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Cousins to call it quits as his star fades

By Mr Dandalooa

As news circulates this week about the fate of former footy hero Ben Cousins, FootyGoss takes a look at the highs and lows of arguably one of the game’s greats.

The controversial Richmond midfielder Ben Cousins has said there will be a press conference at Punt Road Oval tomorrow, with speculation rife that he will announce the end of his tumultuous 14-year career.

Coach Damien Hardwick is expected to attend and confirm the decision.

Tigers football manager Craig Cameron said the club would announce its decision tomorrow morning.

“We’ve had further discussions with Ben Cousins today. Both Ben and the club have sat down and had a chat. There will be no further announcements today, but there will be an announcement tomorrow morning,” he said.

If Ben chooses to play against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Sunday August 29, it will be a less than fitting end for Cousins as the Tigers battle Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.

The rise of Cousins begins in the dark and gloomy Melbourne winter of 1994, when the young Perth boy travelled down a Geelong road to the city where he was born.

As a youngster with a passion for football and determination in his veins, Cousins as a child was keen to support Geelong.

On this dark wintery day as young Ben, just in Year 11, took the fateful trip across the Nullarbor, he was there to discuss the possibility of playing for Geelong using a quirky AFL father-son rule as soon as he reached draftable age.

Bryan Cousins, Ben’s father, played 67 games for Geelong in the late 70s and the club at the time was very keen to recruit the talented youngster from Wesley College.

Fairfax media at the time reported the teenager taking the trip to Geelong, which had he chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps, would likely have a Premiership under his belt and not a rap-sheet from the police.

For Cousins, the highlight of the trip was taking part in a training run with the then star-studded Geelong side.

Convincing the Cousins family that Kardinia Park was a good place to launch an AFL career was not going to be a difficult task in principle, such was Ben’s devotion to the Cats.

But as it turns out Ben chose West Coast over Geelong and by doing so, chose a path that seemingly led to his destruction which in a handful of years would see him go from 2005 Brownlow Medalist to being police headhunted.

“The choice to stay home with my family and friends was going to give me ultimately my best chance of making it,” Cousins said at the time.

“Leaving home at 17 and the move itself would have made it a little bit harder and I just thought my best footy was going to be played while I was at home.

“The Eagles had a very good side and I would’ve liked to have thought that if I was going to make it, I was going to be able to make it eventually into any side. I sort of backed myself in a little bit that way.”

This one aspect, staying close to family would be part of Cousins’ ability to resurrect his career at Richmond.

In February 2006, Cousins resigned his captaincy after an off-field incident where he fled a booze bus.

In May that same year, he signed a new three-year contract with the Eagles.

In September 2006 he reached the highest of highs on the field when West Coast won the Grand Final, defeating Sydney.

But the party ended in March the following year, just 6 months after the GF win when Cousins was suspended indefinitely by West Coastafter missing two training sessions.

It was later confirmed that he had a substance abuse problem.

After returning from four weeks of rehabilitation in Malibu, California for substance abuse, Cousins was offered an amended contract by West Coast, rumoured to contain strict conditions such as repaying the cost of rehab and undertaking regular drug tests.

On June 29 2007, he was given clearance by the AFL to resume training with the West Coast Eagles, which he did on the following Monday.

However, he injured a hamstring in training, delaying his comeback until West Coast’s home game against Sydney on July 21 at Subiaco Oval.

On this day he gained 38 disposals in the game and six marks, inspiring West Coast’s win.

Later this same year the troubled star was in trouble again. Cousins was sacked by West Coast on October 17 2007, a day after his car was stopped and searched and he was arrested for drug possession, which meant that he was no longer a registered AFL player.

He was banned from playing senior football for 12 months by the AFL Commission in November for “bringing the game into disrepute” and formally delisted by West Coast on 30 November.

In November 2008, the AFL Commission cleared Cousins to play AFL football in 2009.

The Commission ruled that Cousins must submit to regular drug tests, including urine testing up to three times per week and hair testing up to four times annually.

Cousins attended drug testing in early November with no body hair long enough to sample.

Several teams showed an interest in drafting Cousins for 2009, including Collingwood Football Club, St Kilda Football Club and Brisbane Lions.

But ahead of the AFL Pre-season Draft in December, Richmond Football Club approached the AFL Commission for approval to move injured senior player Graham Polak to their rookie list and thereby obtain an extra draft place to select Cousins.

However, the commission denied Richmond’s request.

Richmond selected Cousins in the Pre-season Draft with their number six draft pick on 16 December.

Now two years later Ben is set to end his 14-year career, which will culminate in the release of his documentary. The star may have well faded, but his celebrity is sure to keep on.