Richmond happy with Coughlan rather than Cloke

[Nicholas]

Tigers got it right with Coughlan
1:01:14 PM Thu 15 May, 2003
Paul Gough
afl.com.au
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When Mark Coughlan came off under the blood rule to a standing ovation in the dying minutes of Saturday’s thumping win over Essendon at the MCG, Richmond officials could have been excused for patting themselves on the back.

And not because the Tigers were in the process of completing a memorable win over a side that has the wood on them in recent years, nor because Coughlan had been the inspiration behind the victory with 29 possessions, nine clearances and six tackles.


No, the reason all Richmond officials from coach Danny Frawley to the club’s recruiting staff were entitled to be proud was because the events of last Saturday showed once and for all they were right to make a highly publicized, and at the time, highly-criticised recruiting decision three years ago.

The lead-up to the 2000 national draft had been dominated by talk of which club – Richmond or Collingwood – would use its second round draft pick to select the son of David Cloke, a legend at both clubs.

Cloke had played 219 games and featured in two premierships for the Tigers and had played 114 games for the Magpies – squeezed in between his two stints at Richmond – meaning his son Jason was eligible to play for either club.

At 189cm the young Cloke looked to be a potential key position player and this was proven last year when in his first AFL season he played a key role in helping Collingwood to the grand final by being able to hold down the demanding centre-half-back position – before a suspension cost him a place in the grand final.

And with Cloke having such a big impact and of course being a highly-valuable and difficult to find key position player, the Tigers were heavily criticized – even by their own fans – for not deciding to recruit the son of one of the club’s greatest ever players.

But drafting players is all about filling your club’s needs at that particular time and in the lead-up to the 2000 draft the Tigers made no secret of the fact they were desperate to unearth a midfielder.

The Tigers would have loved to have had the young Cloke in their line-up but what they desperately needed was a young midfielder capable of eventually leading a midfield that for a decade had been carried by two players – current skipper Wayne Campbell and former skipper Matthew Knights.

So the Tigers decided to use their second round draft pick – the pick which at that time had to be sacrificed to pick a player under the father/son rule – for a then unknown teenager from Perth, Mark Coughlan.

This allowed to Collingwood to grab Cloke with its own second round pick in that same draft.

And while there is no doubt that Cloke will be a fine player – despite his current form trough – there can be little doubt that the Tigers went the right way in grabbing Coughlan.

After playing only a handful of games in 2001, Coughlan starred in second half of 2002 and finished third in the Tigers’ best and fairest.

But that effort drew very little public attention considering it was in a year in which the Tigers finished 14th.

However the club’s fantastic start to the 2003 season – five wins in seven games and the only Victorian side in the top seven – is in no small way due to Coughlan and now all other clubs and supporters are indeed starting to take notice of previously little-known number 24 for Richmond.

In fact Saturday’s performance – which came in a side not only missing Campbell but a host of other big names including Richardson, Ottens, Holland, Blumfield and Duncan Kellaway – showed that beyond doubt the Tigers got just what they needed in gambling on Coughlan ahead of a Cloke – a genuine AFL midfielder.

Coughlan not only showed he is capable of leading the

[HAL]

Why not? Hmmm. . . . . . Interesting explanation.