years clubs article_title debutstadium statsend name debutdate birth_date originalteam sooteams debutopponent debutteam heightweight
1985 -- 1997 geelong paul couch
 kardinia park 1997 paul couch round 5 , 1985 19 july 1964 warrnambool victoria north melbourne geelong 1.80 m / 82 kg
paul couch

paul couch -lrb- born 19 july 1964 -rrb- is a retired australian rules footballer who played for geelong in the australian football league .
prior to playing with geelong , couch initially tried out with fitzroy , but was rejected for being too slow .
`` couchy '' played 259 games and kicked 203 goals for the cats from 1985 to 1997 , and won the coveted brownlow medal in 1989 .
he was recruited from warrnambool and , though never blessed with pace and very `` one-sided '' on his trusty left boot , had the ability to make position and place his team to advantage throughout twelve -lrb- often knee-injury ridden -rrb- years .
as a traditional `` centreman '' , he was the pivot for the outstanding teams of 1989 -- 1995 and though the club failed to win a premiership during that time , it was little fault of paul 's .
although lacking outright pace , he had a strong work-ethic along with a good football brain and exquisite disposal skills .
this made couch a highly respected centreman during his career .
paul represented victoria five times , was named all-australian 2 times -lrb- 1991 , 1995 -rrb- and won three club best-and-fairest awards -lrb- 1986 , 1989 , 1995 -rrb- , as well as being named in the club 's team of the century .
he was judged best on ground in his 250th match against the west coast eagles at skilled stadium .
couch is well known for carrying a broad , toothy smile , and formed an excellent partnership in the midfielder with good friend , mark bairstow , both servicing career-forward billy brownless and gary ablett with pin-point passes .
couch 's son tom couch played 3 games for the melbourne football club before being delisted in 2013 .
he is currently signed to collingwood 's vfl side in the vfl and his nephew , nick couch , plays for the north ballarat football club in the victorian football league -lrb- vfl -rrb- .
