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Tony Free v Mark Coughlan
- Thread starter ozmadman
- Start date
Saw both from the time that they were juniors through to the end.
For Tony, back in 1987, I saw him play, I think, the last two senior games of the season then drop back to the U19s.
He played in the 1987 losing GF with Craig Lambert and a few other lesser known Tiges including Simon Goosey of fame a couple of years ago.
Tony played either in a small pocket or in the centre. This varied with the season and the designs of the changing list of senior coaches during his playing tenure. In 1988, his first full season, he played 4 years under Bartlett, then a season with Jeans, then Northey for the remaining two and a bit, before the tragedy of the early Geelong game in 1995.
Must say that Tony was the first of the Tiger mosquito fleet that evolved under Bartlett - Free, Lambert, Knights, and to a lesser degree Pym. Tony was the first regular junior midfielder to be able to rack up 20 possies in a game since Dale Weightman some 9 years before.
Tony, ran and ran and ran, creating continuous opportunity. His disposal wasn't always the best. He was rugged.
He captained the Tigers in those last years.
Personally, I believe that Tony demise actually began the previous year. Some of you might remember that Dermott Brereton broke Tony's jaw in the 1994 season. Injuries usually happen in sets, and in this case the broken jaw may have been a mystical precursor to his knee injury early the following season.
Of course, as we know, he never recovered.
As for Mark Coughlan, I saw him too as a RR for the WA U18 Rep team.
Mark had previously been affected by various lower body injuries, and may even have been damaged merchandise when he came to the Tiges.
Lacking genuine pace, Mark made up for this with upper body strength.
In 2002, the year after his debut season 2001, he hit his straps to play most of the season.
He took that to a even better level in 2003, but crashed out with another bout of OP in 2004.
Came back again to have a very good season in 2005, but crashed out again with knee and hamstring injuries after.
Mark lacked for Tony's ability to run and run and run. Both had less than optimal disposal.
To compare them, Freezer by a mile.
For Tony, back in 1987, I saw him play, I think, the last two senior games of the season then drop back to the U19s.
He played in the 1987 losing GF with Craig Lambert and a few other lesser known Tiges including Simon Goosey of fame a couple of years ago.
Tony played either in a small pocket or in the centre. This varied with the season and the designs of the changing list of senior coaches during his playing tenure. In 1988, his first full season, he played 4 years under Bartlett, then a season with Jeans, then Northey for the remaining two and a bit, before the tragedy of the early Geelong game in 1995.
Must say that Tony was the first of the Tiger mosquito fleet that evolved under Bartlett - Free, Lambert, Knights, and to a lesser degree Pym. Tony was the first regular junior midfielder to be able to rack up 20 possies in a game since Dale Weightman some 9 years before.
Tony, ran and ran and ran, creating continuous opportunity. His disposal wasn't always the best. He was rugged.
He captained the Tigers in those last years.
Personally, I believe that Tony demise actually began the previous year. Some of you might remember that Dermott Brereton broke Tony's jaw in the 1994 season. Injuries usually happen in sets, and in this case the broken jaw may have been a mystical precursor to his knee injury early the following season.
Of course, as we know, he never recovered.
As for Mark Coughlan, I saw him too as a RR for the WA U18 Rep team.
Mark had previously been affected by various lower body injuries, and may even have been damaged merchandise when he came to the Tiges.
Lacking genuine pace, Mark made up for this with upper body strength.
In 2002, the year after his debut season 2001, he hit his straps to play most of the season.
He took that to a even better level in 2003, but crashed out with another bout of OP in 2004.
Came back again to have a very good season in 2005, but crashed out again with knee and hamstring injuries after.
Mark lacked for Tony's ability to run and run and run. Both had less than optimal disposal.
To compare them, Freezer by a mile.
