Mark Coughlan
Encyclopedia
Mark Coughlan is a former Australian rules football
er who played with the Richmond Football Club
in the Australian Football League
(AFL) from 2001 to 2009.
and was selected in the 2000
National Draft
in the second round by Richmond at No. 25 overall. He made his AFL debut against the Geelong Cats in round 9 of the 2001 season.
in 2003, Coughlan was hampered in 2004 by osteitis pubis
, however he returned in 2005 and averaged more than 22 touches a game and finished the season ranked third in the competition for tackles (123) and sixth for handballs (235).
(ACL) inside one of his knees in round 12 against Hawthorn
, ending his season. During the 2007 preseason he suffered a recurrence of his ACL knee injury, believed to have been related to slipping in the shower in December 2006. Unable to return from injury, he missed the whole of the 2007 season
.
In 2008 due to ongoing hamstring injuries Coughlan was flown to Germany to receive radical treatment from controversial Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. The treatment was successful and Coughlan returned to Australia to play the remainder of the year with the Coburg Tigers
, Richmond's VFL-affiliate.
) in his knee during training and underwent minor arthroscopic surgery
to correct the tear.
Coughlan made his much anticipated return for Richmond on 25 April 2009 (Anzac Day
) in the club's first win of the 2009 season against North Melbourne. This marked the first time he made an appearance in the AFL since his injury in Round 12, 2006.
Following his successful comeback, columnist for The Age
and Richmond team-mate Nathan Brown described Coughlan as a very popular player and "the rarest individual I have ever met...in my 13 years of playing football".
on 28 August 2009, Coughlan was told before the game that he, along with Nathan Brown
, would be delisted from the Tigers senior list and had played his final game for the club.
(VAFA). In a stunning display, he amassed 45 possessions as he joined forces with great friend and former Melbourne Demons player Luke Williams (51 senior AFL games) to help deliver a hard fought 24 point victory over arch-rivals St Bernards.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who played with the Richmond Football Club
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) from 2001 to 2009.
Early career
Coughlan attended Wesley College, PerthWesley College, Perth
Wesley College, informally known as Wesley, is an independent, day and boarding school for boys and girls , situated in South Perth, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
and was selected in the 2000
2000 AFL Draft
The 2000 AFL Draft was the annual draft of talented Australian rules football players by teams that participate in the Australian Football League. It consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation....
National Draft
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
in the second round by Richmond at No. 25 overall. He made his AFL debut against the Geelong Cats in round 9 of the 2001 season.
Playing success
After winning the Jack Dyer MedalJack Dyer Medal
The Jack Dyer Medal is an Australian rules football award given each season to the player or players adjudged Best and Fairest for the Richmond Football Club....
in 2003, Coughlan was hampered in 2004 by osteitis pubis
Osteitis pubis
Since 1924, osteitis pubis has been known as a noninfectious inflammation of the pubis symphysis causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in patients who had undergone suprapubic surgery and remains a well-known complication of invasive...
, however he returned in 2005 and averaged more than 22 touches a game and finished the season ranked third in the competition for tackles (123) and sixth for handballs (235).
Injuries (2006–2009)
After a solid start to his 2006 campaign, Coughlan fell awkwardly and ripped the anterior cruciate ligamentAnterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
(ACL) inside one of his knees in round 12 against Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
, ending his season. During the 2007 preseason he suffered a recurrence of his ACL knee injury, believed to have been related to slipping in the shower in December 2006. Unable to return from injury, he missed the whole of the 2007 season
2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
.
In 2008 due to ongoing hamstring injuries Coughlan was flown to Germany to receive radical treatment from controversial Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. The treatment was successful and Coughlan returned to Australia to play the remainder of the year with the Coburg Tigers
Coburg Tigers
Coburg Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League. Coburg have an alignment in place with the AFL's Richmond Football Club which saw the Coburg club change its...
, Richmond's VFL-affiliate.
Return to senior football (2009)
In early 2009 during the AFL pre-season, Coughlan suffered minor cartilage damage (a slight meniscus tearTear of meniscus
In sports and orthopedics, a tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of one of the tibiae. Menisci...
) in his knee during training and underwent minor arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision...
to correct the tear.
Coughlan made his much anticipated return for Richmond on 25 April 2009 (Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
) in the club's first win of the 2009 season against North Melbourne. This marked the first time he made an appearance in the AFL since his injury in Round 12, 2006.
Following his successful comeback, columnist for The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
and Richmond team-mate Nathan Brown described Coughlan as a very popular player and "the rarest individual I have ever met...in my 13 years of playing football".
Career end at Richmond
In the final round of the 2009 season2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
on 28 August 2009, Coughlan was told before the game that he, along with Nathan Brown
Nathan G. Brown
Nathan Gordon Brown is a former Australian rules footballer for the Richmond and the Western Bulldogs in the AFL...
, would be delisted from the Tigers senior list and had played his final game for the club.
Debut in the VAFA
On 11 April 2010, Coughlan made his debut with St Kevin's Old Boys in Premier B of the Victorian Amateur Football AssociationVictorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia consisting purely of amateur players. Unlike the Victorian Football League and the VFL/AFL, the VAFA has always been strictly a purely amateur league and has affiliations with both AFL Victoria...
(VAFA). In a stunning display, he amassed 45 possessions as he joined forces with great friend and former Melbourne Demons player Luke Williams (51 senior AFL games) to help deliver a hard fought 24 point victory over arch-rivals St Bernards.