Good pick up for Richmond, good luck to Ben.

Great move by Richmond. Good to see one team with Brains and they are only paying him probably less then 200k! Bargain!

I think the AFL will be ok with the decision. Good decision by the AFL not to grant the Polak move. There is a long-term injury list for those sort of things and they can bring a rookie through. Richmond just trying to get two good players instead. Very different to the Rama case where he was out of contract and was the only way he would have stayed involved in the AFL system. So I say good work for the AFL for staying strong or else before you know it everyone who is injured will go on a Rookie list.

Richmond can still put Polak on the long-term injured list and bring up a Rookie for the year so they still get what they wanted just not as cheaply.

Will Cousins finally be the thing that makes Richmond stop finishing 10th!!!

in the rookie draft wat was with the passes by clubs. Adelaide passed at pick 41 with some very talented players left.

Richmond were trying to pull a swifty with the Polak idea.

Now they have taken Cousins on...will at least mean some more interesting reading in the media.

I still ask the question...why did 15 other clubs not take him on?

possible reasons...

sponsor fear?
player and family concerns?
no EVIDENCE that the drug taking has stopped?
Too old..hasnt played for 2 years

The man is an incredible player...however, the question must remain (for me at least) was he fantastic due to the drugs?

"The man is an incredible player...however, the question must remain (for me at least) was he fantastic due to the drugs?"

Thats a stupid question and unfair question! They aren't performance enhancing drugs as far as I'm aware. and even if they are they are so minor to make no difference at all.

I agree with 'me' there is something that isnt sitting right otherwise the other clubs would have taken him... What turned Collingwood off??
Purposely shaving your whole body so they couldnt get a hair test when you knew it was coming is also a bit wrong and a very arrogant attitude if you really do want to return to the AFL.
I dont follow the Tigers so I do kind of hope it flops - but good on them for taking a risk. And as has been said will make for some interesting reading.

To 'KingJames' I think if you took some of the drugs Cousins was doing and then try and play a sport you will find you can run through a pain barrier like never before so maybe not classified as performance enhancing but does have some influence surely.

I think drugs such as speed and cocaine can most definitely be beneficial to athletes ( short term gain and not without consequence ) both physically and psychologically . In the physical sense you can train harder in the gym and spike the metabolism allowing quicker recovery ( still need appropriate diet and supplementation ) allowing greater volume of work .

On top of that the mental lift enables one to push thru the pain and or fatigue threshold . Caffeine has similar effect and is used by many elite athletes as training fuel , hell the amount of AFL players that now pop a couple of No-Doz on top of a couple of short blacks before games would surprise some . MJ had 3 before every game .

Coke feeds the ego and therefore hunger to be the best , well suited to athletes mentality , especially these days with the financial reward and society admiration . Amphetamines and Ecstasy can give a differing perspective away from the sporting arena , maybe even deeper thought into their sport and journey .

I am no way condoning drug use in sports but to think all use is for dummies and dickheads is quite naive . Ben Cousins is no fool and is the most physically ripped ( no pun ) player i have seen in ages , when you have a player that hits it hard but does not suffer on field or in appearance it is no wonder he was made the AFL anti hero .

KJ ... "Thats a stupid question and unfair question!"

Pull your head in..it is neither stupid nor unfair, the guy has cheated in the past, the drugs used can certainly be described as enhancing.

KJ..."and even if they are they are so minor to make no difference at all"

cant have it both ways...if they are...then they ARE!!

I dont get the support for this guy, he is an admitted drug cheat, he has now denied some young clean player the chance to play AFL. He has "alledgedly" been involved in quite a number of illeagal activities and is often surrounded by some very undesirable elements.

Do you remember last year when he had told everyone he was off the drugs...then was rushed to hospital in the US suffering from an OD?

And yet... well, i guess time will tell

Me, I'm with you on this.

"and even if they are they are so minor"

Brings to mind Ben Johnson in the Olympics - only need a minor improvement to win a medal and break a record.

And yet... "such is life". ;)

me - I don't know if he is a drug "cheat" - he is a drug "addict".

At a guess I would say Cousins wasn't using drugs to better his performance on the field - he would have been using cos he was addicted to the stuff.

