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Ben Cousins
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| Statistics |
Career Snapshot |
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DOB:
30th Jun 1978 |
Career
Games |
270 |
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Debut:
1996 |
Career Goals |
220 |
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From:
East Fremantle |
West Coast
Games |
238 |
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Height:
179 cm |
Weight:
80 kg |
West Coast
Goals |
206 |
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| Player Information |
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What do you say about Ben Cousins? Well....
As this is a footy site, we'll talk a bit about Ben Cousins the footballer. Recruited under the father/son rule in the 1995 draft, Cousins quickly shone at AFL level, gaining the Rising Star award in 1996, playing as a midfielder/forward. By the time he was at the club for three seasons, he was winning All-Australian selection, and was clearly going to be a great of the game. His peerless training regime was legend, as was his absolutely sublime performances on the field, so much so that by 2001 he was the West Coast club captain, and a shining beacon amid the troubles of the Ken Judge era. In 2005 he became only the second Eagle to win the Brownlow Medal after a number of outstanding seasons.
Cousins was the captain in the West Coast side that lost the 2005 Grand Final, and was a leading player in the team that cracked the premiership the next season, but... well this is where the non-footballing story really takes over. There were always rumours going around Perth of Cousins on the party scene, and the infamous Booze Bus incident in early 2006 caused the club to remove the captaincy from Cousins. It didn't seem to affect him much - he was still virtually the on-field leader, and was a major part of winning the flag that year. But in the off-season, he went off the rails. His training regime fell apart, and on the eve of the 2007 season, he admitted a drug problem, and was sent off to rehab. Returning mid-season, he seemed to be back to his best, though injuries were now taking their toll on his body. In what was a sadly fitting testimonial to his final year at the Eagles, the last shot of him in an Eagles jumper was in the race after doing a serious hamstring that finished his season in a final in Adelaide.
When another incident resulting in Cousins arrest occurred just after the season finished, the club was forced to terminate his contract, and the AFL deregistered him for the entire of the 2008 season. At the end of that year, Richmond elected to give him a shot, getting two seasons out of a more mature seeming Cousins, two seasons the Eagles would have loved to have so he could mentor (on-field of course, not off!) the extremely young West Coast team that played in the following seasons.
Ultimately, as a footballer, Cousins was a legend of the club. Captain for five years, premeriship player, 2005 Brownlow Medallist, 1996 AFL rising star, multiple All-Australian player. A champion of the game. However that Cousins will forever be entwined with the drug abusing player who dragged his club into and through the mud - could the club have done anything to prevent this? Hopefully these questions will die away, and we can again remember Ben Cousins the Energiser Bunny, the Eagle that damn well could. |
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| Career Honours |
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1995: Picked up under father/son rule.
1996: Norwich Rising Star winner.
1998: 50th AFL game.
1998: West Coast Eagles Club Champion Runner Up.
1998: AFL All Australian Selection (Forward Pocket).
1999: 3rd West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
1999: AFL All Australian Selection (Forward Pocket).
1999: AFL Goal of the Year.
1999: International Rules Series.
2000: 100th AFL game.
2001: West Coast Eagles Club Co-Captain with Dean Kemp.
2001: West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
2001: AFL All Australian Selection (Forward Pocket).
2002: West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
2002: AFL All Australian Selection (Rover).
2002-05: West Coast Eagles Club Captain.
2003: 150th AFL game and West Coast Eagles Life Membership.
2003: West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
2003: West Coast Eagles Player of the Finals.
2005: 200th AFL game.
2005: AFL Grand Final Team Member.
2005: West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
2005: Brownlow Medallist.
2005: AFL Players' Association Most Valuable Player.
2005: EFH Player of the Year.
2005: AFL All Australian Selection (Rover & Vice Captain).
2006: West Coast Eagles Team 20 (Rover).
2006: AFL Premiership Player.
2006: 3rd West Coast Eagles Club Champion.
2006: AFL All Australian Selection (Rover).
2008: Selected in the Pre Season Draft, Pick 6 (Richmond).
2009: 250th AFL game |
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| Career Statistics
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| A lot
of thanks are due to other people for the stats on this
page. For all games from 1993-2002, thanks to Paul
at AFL Stats http://stats.rleague.com/afl/afl_index.html.
For the 1987-1992 stats, much thanks to carneagles
for providing me a copy of the stats created for corkintheocean,
probably the best footy blog out there. Go read it! |
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