Was thinking the same thing.rama_fan wrote:I'm sure Sheeds is already plotting a plan to get him at Essendon.
Ben Cousins Suspended
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bomber_boy
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Who cares what he does with his personal life. How many of you guys or people you know ever been involved with drugs and alchohol abuse. He is getting paid too play football, he didnt turn up for training and he has been suspended from the club. I dont care what he does the guy is an awesome footballer. Imagine if the publicity was anything like it is today back in the 80s. Im sure plenty of essendon players would have found themselves in a bit of strife.
As for Cousins, I hope too see him back playing footy soon because he is a brownlow medallist and premiership player who I would have in our starting 22 for round one because he as a footballer would be in the top 20 in the league.
As for Cousins, I hope too see him back playing footy soon because he is a brownlow medallist and premiership player who I would have in our starting 22 for round one because he as a footballer would be in the top 20 in the league.
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rama_fan
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bomber_boy wrote:Who cares what he does with his personal life. How many of you guys or people you know ever been involved with drugs and alchohol abuse. He is getting paid too play football, he didnt turn up for training and he has been suspended from the club. I dont care what he does the guy is an awesome footballer. Imagine if the publicity was anything like it is today back in the 80s. Im sure plenty of essendon players would have found themselves in a bit of strife.
As for Cousins, I hope too see him back playing footy soon because he is a brownlow medallist and premiership player who I would have in our starting 22 for round one because he as a footballer would be in the top 20 in the league.
Football today has gone beyond the point where it's simply a matter of playing footy. It is big business. The club could lose sponsorship because of his behaviour as well as lose some of it's members.
Also this does little for team harmony and doesn't set a good example for the younger guys at the club, if he is let to get away with this then every player at the club would be in a position to think the same think. And if a younger guy is out seeing him snort coke over the stomach of some glamour queen and then see him play amazing football the next week then those younger guys will again be in a position to feel they can do the same thing.
Cousins is a dangerous cancer, and they did what they had to do.
Apparently his club does.bomber_boy wrote:Who cares what he does with his personal life.
What's that got to do with anything?How many of you guys or people you know ever been involved with drugs and alchohol abuse.
And THIS punishment fits THAT "crime"?He is getting paid too play football, he didnt turn up for training and he has been suspended from the club.
So was Gary Ablett Snr, but he has since been disgraced for his destructive drug habits.I dont care what he does the guy is an awesome footballer.
Well today is today isn't it?Imagine if the publicity was anything like it is today back in the 80s. Im sure plenty of essendon players would have found themselves in a bit of strife.
No-one is denying his footballing ability. And you can't deny that he's gone completely troppo....As for Cousins, I hope too see him back playing footy soon because he is a brownlow medallist and premiership player who I would have in our starting 22 for round one because he as a footballer would be in the top 20 in the league.
Nice work Benny. Maybe stop being so selfish and realise that the success of my dream team is more important than your pansy 'personal issues'...How Ben Cousins blew it
Michael Warner and Sam Edmund
March 21, 2007 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun
A BROKEN relationship followed by a punch-up and allegations of an alcohol and drugs-fuelled bender may have cost Ben Cousins his $800,000-a-year football career.
The West Coast Eagles yesterday suspended their troubled star indefinitely to deal with "private and personal" problems.
Cousins, 28, a Brownlow medallist two years ago, is in hiding.
The official reason for the punishment is that he has missed training sessions.
But the ban comes after a litany of indiscretions that include running from a booze bus, socialising with underworld figures, fighting a teammate in public and being arrested after a drinking session.
The Herald Sun has learned a recent series of crises has rocked the champion.
Cousins is believed to have gone on a party spree after splitting with girlfriend Samantha Druce about three weeks ago.
But events over the past 48 hours are believed to have forced the club to act.
Tensions over Cousins' behaviour erupted into a punch-up between teammates Daniel Chick and Andrew Embley on Sunday. Cousins has been living with Chick since his split with Ms Druce.
The former Eagles skipper is said to have attended the club's jumper presentation on the same day in an unsatisfactory state.