It was never confirmed that he was playing whilst on it - this is something we have all assumed. The guy never tested positive to drugs. It was something that he admitted.

So he made a massive mistake - he seemingly has/is doing the best he can do to get off the gear and move on with his life. Footy is part of his life - I'm sure he enjoys the sport + wants to be financially rewarded for doing something that he is one of the best at in Australia.

He should be given another chance to get his life back on track. He has been punished and now it is time to play footy again. He he stuffs up again it will be dealt with when it happens.

We all forget Shane Warne was a drug cheat - we all let him have another chance.

Seriously, as if Ice, coke or whatever has preformance enhancing qualities, he was a party animal. This does not help your mind or body. I am suprised he actually could still play at that level while doing that stuff.

If anyone beleives that it is preformance enhancing, go have a crack at it. Im sure it would have quite the opposite effect.

Isaac there is a bit of a difference between Steroids and cocaine/ecstasy. That's like saying I could have a cigarette and do a lot better in sports.

The sporting benefits that those recreational drugs Cousins had, were about the same as a red bull or cup of coffee. More so, they are dangerous as they elevate the heart rate (way more then coffee), therefore that would not be good playing a high level sport with an excessively high heart rate.

Let's get something into perspective here. Ben Cousins never failed a drug test, he voluntarily confessed to drug abuse, and withdrew to get treatment. He has been put through the wringer by the AFL Comission, which despite paying lip service to a comeback, has put absurd requirements on him. And all the while, there are several other unnamed players in the AFL who have 2 strikes against them under the AFL's joke of a drugs policy. Where are the values of his supporters? Right here. Drug addiction is a medical issue, not a criminal one. Kicking him to the kerb isn't going to help finish his rehabilitation, getting him onto the field to prove himself is.

I am very very supportive of giving people a second chance, but

I suggest you review the WHOLE story abut this particualer individual, he has had 2nd, 3rd, even 4th chances, he continually has exploited his supporters and anyone who has tried to help him.

is it performance enhancing?..the jury is out to be honest...but...

"Many top athletes take cocaine because they think that it improves their game. In 1884, Sigmund Freud, the father of psychiatry, showed that within minutes of snorting cocaine, a person can contract his muscles with more force and react faster to external stimuli. For example, a basketball player can dribble around an opponent and respond faster to moves to block him. Cocaine is a potent stimulant that makes an athlete more alert. It makes him feel that he can accomplish more and makes him willing to suffer more. A basketball player on cocaine may attempt to take shots further out from the basket than he usually does. A football player may play until he loses consciousness. These effects can last up to 3 hours."

A second chance would be to play a season in the WAFL etc..and prove he is clean.

Such is life... we shall se how his season pans out...i wonder if he will accidently miss any tests...or have his hair cut and body waxed prior to testing?

I dont hate the guy...and i truly hope he recovers from his addiction...Im just glad he is not around any impressionable young men that i know.

The first step to rehabilitation is acceptance that you have a problem. Would be nice to hear him say 'Sorry I screwed up, but I'm working to fix it' or something similar. Instead, all you see when he is interviewed is arrogance and smugness which gives the impression of him not really accepting he has a problem. Clubs would not touch him for a reason and it is no surprise that only a desperate for success club like Richmond have taken the gamble. I'm all for giving people a second chance but it seems to me Ben Cousins still believes the world owes him.

That's like saying I could have a cigarette and do a lot better in sports.

...within a two-hour window, you may actually have some enhancement - overcoming fatigue, reaction time, and so on.

Awesome.....Round 1......Judd V Cousins

Richmond supporters are dreaming if they think Benny is going to be the saviour down at Tigerland

Im glad someone picked him just to stick it up the AFL and Demetriou....who obviously took every step to deny him a place back in the AFL

You don't think his 500K Price Tag might have denied him a place by itself, without AFL involvement?

Good on Richmond for giving him a go, but I love seeing a team Crow "YOUTH" over and over, then do what they've done.

If they're paying him ANYWHERE near his reported asking price, then they are soft in the head.

