Sh*t, even *we've* done better than that.

2

 

[KiNgCliVe26]

We are definately only 1 quality tough inside midfielder way from doing something pretty special in the next couple of years and with the money we'll be throwing coughlan's way next year he'd atleast contemplate a move back home.

But depending on who we get in the draft and how schammer develops we might not even have to go for players outside the club.