The final straw came on Monday when Cousins failed to attend two scheduled training sessions.
The club tracked down their wayward star and he was given a drug test.
Eagles' chief Dalton Gooding said the results would take several weeks.
Gooding said the length of the ban would depend on how long it took Cousins to overcome his problems.
"That may be weeks, it may be months, it may be a year," he said.
"Ben has got a number of private and personal issues he needs to deal with.
"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 and tackle these personal and private issues head on."
Asked if the problems were drug-related, he said: "Very personal and private issues, and our club is prepared to work with Ben."
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the Eagles' stand sent a message to every league player.
"I'd say to Ben Cousins that you've been given a message and the message is to go away, get your life in order, get back on the field and do what you do best," he said.
"For any other player out there who thinks he can buck the system, (he) should learn a big lesson from the Ben Cousins incident.
"No one has told me that this issue relating to Ben Cousins is in any way related to our drug policy, it's a personal issue."
The Cousins crisis had an immediate impact on premiership betting, with the Eagles drifting from $4.60 to $5.50 with TAB Sportsbet.
Other agencies suspended betting on the Brownlow Medal.
Gooding yesterday refused several times to elaborate on Cousins' personal issues.
But he confirmed the champion was one of three Eagles drug-tested on Monday.
He also admitted grand final hero Chick and Norm Smith medallist Embley were involved in a confrontation over Cousins.
"There was an altercation between those two players . . . over Ben Cousins and a domestic issue," Gooding said.
"Certainly (coach) John Worsfold will be working Daniel Chick and Andrew Embley to sort that issue out, and I have enormous confidence in John's ability to do that.
"I think that will resolved fairly quickly."
The chairman said the club had sought legal advice over whether it had to continue to pay Cousins' wages.
Cousins has also been suspended from training with the Eagles and playing with his WAFL side, East Fremantle.
While he might never pull on an Eagles jumper again, lawyers said the club could not stop him playing elsewhere.
"In my view, if Ben Cousins was suspended for any unduly long period of time that would constitute a restraint of trade and could be challenged in the courts," said Melbourne barrister Paul Hayes, a sports law specialist.
As recently as last week, Gooding admitted a "minority" of Eagles players had drug and alcohol problems.
In October, several Eagles were celebrating in Las Vegas when Chad Fletcher collapsed and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Gooding said he was "not sure" if Fletcher's illness was drug-related.
Cousins was stripped of the West Coast captaincy last year after he fled from a police booze bus.
Four months ago he was arrested in Melbourne for being drunk outside Crown Casino at 4.30am.
Teammate Daniel Kerr has been arrested twice recently – once for an alleged assault at a party and again for an admitted assault on a taxi driver in a hospital car park.
In other public disgraces, Cousins was questioned by police in May 2005 over a Perth nightclub brawl involving underworld figure John Kizon, whom he and former teammate Michael Gardiner had socialised with.
In 2002, Cousins was involved in a fight with Kerr outside a Perth nightclub, and during the same post-season celebrations Cousins broke his arm.
The Eagles have won just one of four pre-season games in 2007 as they begin their defence of last year's premiership.
In an interview on the club's website last week, the six-time All-Australian said he was primed for another successful season.
"While the training has been intense, there is no substitute for match play and I am keen to get out there again. I will play in this game and then have a break before the first game at Telstra Stadium," he said.
Michael Warner and Sam Edmund
March 21, 2007 12:00am
Article from: Herald-Sun
A BROKEN relationship followed by a punch-up and allegations of an alcohol and drugs-fuelled bender may have cost Ben Cousins his $800,000-a-year football career.
The West Coast Eagles yesterday suspended their troubled star indefinitely to deal with "private and personal" problems.
Cousins, 28, a Brownlow medallist two years ago, is in hiding.
The official reason for the punishment is that he has missed training sessions.
But the ban comes after a litany of indiscretions that include running from a booze bus, socialising with underworld figures, fighting a teammate in public and being arrested after a drinking session.
The Herald Sun has learned a recent series of crises has rocked the champion.
Cousins is believed to have gone on a party spree after splitting with girlfriend Samantha Druce about three weeks ago.