The game changed a fair bit in the decade or so between the primes of their careers. Free was your quintessential 'angry ant' early on and it paid for opponents to know his whereabouts lest they be on the receiving end of an errant fist or forearm. Delivered one of football's most brutal shirtfronts to Wayne Henwood in the last game of 1990 - perfectly legal at the time but would probably cost half a season now. The undisciplined acts largely disappeared from his game after he was became captain.
Free was an old-style player who preferred a (perhaps) untidy kick forward to a sideways or backwards handball, which suited the Northey gameplan. May have struggled with some of the demands of the modern possession game. The emergence of Campbell and acquisition of Broderick allowed Free to be switched away from the middle and used effectively as a utility at either end. At the time of the injury he'd settled in at half back and was the competition's leading kickgetter late in 1994 before Brereton broke his jaw. Didn't stop him from playing the entire second half with the injury.
Was watching from the fence on the day he wrecked his knee in the second quarter. Ten minutes beforegand, with the ball in open space, a Brisbane player had looked up, saw Free advancing from the opposite direction, and promptly wet himself. I felt pride at Richmond having a captain who inspired that type of fear in opponents. Ten minutes later his career was basically over. We'd won off a 5-day break and were 5-0 for the first time in many years, but it was a glum train ride home that evening.
One of football's great statistical quirks is that he kicked 14 goals for Richmond in an U19 match.
Both aptly described in the OP as 'cruel' blows but with Free we lost an uncompromising leader who at 25yo was set to become one of the great Richmond captains.
Free was an old-style player who preferred a (perhaps) untidy kick forward to a sideways or backwards handball, which suited the Northey gameplan. May have struggled with some of the demands of the modern possession game. The emergence of Campbell and acquisition of Broderick allowed Free to be switched away from the middle and used effectively as a utility at either end. At the time of the injury he'd settled in at half back and was the competition's leading kickgetter late in 1994 before Brereton broke his jaw. Didn't stop him from playing the entire second half with the injury.
Was watching from the fence on the day he wrecked his knee in the second quarter. Ten minutes beforegand, with the ball in open space, a Brisbane player had looked up, saw Free advancing from the opposite direction, and promptly wet himself. I felt pride at Richmond having a captain who inspired that type of fear in opponents. Ten minutes later his career was basically over. We'd won off a 5-day break and were 5-0 for the first time in many years, but it was a glum train ride home that evening.
One of football's great statistical quirks is that he kicked 14 goals for Richmond in an U19 match.
Both aptly described in the OP as 'cruel' blows but with Free we lost an uncompromising leader who at 25yo was set to become one of the great Richmond captains.
I remember in the years following Free's injury, desperately looking forward to him coming back. Was shattered when he finally called it a day. I had similar desperation with Coughlan, and his first game back looked like he just might make it. Was disappointed that he wasn't given more of an opportunity to prove himself in the second half of '09, given that the season was over anyway.
Both of them could have gone onto be long term club champions. I agree with others though that Free had certainly got further along that path.
Both of them could have gone onto be long term club champions. I agree with others though that Free had certainly got further along that path.
Both unfortunate but personally I'd go Freezer. Not just a better player IMO, he was a terrific leader.
I will be the odd one out here, thought Cogs was more then likley to be an AA, was fast becoming a genuine A grade mid, IMHO Tony was a very good footballer, however never what you would class as potentiall AA, to me he was more good half back/back pocket
It's very marginal. I think we got a bit more of a taste with Free of just how good he could have been. With Cogs, he went down so early I don't think we'll ever truly know. I also am not sure how Cogs would have gone with the changing pace in the game. Both were cruelly cut down, though.
Freezer played his 1st senior game against St.kilda in round 20 1987 after solid form in the twos,after his senior debut went back played the season in the under 19's including kicking 14goals with Simon Goosey bagging 9 once again against the Saints.I wonder if Shane Warne was in the opposition that day...Freezer said:
In that under 19's Grand Final the final siren went a minute or so early.well it did seem that way.
