From The Armchair #11 - A Knights Tale "Ben Cousins to Windy Hill"

By No32
Ben To Bomberland, gee that sounds like a Metallica song?

Since he was delisted there has been much speculation on when and where Ben Cousins would end up.

Ben Cousins, a young man with a drug addiction, prior to this he was a Captain of the West Coast Eagles, Brownlow Medalist and Premiership player and one they call the “Spiritual Leader” at West Coast. Now keep that last reference in your mind, could the club (West Coast) be missing that leadership, that supreme being to keep driving them towards success. Apart from some players at West Coast nearing the end of their career’s the gap of Ben Cousins (and Judd) have left a gaping hole in it’s wake. How big is the person/persona “Ben Cousins”?

Having spent enough time in Perth, Ben Cousins the AFL footballer was larger than life and unfortunately this persona has come back to haunt him ending with his drug addiction. And more so from the fact his many misdemeanor’s and errors off field were forgotten, forgiven or swept under the carpet due to the nature of his ability, his persona and the enigma that was Ben Cousins.

Ben Cousins is making a documentary about his life and struggle with drug addiction and if it is anything like Cousins the player it will leave no stone unturned, be raw, push the boundaries and the hope is that it provides some inspiration and guidance to others who are also battling drug addictions. He didn’t have to exposed his personal life like he may in this documentary, but maybe he saw this as a way to rehabilitate himself and give back to the community what he took away.. a role model.

Now the term role model is bandied around alot, and something that I am not 100% behind and I have written about this along the same line as Chris Judd in the fact that he doesn’t look as himself as a role model and no parent should expect a footballer to be a role model, in this instance I would now look towards Ben Cousins as a role model in a few ways… for people young and old battling drug addiction and another thing I would like to see Ben do IF he was to come back to AFL football is to offer himself to the club he is drafted by their community, to the AFL to speak on drugs, drug addictions at schools, at AFL Draft camps, at AIS Camps etc… share his experience and show that no matter who you are, you too can fall into the depths of drug addiction hell.

I am the biggest Ben Cousins fan, always have been, always will be. The way he trains, the way he prepares and the way he plays is something if you could bottle would be worth more than 3 No.1 draft picks. He is a true footballer, he plays with old school heart and passion, he is a warrior.

Round 8 2006 vs Essendon @ Telstra Dome : I remember this game like it was yesterday, I watched Ben Cousins exclusively for the whole game. I wanted to study and soak in how this man plays and see what he goes through during a game.

Early in the 1st half Dean Solomon or Welsh ran off the line straight through the pack to an unaware Ben Cousins and “WOOSHKA”…down goes Cousins. The trainers come out to check him he is pushing them away to catch his breath, walk it off and he continues on running, I was amazed at the attention, the bumps, the hits and knock downs he gets during a game and he never ever sparks back with any hitting, elbowing. He takes all the punishment and his focus is the ball.

The 2nd half and from memory is was late in the 3rd quarter, Solomon ran through the square and cleans up Cousins again and this time he is down longer and the trainers try and bring him off the ground…to no avail. 3 minutes later his is in the thick of it again, winning key possessions to carry West Coast over the line in a tight game.

His final tally 15 Kicks, 11 Handballs, 4 Marks, 2 Tackles and 2 Brownlow Votes. Right there and then it solidified my opinion that Ben Cousins “The Footballer” is the strongest mentally in the game. He was the force behind the West Coast Midfield dominance as the likes of Kerr, Judd, Fletcher were compelled to try and train as hard as their captain. Kerr has said it in a few interviews and he has said that Cousins trains past exhaustion and at times has struggled to even walk back to his car. To push ones body to those extremes take special traits and will power to not only block but harness that pain to propel then to another level (see Tiger Woods).

WHY SHOULD KNIGHTS SEEK COUSINS?
We have a young group of players, and many will be seeking experienced players to teach them and show them how to be the best they can be. Midfield wise we have McVeigh and the next crop of veterans are the likes of Welsh, Watson and Stanton..all under the age of 24, McVeigh is 27. Some one of Cousins ilk and quality cannot be ignored, think back to Kerr’s comments and just following the example set by Cousins. Slot Cousins into a training group with Myers, Winderlich, Dyson, Stanton, Pears and imagine the results from the benchmark, the level the demand he would stamp on being an elite midfielder.

Think of the on field leadership, the hard running, the hits the bumps the example he would set. Think of the inspiration and confidence he would inject into this group.

Ben Cousins knows how good he is, he knows his body, he could play another 3-4 years at the elite level…look at Matthew Richardson, as far as fitness and ability, Richo is 33 and playing like he should be 23. Yes the club may have a youth policy or policy based on players over 30, Ben Cousins is a different specimen. We are talking about someone who between 2003-2006 was in my opinion the best player in the competition and has been for 12 years elite and when he went into rehab was still playing great footy.

Essendon Football Club have the structures, the leaders in place to assist with Ben Cousins quest to beat his drug addiction (Once an addict, your always an addict even if your off the drugs you are 1 lapse away from addiction).

WHY SHOULDN’T KNIGHTS SEEK COUSINS?
If he couldn’t give assurances that he would follow the coach and clubs ethics, guidelines and demand for keeping clean and giving back to the younger players and community.

I want Ben Cousins at Essendon Football Club, if this article can somehow provoke some thought from the powers that be to give serious thought to bringing him to the club great. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to add something to this club, to the player development of our younger group of “Potential” elite midfielders to set the club up for the next 10 years. If the likes of Myers, Dyson, Winderlich, Stanton can take something from Cousins the footballer and create a standard which mirrors him then the quality of the young men we have drafted and the young leaders within our club historically it will be passed down year after year…consider this Matthew Knights, the coach needs to consider the “Fast Track” development if Cousins does tick all the off field boxes!!

The thought of “THE ANVIL” on a searching lead being hit lace out with a Ben Cousins kick from out of a pack gets me quivering with glee.

Posted 1 July 08 in News