But events over the past 48 hours are believed to have forced the club to act.
Tensions over Cousins' behaviour erupted into a punch-up between teammates Daniel Chick and Andrew Embley on Sunday. Cousins has been living with Chick since his split with Ms Druce.
The former Eagles skipper is said to have attended the club's jumper presentation on the same day in an unsatisfactory state.
The final straw came on Monday when Cousins failed to attend two scheduled training sessions.
The club tracked down their wayward star and he was given a drug test.
Eagles' chief Dalton Gooding said the results would take several weeks.
Gooding said the length of the ban would depend on how long it took Cousins to overcome his problems.
"That may be weeks, it may be months, it may be a year," he said.
"Ben has got a number of private and personal issues he needs to deal with.
"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 and tackle these personal and private issues head on."
Asked if the problems were drug-related, he said: "Very personal and private issues, and our club is prepared to work with Ben."
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the Eagles' stand sent a message to every league player.
"I'd say to Ben Cousins that you've been given a message and the message is to go away, get your life in order, get back on the field and do what you do best," he said.
"For any other player out there who thinks he can buck the system, (he) should learn a big lesson from the Ben Cousins incident.
"No one has told me that this issue relating to Ben Cousins is in any way related to our drug policy, it's a personal issue."
The Cousins crisis had an immediate impact on premiership betting, with the Eagles drifting from $4.60 to $5.50 with TAB Sportsbet.
Other agencies suspended betting on the Brownlow Medal.
Gooding yesterday refused several times to elaborate on Cousins' personal issues.
But he confirmed the champion was one of three Eagles drug-tested on Monday.
He also admitted grand final hero Chick and Norm Smith medallist Embley were involved in a confrontation over Cousins.
"There was an altercation between those two players . . . over Ben Cousins and a domestic issue," Gooding said.
"Certainly (coach) John Worsfold will be working Daniel Chick and Andrew Embley to sort that issue out, and I have enormous confidence in John's ability to do that.
"I think that will resolved fairly quickly."
The chairman said the club had sought legal advice over whether it had to continue to pay Cousins' wages.
Cousins has also been suspended from training with the Eagles and playing with his WAFL side, East Fremantle.
While he might never pull on an Eagles jumper again, lawyers said the club could not stop him playing elsewhere.
"In my view, if Ben Cousins was suspended for any unduly long period of time that would constitute a restraint of trade and could be challenged in the courts," said Melbourne barrister Paul Hayes, a sports law specialist.
As recently as last week, Gooding admitted a "minority" of Eagles players had drug and alcohol problems.
In October, several Eagles were celebrating in Las Vegas when Chad Fletcher collapsed and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Gooding said he was "not sure" if Fletcher's illness was drug-related.
Cousins was stripped of the West Coast captaincy last year after he fled from a police booze bus.
Four months ago he was arrested in Melbourne for being drunk outside Crown Casino at 4.30am.
Teammate Daniel Kerr has been arrested twice recently – once for an alleged assault at a party and again for an admitted assault on a taxi driver in a hospital car park.
In other public disgraces, Cousins was questioned by police in May 2005 over a Perth nightclub brawl involving underworld figure John Kizon, whom he and former teammate Michael Gardiner had socialised with.
In 2002, Cousins was involved in a fight with Kerr outside a Perth nightclub, and during the same post-season celebrations Cousins broke his arm.
The Eagles have won just one of four pre-season games in 2007 as they begin their defence of last year's premiership.
In an interview on the club's website last week, the six-time All-Australian said he was primed for another successful season.
"While the training has been intense, there is no substitute for match play and I am keen to get out there again. I will play in this game and then have a break before the first game at Telstra Stadium," he said.
Embley came around to Chick's house (where Cousins was staying) with Druce, maybe flaunting the fact he has been cutting cousin's grass.lozza89 wrote:His actions have already taken it's toll on their players (chick and embley). West Coast did the right thing to get him away from the club for a while, because i'm sure it would of taken it's toll on alot more players than just those two if he had of stayed there any longer.
