WITH a small smile lining his face and a tongue jutting into his cheek, Mark Coughlan says of his first five matches for Richmond: "I had a huge impact."
The matches were played in 2001 and Coughlan's output in them is hard to remember for all bar the most devoted of Richmond supporters.
In fact, it has been plain forgotten by Brendon Gale, who happened to play with Coughlan in four of the five matches.
"It was quite funny – in my first game of last year, 2002, Brendon congratulated me on playing my first game," Coughlan said. "I had actually played with him the year before – I had a huge impact in my first five games."
Coughlan may have retained relative anonymity after his introduction to top-level football, but he lost it last year when he added 16 matches and a third placing in the Tigers' club champion award to his CV.
An average of more than 22 disposals from 18 matches this season has elevated Coughlan not only into the Richmond elite, but also placed him among the best midfielders in the competition.
The Tigers best-and-fairest award is a strong possibility this year.
Coughlan attributes his emergence in the big time to a number of factors, among them a warm and encouraging individual address from Richmond coach Danny Frawley during a low period last year and advice from the current captain, Wayne Campbell, and retired former skipper Matthew Knights.
"I struggled with confidence early on, but with Matthew Knights retiring, and Paul Broderick retiring the year before, that made me believe there was definitely a spot available," Coughlan said. "We hadn't had a good year and Danny was definitely looking to play the younger guys and he took me in one day and said, `I'll give you a fair run, don't worry about making mistakes', and that gave me a lot of confidence and it went from there."
Campbell's effect on Coughlan's career has been profound.
"In terms of how professional he is and how good a player he is, he's been the biggest influence," Coughlan said.
"He does talk to me when I ask him questions but, unless I approach him, he will let me go about it in my own way.
"The influence he does have on me and my teammates is how he goes about it and I always try to compare myself with him, try to become as good as him."
Campbell and Coughlan share a unit in Melbourne's bayside.
"We get on well," Campbell said.
"There is a fair age difference and he keeps me young and, hopefully, I give him some sort of maturity.
"He's a really honest kid, an honest person. He's pretty smart about life and about footy. He's pretty quiet at this stage. He knows his place around the club, so he keeps pretty quiet till he earns his stripes, which is not too far off, I think."
Coughlan's early years were spent in Kalgoorlie until the family moved to Perth when he was 11.
The pull of his home state remained strong until he secured a regular place in the Tigers' senior team last year.
Coughlan observed during the week that footballers were able to overcome the impact of many off-field distractions by playing well on a weekend.
Richmond officials are aware that, in Coughlan, they have a potential captain. They won't be placing such pressures on him for a few years yet, but they have been astounded by his maturity during the past two seasons.
Coughlan was once simply satisfied to "just get a game", but he now hurts badly after a loss – meaning this year he has been in constant pain.
`WHEN you are a young guy, and I know this sounds bad, all you want to do is just get a game," he said.
"How the club is going is something you don't fully appreciate or perhaps understand. It affects you, but not the way it does now. I have played games and played quite well and we have lost and that annoys me – the fact we have lost.
"As you get older and play more games, you get more of a feeling for the jumper. That is why it is frustrating at the moment. I just want to get these three games out of the way – play well in all three and win all three."
Though the remaining matches of 2003 offer him and his club little on a strategic front, Coughlan is aware that the Tigers need to prepare as they would for early season games, when expectations are at their highest.
"The motivation at the moment is pride – we have lost a lot of respect in the football world, and fair enough, too," he said.
"We haven't been great this year. Motivation this week (for today's match against Essendon) might say a lot from last week. Last week (an 80-point loss to St Kilda) was embarrassing for a few individuals, including myself, and I certainly don't want to finish off the year like that."
The matches were played in 2001 and Coughlan's output in them is hard to remember for all bar the most devoted of Richmond supporters.
In fact, it has been plain forgotten by Brendon Gale, who happened to play with Coughlan in four of the five matches.
"It was quite funny – in my first game of last year, 2002, Brendon congratulated me on playing my first game," Coughlan said. "I had actually played with him the year before – I had a huge impact in my first five games."
Coughlan may have retained relative anonymity after his introduction to top-level football, but he lost it last year when he added 16 matches and a third placing in the Tigers' club champion award to his CV.
An average of more than 22 disposals from 18 matches this season has elevated Coughlan not only into the Richmond elite, but also placed him among the best midfielders in the competition.
The Tigers best-and-fairest award is a strong possibility this year.
Coughlan attributes his emergence in the big time to a number of factors, among them a warm and encouraging individual address from Richmond coach Danny Frawley during a low period last year and advice from the current captain, Wayne Campbell, and retired former skipper Matthew Knights.
"I struggled with confidence early on, but with Matthew Knights retiring, and Paul Broderick retiring the year before, that made me believe there was definitely a spot available," Coughlan said. "We hadn't had a good year and Danny was definitely looking to play the younger guys and he took me in one day and said, `I'll give you a fair run, don't worry about making mistakes', and that gave me a lot of confidence and it went from there."
Campbell's effect on Coughlan's career has been profound.
"In terms of how professional he is and how good a player he is, he's been the biggest influence," Coughlan said.
"He does talk to me when I ask him questions but, unless I approach him, he will let me go about it in my own way.
"The influence he does have on me and my teammates is how he goes about it and I always try to compare myself with him, try to become as good as him."
Campbell and Coughlan share a unit in Melbourne's bayside.
"We get on well," Campbell said.
"There is a fair age difference and he keeps me young and, hopefully, I give him some sort of maturity.
"He's a really honest kid, an honest person. He's pretty smart about life and about footy. He's pretty quiet at this stage. He knows his place around the club, so he keeps pretty quiet till he earns his stripes, which is not too far off, I think."
Coughlan's early years were spent in Kalgoorlie until the family moved to Perth when he was 11.
The pull of his home state remained strong until he secured a regular place in the Tigers' senior team last year.
Coughlan observed during the week that footballers were able to overcome the impact of many off-field distractions by playing well on a weekend.
Richmond officials are aware that, in Coughlan, they have a potential captain. They won't be placing such pressures on him for a few years yet, but they have been astounded by his maturity during the past two seasons.
Coughlan was once simply satisfied to "just get a game", but he now hurts badly after a loss – meaning this year he has been in constant pain.
`WHEN you are a young guy, and I know this sounds bad, all you want to do is just get a game," he said.
"How the club is going is something you don't fully appreciate or perhaps understand. It affects you, but not the way it does now. I have played games and played quite well and we have lost and that annoys me – the fact we have lost.
"As you get older and play more games, you get more of a feeling for the jumper. That is why it is frustrating at the moment. I just want to get these three games out of the way – play well in all three and win all three."
Though the remaining matches of 2003 offer him and his club little on a strategic front, Coughlan is aware that the Tigers need to prepare as they would for early season games, when expectations are at their highest.
"The motivation at the moment is pride – we have lost a lot of respect in the football world, and fair enough, too," he said.
"We haven't been great this year. Motivation this week (for today's match against Essendon) might say a lot from last week. Last week (an 80-point loss to St Kilda) was embarrassing for a few individuals, including myself, and I certainly don't want to finish off the year like that."
