RELIEF was the dominant emotion for Mark Coughlan after Richmond's Saturday night win over North Melbourne.

Relief that his team had finally won a match and relief that his body had got through a game of AFL football.

It was Coughlan's first match since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in round 12, 2006. He needed a second knee reconstruction in 2007 and then travelled to Germany midway through last season for advanced treatment on his troublesome hamstring.

The treatment, which saw calves blood injected into the tissue, worked as well for Coughlan as it did for Geelong utility Max Rooke, who played in his club's 2007 premiership triumph.

Coughlan said after playing a string of VFL games last season and again this year after returning from a knee arthroscopy, his body had handled it well.

"I've pulled up pretty well," he said before training on Tuesday. "Telstra Dome's a really nice surface and especially having a win, we always tend to pull up a little bit better.

"I'll hopefully play this week and get a bit of form up and it's just about getting the run into the legs now.

"I'd played a few games in the VFL before last week, and hopefully I'll get a few senior games in and get into the swing of things."

Coughlan, who turned 27 last week, added that the game hadn't changed too much in his time on the sidelines.

However, he said ball movement around stoppages had quickened.

"I think Geelong's set a benchmark there," he said.

"The ball's not long in the player's hands. It just moves so quickly, so you just have to get used to that."

Coughlan was pleased with his contribution on Saturday night but hadn't expected to lead his teammates from the field or be the centre of the post-match team song and huddle – debutant style.

"There's a lot of room for improvement, but I've got a couple of weeks to get my hands on it a little bit more and get out there," he said.

"It was good just to sing the song. For me it was just a big relief to win the game, because there was a lot of pressure on us going in.

"I wasn't expecting to lead the guys off and get thrown in the middle, but it all happened pretty quickly.

"It's got a bit of a sting to it, that Powerade – I wouldn't recommend it."