News footage last night of Chick leaving training (was also absent from the same two training sessions) looked like this will take more than a chat with Woosha to sort this out.
Embley also bought his wife around as well. I think you're jumping to conclusions in relation to lunch-cutting.Stocksy wrote:
Embley came around to Chick's house (where Cousins was staying) with Druce, maybe flaunting the fact he has been cutting cousin's grass.
Does sound very strange though. There is obviously a lot more to this than we are aware of.The Age wrote: What should have been a happy weekend for the club — most players attended a party thrown by teammate Michael Braun on Saturday and the jumper presentation took place on Sunday — instead turned to scandal when Embley and his wife Rayne accompanied Ms Druce to Cousins' house.
We will probably never know the whole story either Staggy. No shortage of speculation floating around though.
We could be about to watch the destruction though of a team that was capable of repeating Brisbanes 3peat. Maybe it will unfold in round one like this -
Can just see it now "Braun handpasses to Fletcher, who hanpasses to Embley, he has a paddock in front of him, one bounce, two bounces WHACK... Chick has just shirtfronted Embley, He hasnt moved, wait now there's an all in brawl, with just Eagles players in attendance, well at least they have turned up for this meeting"
We could be about to watch the destruction though of a team that was capable of repeating Brisbanes 3peat. Maybe it will unfold in round one like this -
Can just see it now "Braun handpasses to Fletcher, who hanpasses to Embley, he has a paddock in front of him, one bounce, two bounces WHACK... Chick has just shirtfronted Embley, He hasnt moved, wait now there's an all in brawl, with just Eagles players in attendance, well at least they have turned up for this meeting"
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jimmyc1985
- Champion of Essendon
- Posts: 5869
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:33 pm
- Location: Position A
Perhaps some Perth/WA BT'ers could help me out with this. It might be a slightly flimsy or airy-fairy comment, but nonetheless....
One thing that the sporting media seems to have neglected is that, with the way things are at the moment in WA, the Eagles players' behaviour is a subset of a wider trend throughout the State. I'm referring to the economic circumstances that are in place in WA at the moment and the consequences that has brought about. I haven't been to Perth for 4 or 5 years so i'm acting only on what i've read and heard, but i've been hearing from people who've been there very recently that, at the 'top of the tree', things are just going berserk at the moment; there's money everywhere, and when young people in particular have so much money they don't know what to do with it, there's the tendency to spend it in improper ways. My boss from work went there for some conference last week and tells me there's 20-something tradies driving round in $100,000 cars wearing designer jeans, and i've read that some engineering/science grads are getting almost six figure salaries straight out of uni to work for the big mining companies. Is this so, and is it conceivable that the Eagles players' growing incidences of misbehaviour is linked to the fact that "everyone's doing it"?
In some respects, WA at the moment represents the heady days of the late 80's (before the recession). The boom economic times then was an Australia-wide phenomenon, and apparently footy stars got in on the act of indulging in the economic good times back then as well. Many people are enjoying phenomenal financial success at the moment in WA, and i just wonder if the Eagles have been somehow swept up in this trend and this has led to their increasingly poor behaviour?
One thing that the sporting media seems to have neglected is that, with the way things are at the moment in WA, the Eagles players' behaviour is a subset of a wider trend throughout the State. I'm referring to the economic circumstances that are in place in WA at the moment and the consequences that has brought about. I haven't been to Perth for 4 or 5 years so i'm acting only on what i've read and heard, but i've been hearing from people who've been there very recently that, at the 'top of the tree', things are just going berserk at the moment; there's money everywhere, and when young people in particular have so much money they don't know what to do with it, there's the tendency to spend it in improper ways. My boss from work went there for some conference last week and tells me there's 20-something tradies driving round in $100,000 cars wearing designer jeans, and i've read that some engineering/science grads are getting almost six figure salaries straight out of uni to work for the big mining companies. Is this so, and is it conceivable that the Eagles players' growing incidences of misbehaviour is linked to the fact that "everyone's doing it"?
