Cousins determined to pass every hurdle, says Fraser

St Kilda chief executive Archie Fraser says it is no surprise Ben Cousins has tested drug-free, given his resolve to return to the AFL.

Fraser said the Saints, regarded as the frontrunners for Cousins’ services, had been in regular contact with the recovering drug addict in the lead-up to the AFL Commission meeting which will determine the outcome of his comeback bid next Tuesday.

He said the 30-year-old former West Coast skipper had made it clear how important an AFL return was in his recovery process and that he would do whatever he could to make it happen.

Cousins has passed one hurdle in his bid to be re-registered - a urine sample recently submitted to the AFL was found to be clear, News Limited reported today.

“You’d expect that, I think he’s committed to playing football and I think he understands that one more hiccup and it would be all over,” Fraser said today.

“It’s a big part of Ben’s rehab, he wants to play footy and I think he’ll do everything possible to make sure the commission make the decision based on as much information as they can have.

“So that doesn’t surprise me, I think he’s well and truly committed to playing footy.”

But Fraser said he had not spent enough time with the 2005 Brownlow Medallist to uncover much about his state of mind beyond his strong desire to return.

Cousins’ manager Ricky Nixon said earlier this week that the player and his family and associates were experiencing a near “volcanic” level of stress as the commission meeting neared.

“I haven’t met him enough to say whether he’s in a positive state of mind or a negative state,” Fraser said.

“But I certainly know that he wants to play football … at the highest level again and he feels it’s an important part of his rehabilitation.”

Fraser said the Saints were still conducting their own investigations into Cousins’ readiness to return and had not yet made a firm commitment to him.

“We just want to make sure that if it’s right for the club that we’ve done everything and if it’s right for Ben, we’ve made all the enquiries we need to make to make sure we make the correct decision,” he said.

New Brisbane coach Michael Voss said yesterday the Lions were also interested in talking to Cousins.

But Fraser said it was too early to talk about the Saints’ recruiting tactics, should a two-way battle develop for the four-time Eagles’ best and fairest.

“We’re not at a point of making a decision on that yet,” he said.

“At the end of the day, Brisbane have got picks before us, they finished below us so they’ll have picks before us in every draft.

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