BEN COUSINS

'Benjamin Cousins' (born 30 June 1978 in Melbourne) is an Australian rules footballer for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League from 1996 to present. He has played over 200 games for West Coast as one of their key midfielders, and is one of the highest rated midfielders in the competition, gaining a spot in the All Australian Midfield.

Contents

Football career

Off-field controversies

Booze bus incident, 2006

Diagnosis of drug addiction and rehabilitation (2007)

Return to AFL

References

External links

See also

Football career

Cousins was drafted in 1995 by the West Coast Eagles under the father-son rule, as his father Bryan (a star player himself in the local West Australian Football League competition) had played 67 games for the Geelong Football Club in the then-VFL. This clause allowed him to choose between playing for the Geelong Cats, the newly formed Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles. The prospect of remaining in his hometown of Perth led Cousins to opt for the Eagles.
Cousins made his debut in the AFL in 1996 at the age of 17 - coincidentally against Geelong - and won the AFL's Rising Star award in his first season. Cousins has developed into one of the leading players in the league, winning four West Coast Best and Fairest Awards (2001, 2002, 2003 & 2005) and being selected in six All Australian Teams (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006). Cousins played for Australia in the 1999 International Rules series in Australia. In 2005, he became the second West Coast player to receive the Brownlow Medal, and also the first West Coast player to win the Leigh Matthews Trophy, thereby sweeping the two major individual honours in the AFL.
Ben Cousins was the captain of West Coast from 2001 until 2005, and played his 200th AFL game during the 2005 season. Cousins was a dominant player in the 2005 season, leading most AFL media awards for best player as the Eagles secured a second place finish in the regular season. The season culminated in him winning the 2005 Brownlow Medal by one vote from teammate Daniel Kerr. He also led the West Coast Eagles to the 2005 AFL Grand Final which the team lost to the Sydney Swans by four points.
In February 2006 Cousins resigned his captaincy following an off-field incident where he ran away from a booze-bus (see below) with vice-captain Chris Judd taking over the position. Nevertheless, Cousins helped carry the team to their first premiership in 12 years to become the 2006 AFL Premiers. He played a key role in the 2006 Grand Final, achieving 18 possessions and kicking two of West Coast's 12 goals.

Off-field controversies

Cousins' football career has been marred by several off-field incidents which have attracted considerable negative publicity.
In September 2002 Cousins was involved in a brawl with team mate Daniel Kerr at a Perth nightclub, in which he punched Kerr in the face during the club's end of season celebrations. Later the same night, Kerr pushed Cousins down a flight of stairs, breaking his arm."Champion's Rise And Fall", ''The West Australian'', March 21, 2007, pp. 8-9^[1]
In May 2005 Cousins and then West Coast team mate Michael Gardiner were criticised for involvement with a group of alleged Perth underworld figures. According to allegations the two Eagles players received phone calls from gangland figures both before and after a stabbing and shooting at the Metro City nightclub. Police questioned Cousins and Gardiner about the incident but they refused to aid the inquiries. The club told the pair that they were on their "last warning" and that their off-field behaviour would not be tolerated.

Booze bus incident, 2006

On February 12, 2006, Cousins avoided a booze bus by abandoning his car in the middle of a major Perth highway and running from police as they ordered him to stop.^[2] His role as captain of the Eagles was quickly put in doubt following the incident, and on February 20 he read out a statement in front of media at Subiaco Oval announcing his resignation as captain.^[3] He was charged on summons on February 27 with one count of obstructing traffic and one count of obstructing police. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was fined $900. He was fined $5,000 by the Eagles.
In early December 2006 Cousins was arrested in Melbourne and spent four hours in jail after being in a disoriented and uncontrolled state at the Crown Casino. Photographs of Cousins showing him apparently passed out outside the Casino were later printed in newspapers. Cousins did not need to go to court and was not fined, and the club decided not to discipline him, saying the media scrutiny was sufficient punishment.^[4]

Diagnosis of drug addiction and rehabilitation (2007)

On the 20 March 2007, West Coast club chairman Dalton Gooding announced at a press conference that Cousins had been suspended indefinitely (officially) for his failure to attend two training sessions.^[5] When pressed on the exact reason for the suspension, Gooding would only say that Cousins was facing a "number of personal and professional issues" and that "Over the past few weeks those issues have come to the surface and it's time that Ben was suspended from the club to go away and try to tackle those issues head on." It was also confirmed in the press conference that Cousins, along with the rest of his team-mates underwent an AFL drug test on March 19.).
On the 22 March 2007 Cousins' father, Bryan, made a prepared statement admitting that his son had a "substance abuse" problem. Lost love pushed Ben over edge Tim Morrissey To add to his personal issues, Cousins had also recently split with his long-term girlfriend, Samantha Druce.
On the 3 April 2007 Ben Cousins was admitted to the exclusive Summit Centre in Malibu, California. This was despite misleading leaks from the Eagles and Cousins' camp that suggested he was heading to Arizona for treatment.^[6]
On the 24 April 2007 Dalton Gooding said that Cousins would return within the next fortnight.
^[7] Cousins arrived back in Perth on the 30 April 2007 and is likely to continue his treatment at an outpatient program there.^[8]
On the 4 May 2007 Cousins made a well scripted public statement. In this statement Cousins apologised to a number of groups including his team mates, his club the West Coast Eagles, the AFL and the community. He said he was continuing his rehabilitation but did not know when he would return to football.^[9]

Return to AFL

On the 29 June 2007 Cousins was given clearance by the AFL to resume training with the West Coast Eagles, which he did on the following Monday. It had been rumoured that he would may make his return to the side the following weekend against the Brisbane Lions, but Cousins suffered a pulled hamstring in training on the day before the game and missed the next 2 weeks. Cousins made his return to football on the 21 July 2007 in a match against arch-rivals Sydney at Subiaco Oval. He started on the bench but six minutes into the first quarter he was given the green light and received a huge reception from the Eagles' home crowd, giving him a standing ovation. Cousins proceeded to rack up 38 disposals in one of the best matches of his AFL career. Cousins was named man of the match and received a $5000 Plasma TV for his efforts.^[10]

References

1. Kerr caught on police drug tapes
2. Cousins charged by police
3. Cousins quits Eagles captaincy
4. Cousins' night ends in jail Sam Edmund
5. AFL star Cousins kicked off team
6. Ben Cousins' rehab stylish
7. Cousins heading home
8. Good to be home, says Cousins
9. Digby Beacham. "Football not my priority, say Cousins". ''The West Australian''. 5 May 2007
10. Cousins suffers injury setback

External links

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★ Analysis of Bens Game style

★ Booze is where drug problem starts Article in ''The Australian'' about alcohol/drug problems among AFL players

See also

★ List of Australian rules football incidents