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 the Australian Schoolboys tour of England and France in 1979, scoring twelve tries and seven goals. He was also rated the best forward of the tour after playing at hooker, lock and prop. Cochrane also had enough speed in his schoolboys days that he occasionally played on the wing.
Senior career
Although he originally discussed a career with the Bulldogs following the 1979 tour, he instead signed with the Manly Sea Eagles, the club of his childhood hero Bob Fulton who, in 1983 would also become the Sea Eagles coach.[1]
After biding his time in reserve grade behind Max Krilich and Ray Brown, Mal Cochrane made his first grade debut for Manly in Round 16 of the 1983 NSWRFL season on 12 June. He played from the bench in the Sea Eagles 34–6 win over the Illawarra Steelers in front of 8,083 fans at Manly's home ground Brookvale Oval.[2] He would play 5 first grade games (all from the bench) in 1983.
Cochrane played in one grand final with Manly, the 1987 Grand Final against the Canberra Raiders in the last Grand Final to be played at the Sydney 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.[3] Following the grand final victory he traveled with Manly to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge against English champions, Wigan. In a try-less game, the home side shocked the Winfield Cup premiers 8–2 in front of 36,895 fans at Central Park.[4]
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 the 1990 season. His final first grade game for Manly came in their 29–12 loss to Canberra at the WACA Ground in Perth, Western Australia in Round 9 on 18 May 1990.[5]
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 the Young Cherrypickers in the NSW Group 9 competition.[1]
Post-playing career
In 1996, Cochrane coached the Australian Aboriginal rugby league team on their tour of Great 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 the National Rugby League Judiciary.[1][6]