In some respects, WA at the moment represents the heady days of the late 80's (before the recession). The boom economic times then was an Australia-wide phenomenon, and apparently footy stars got in on the act of indulging in the economic good times back then as well. Many people are enjoying phenomenal financial success at the moment in WA, and i just wonder if the Eagles have been somehow swept up in this trend and this has led to their increasingly poor behaviour?
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dingus
- Regular Senior Player
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I choose to jump to the conclusion that he's putting them both away.Staggy wrote:Embley also bought his wife around as well. I think you're jumping to conclusions in relation to lunch-cutting.Stocksy wrote:
Embley came around to Chick's house (where Cousins was staying) with Druce, maybe flaunting the fact he has been cutting cousin's grass.
Dingus - fair enough.
Jim - there is a boom in WA. Two of my engineer mates (one chemical, one geological) are both earning 120+ and they've only been over there for 2 years. Oh, and Joey Greco is a douchebag and I would punch his lights out if I ever met him. Hopefully one day he will get what's coming to him...
Jim - there is a boom in WA. Two of my engineer mates (one chemical, one geological) are both earning 120+ and they've only been over there for 2 years. Oh, and Joey Greco is a douchebag and I would punch his lights out if I ever met him. Hopefully one day he will get what's coming to him...
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jimmyc1985
- Champion of Essendon
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How dare you!? Leave Joey alone, he's the sanctimonious pillar of righteousness that society so desperately needsStaggy wrote:Jim - there is a boom in WA. Two of my engineer mates (one chemical, one geological) are both earning 120+ and they've only been over there for 2 years. Oh, and Joey Greco is a douchebag and I would punch his lights out if I ever met him. Hopefully one day he will get what's coming to him...
! He's already been stabbed and arrested whilst hosting the show, so if you want to punch his lights out i suggest you take a number and get in line 
. Funniest thing ever was him getting arrested for disturbing the peace on an episode a few weeks ago, and whilst he was getting shoved into the back of the cop car he looked down the barrel and uttered, finger in the air in the pose of an esteemed philosopher: "This is the price of justice, folks ". That was American TV at its finest.Re. WA, i think i might pick up a shovel and drive to the Pilbara and just see what happens. Others who did that 3 years ago are driving those huge f-off mining trucks for $200k p.a. Uni's overrated anyway!
Don't feel sorry for the club Ben as they need to share a significant part of the blame for this whole affair.BenDoolan wrote:I actually feel sorry for the club. They have some of their superstars who have tarnished the club's reputation over a number of years and now they are forced to take action. The club doesn't want to be known as the West Coast Illegals.
Just about everyone in Perth who knows anything about football is aware of the ongoing problems they have had with Cousins, Gardiner and Kerr.
West Coast have never drawn a line in the sand until last week and as a result are now in this ridiculous situation.
When Cousins ran from the booze bus last year, they took the captaincy off him only because of pressure from the AFL. Just after it was announced that Judd was taking over, Judd stated that Cousins was the spiritual leader of the club and would remain so...good message to show that they understood the seriousness of the situation
The Kerr belts the cabbie with the aerial he had broken from the cab...$5000 fine and no suspension....another good message about how seriously they viewed the situation.
Gardiner was only cut loose because they thought he had reached his use by date.
Dalton Gooding still says that he doesn't know what happened with Chad Fletcher even after all the media scrutiny and he doesn't know? why Cousins missed training either.
So don't waste any time feeling sorry for the Eagles...poor management from the top down has contributed to their problems and as far as I'm concerned, they are starting to reap the results that people over here have been expecting for some time.
"You can quote me on this... He is gawn" - bomberdonnie re Hurley's contract status 25 February 2012
A Boom? Same money in mining now as there was 5 years ago. Same amount of oportunities now as there was 10 years ago. However there is no one in the Pilbara earning $200k p.a for driving dump trucks. Plenty of mining oportunities available for anyone over here, as long as you can handle the dust and heat up north, or the dark cooler underground mines. Put up with shit house camp food for 2 to 4 weeks at a time and give up your life for the same amount of time.
Your kidding yourself if you think WA has a bigger problem than any other state because of this so called mining boom.
Your kidding yourself if you think WA has a bigger problem than any other state because of this so called mining boom.