| Ben Cousins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cousins with West Coast in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Benjamin Luke Cousins | ||
| Nickname(s) | Cuz, Prince of Perth | ||
| Date of birth | 30 June 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Geelong, Victoria, Australia | ||
| Original team(s) | East Fremantle WAFL | ||
| Draft |
Father–son selection, 1995 (West Coast) 6th overall, 2009 Pre-season Draft (Richmond) | ||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1996–2007 | West Coast | 238 (205) | |
| 2009–2010 | Richmond | 32 (12) | |
| Total | 270 (217) | ||
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1999 | Australia | 2 (0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 1999. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
|
AFL
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Benjamin Luke Cousins (born 30 June 1978)[2] is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for West Coast and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cousins is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the fifty greatest players of all time.[3] During his 12-year, 238-game career with West Coast, he won several of the league's highest individual awards, including a Brownlow Medal, Most Valuable Player and a premiership medallion. He was also selected six times in the All-Australian Team and represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He was West Coast's club champion for four seasons and captain for five seasons.
Cousins' football career was marred by highly publicised off-field incidents involving illegal recreational drug use, traffic convictions and association with criminal elements. On several occasions he was fined or sanctioned by West Coast, culminating in the termination of his contract in October 2007.[4] The following month, he was banned from AFL for one year by the AFL Commission for "bringing the game into disrepute".[5] Amid predictions that he would remain undrafted, Richmond claimed Cousins with the last pick of the 2008 draft. He played 32 games across two seasons at the club, retiring from the AFL at the end of the 2010 season.
Cousins co-produced a documentary film titled Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins, saying he hoped it would serve as a cautionary tale against drug use. Released days after his retirement, it was "one of the most-watched documentaries in Australian history."[6] Post-football, Cousins continued to struggle with his drug addiction and have run-ins with the law, and in 2017 he received a 12-month prison sentence for a variety of offences. In 2023, after beating his addictions, Cousins joined the Seven News team in Perth where he reads the morning news sports bulletin and is emerging as one of the city’s leading sports reporters.[7]
- ^ a b "Player profile". Richmond Football Club. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Cousins and Cats: so nearly". The Age. Australia. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Mike Sheahan's top 50 players". Australian Football League. 6 March 2008. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ "Magistrate adjourns case and allows Eagle rehab trip". The Courier-Mail. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Cousins banned by AFL for 12 months". Real Footy. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ Toohey, Paul (18 September 2010). "A Perth funeral that triggered that Cousins doco", The Advertiser (Adelaide). Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- ^ "How Ben Cousins regained crown as city's prince". The Australian. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2024.