Good Luck to him though.....I hope he plays it straight and proves what he can do again.

collingwood put a PI on him for 1 month prior to the draft to see what he was upto, and well he was still associating and visiting known dealers. guess thats why they pulled out, mcdermot was highlighting it on 5aa last night if he cant disassociate himself from druggies and drug dealers why should a club take a risk. apparently lions did the same and felt his association with dealers regardless that hes nolonger a user created to greater temptation for him and to greater risk for the club

DICKO...As I understood it, the Tigers only had about $120K left in their salary cap...so, a bargain buy i think.
(I stand to be corrected)

Wasn't Dimmatina going to chuck in $300k if the Tigers signed Cousins?

rotate - nowhere have I ever read that Jordan popped 3 no-doze before a game. It is known that Scottie Pippen did, but MJ did not.

For all you Tiger bashers out there - screw you and your mum!

A good pick for the mighty Tigers I say. They have been blooding youth for a few years now and to keep drafting youth without worrying about the now would have been foolish IMO. We need to make some finals now and a fully fit and firing Ben Cousins would no doubt help that. But like someone said he is not the saviour - Nathan Brown, Mark Coughlan, Nathan Foley, Brett Deledio etc are. There is a lot of talent at Richmond (not to mention one of the greatest men of all time, Sir Matthew Richardson in top form). I think 2009 will be a finals campaign for the Tigers.

Cos we're from Tiiiger, YELLOW AND BLACK, oh we're from TIIIIIGERRR LANDDDDDDD

Sorry Lockstock - poorly worded , was referring to him having 2-3 coffees before each match . That is common knowledge ,Pippen followed suit on that one .

Can't see him staying clean. The drugs in question are very very heavy, the lifestyle is crazy enough as it is, and the temptations will be to much to handle! If he gets some sort of serious injury, how do people think he is going to cope with the dissapointment of it?? Where will his 'escape' from the media lie? Richmond will have to put him on 24 hour watch! C'mon we all wish the best for Cousins, and Australia loves an underdog, but I cant see a fairytale finish. Double edged sword though, because imagine what he would be feeling at this very moment had he not been drafted...and yet again where would he find his 'escape'?

From a humanitarian point of view I hope to be stood corrected!

All sweet rotate! I gotta say, getting your "Wings" before a game always used to help me, and I needed all the help I could get...

"They have been blooding youth for a few years now and to keep drafting youth without worrying about the now would have been foolish IMO."

To start drafting 30 y/o's without worrying about the next few draft's being practically reserved for GC17 is foolish IMO.

Richmond are never going to be a contender in the 1-3 years with Cuz there, no matter how good you think they are. They would have been better off drafting a 5-10yr player like Rockliff, Klemke or DeBoer.

Although I'd love for it to be the case, I don't think we will be contenders for the prem.. however I think we are definitely contenders to finish in the top 8 and if we can see out 2-3 weeks in the finals over the next couple of years that will bring considerable sponsorship money, membership money and faith back in the Tiger camp. That is what we need and what matters right now, not some 18 year old kid who could potentially make a difference in 3-5 years time.

I agree it is a risky move, given his hamstring injury in his last comeback especially and his alleged links to dodgy people, but sometimes a gamble pays off and if he hits top form then he is a matchwinner. Who are we to question King Kevin Sheedy, who recommended the man?!

YELLOW AND BLACK

lots of things are performance enhancing,

who here is old enough to remember the australian fencer who won olympic gold only to have it stripped because he had consumed to much caffine before the match and the fencing association deemed caffine to have a performance enhancing attribute.

Thomo

The levels of caffiene that the Fencer had in his system were extremely high. Most sports allow a certain level of things like coffee etc.

I cannot remember exactly but it was something like a normal everyday athelete is allowed a caffiene level of 4ppm and this bloke had around 40....

The exact levels are a bit hazy from such a long time ago. It must be the Altzheimers kicking in....

....and before anyone says anything, I know, Altzheimers has a greater effect on the short term memory.

lol i couldnt remember either sturty but i have just been reliably informed by my old man he had the equivelent of 30 cups of coffee in his system

that wouldnt inhance me it would make piss alot but thats about it, i guess the flow on effect it could be a solution to fill the murray up

I also believe that one of the final paragraphs in the report mentioned that the recorded levels of this athelete would make him super alert or words to that affect.....

Ya' think!