Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Malcolm Edward Cochrane | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1961-04-03)3 April 1961 (age 64) Taree, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:RLP As of 20 March 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mal Cochrane (born 3 April 1961) is anIndigenous Australian former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles in theNew South Wales Rugby League premiership. Cochrane primarily played athooker.
Cochrane played hockey and cricket as well as rugby league while at school and represented his state in all three sports at schoolboy level.[1]
Cochrane captained theAustralian Schoolboys tour ofEngland andFrance in 1979, scoring twelvetries and seven goals. He was also rated the bestforward of the tour after playing at hooker,lock andprop. Cochrane also had enough speed in his schoolboys days that he occasionally played on thewing.
Although he originally discussed a career with theBulldogs following the 1979 tour, he instead signed with theManly Sea Eagles, the club of his childhood heroBob Fulton who, in 1983 would also become the Sea Eagles coach.[1]
After biding his time in the Under 23's and reserve grade behindAustralian Test andNSWOrigin captain and hookerMax Krilich (also the Manly captain), and international forwardRay Brown, coach Bob Fulton gave Mal Cochrane his first grade debut for Manly in Round 16 of the1983 NSWRFL season on 12 June. He played from the bench in the Sea Eagles 34–6 win over theIllawarra Steelers in front of 8,083 fans at Manly's home groundBrookvale Oval.[2] He would play 5 first grade games (all from the bench) in 1983.
In 1986, Mal Cochrane won theRothmans Medal and theDally M Hooker of the Year awards and was considered unlucky not to be selected for the1986 Kangaroo tour. During the year he earned his first representative jumper when he was selected at hooker to play forCity Seconds.[3]
Cochrane played in one grand final with Manly, the1987 Grand Final against theCanberra Raiders in the last Grand Final to be played at theSydney Cricket Ground. In front of 50,201 fans, Manly won the match 18–8, but after receiving an accidental knee to the head in the first half, Cochrane remembered nothing of the game.[4] Following the grand final victory he traveled with Manly to England for the1987 World Club Challenge against English champions,Wigan. In a try-less game, the home side shocked theWinfield Cup premiers 8–2 in front of 36,895 fans atCentral Park.[5] During 1987, Cochrane repeated as the Dally M Hooker of the Year winner and also played his second and last senior representative game when chosen to representCountry Origin, kicking 3 goals as Country were defeated 30–22 by theirCity Origin counterparts.[6]
Injuries in the last years of Cochrane's first-grade career reduced his appearances to only 28 games over the final three seasons before retiring from first-grade at the end of the1990 season. His final first grade game for Manly came in their 29–12 loss to Canberra at theWACA Ground inPerth, Western Australia in Round 9 on 18 May 1990.[7]
Mal Cochrane played 118 games for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1983 to 1990. He scored 19 tries and kicked 167 goals for a total of 410 points.
Following his retirement from top grade football, Cochrane then spent a year playing for theYoung Cherrypickers in the NSWGroup 9 competition.[1]
In 1996, Cochrane coached the Australian Aboriginal rugby league team on their tour ofGreat Britain.[1]
A policeman for ten years, Cochrane now works for the Public Service Association of New South Wales, assisting Indigenous Australians in the workplace and is a member of theNational Rugby League Judiciary.[1][8]
Cochrane was the first hooker to win theRothmans Medal (awarded from 1968 to 1996), in 1986, and was considered unlucky to miss a spot on the1986 Kangaroo Tour (Balmain'sBenny Elias, aNSWState of Origin hooker in1985, toured as the #2 behindPenrith's incumbent test rakeRoyce Simmons). Subsequent medal winning hookers includeDanny Buderus andCameron Smith. He was also awarded theDally MHooker of the Year in 1986 and 1987.
In 1987, Cochrane played hooker forCountry Origin, kicking 3 goals in their 30–22 loss toCity Origin in the annualCity vs Country Origin game played at theParramatta Stadium inSydney.[9] This would be his only game of senior representative football.
In August, 2008, Cochrane was named at hooker in theIndigenous Team of the Century.[10]