Brendan Fevola of Carlton comforts Ben Cousins of Richmond as Cousins hobbles from the field during the AFL Round 01 match between the Richmond Tigers and the Carlton Blues at the MCG.
Ben Cousins’ return to AFL footy was never going to be easy. His time at Richmond has been closely scrutinised, and after a fruitful 2009 season in which he came fifth in the Richmond best and fairest, he’s making the wrong headlines again.
The unsavoury incident on the weekend involving a scuffle with Daniel Connors at the teams’ Sydney hotel has led to some detractors questioning his value in the side and calling for him to retire sooner rather than later.
But he should see out the season and fulfil his contract.
Although it’s almost certain he’ll finish his career after the 2010 season’s end, he still has a lot to offer the Tigers, with 19 games remaining in the current campaign.
Richmond won’t be playing finals this year, or next year for that matter.
However, the wealth of experience he presents as an elite player can only benefit the Tigers going forward.
An argument has been mounted by many that by playing Cousins, Richmond aren’t looking to the future as he’s taking a young player’s spot in the side.
What many people fail to realise is you can’t fill a team completely full of kids.
Cousins’ on-field experience is invaluable – not solely for the purpose of trying to win games, but to also educate those around him.
A team needs old heads to guide the young chargers through games and the best way for these young recruits to improve is to play alongside seasoned players, particularly those players who have tasted success in the past.
The youngsters at Tigerland could learn a hell of a lot from a former Brownlow medallist and premiership player in Cousins.
And it’s not as if Richmond haven’t afforded opportunities to their young cubs this year. Dustin Martin, Ben Nason and Relton Roberts have been selected on more than one occasion, whereas they might struggle to get games at clubs that are already up and running.
Whilst the likes Nason and Roberts have shown potential, it would be much harder for them to get a run if they were at St. Kilda or Geelong because they are in the embryonic stage of their careers.
Moving to the training track, Cousins’ time at the Tigers has been influential. He’s shown a new level of professionalism that many at the club hadn’t yet experienced before his arrival.
An example of his professional influence is the way Cousins’ goes about his weights routine, which involves carrying a football with him in between circuits.
After viewing this approach, for the next weights session other Richmond players were seen walking around the weights room with a footy in their hands as well.
It’s those little things that are so frequently overlooked by many football pundits, but it’s those little things that help build a professional football culture which Richmond so desperately needs.
However in presenting these positives, it must be said that Cousins needs to help himself by avoiding situations such as the Connors incident to continue playing this season.
Staying out to 3am in the morning, as innocent as he was, doesn’t help his standing, especially when there are rumours about him floating around regarding binge drinking and drug relapses.
Sadly for him he’s unable to shake his past which continues to feed the rumour mill that quite often pumps out rubbish from certain football identities.
The latest dig at Cousins from Rick Olarenshaw was despicable.
His flippant and unfounded remark on Melbourne radio regarding Cousins sinking back into drug addiction was a cheap shot.
During his career Ben Cousins took plenty of hits on the field and he rarely retaliated. To his detriment, he plays the media game in the same fashion, he rarely bites back at scandalous comments that continue to hamper the remnants of his career.
Maybe it’s high time he fights back.
Hopefully Ben Cousins will ride out the difficult start to the season and bring his best football to the park once again – for his sake and for Richmond’s. The way he plays out the remainder of the season could influence how some footy fans will remember his footy career.
Unfortunately for Cousins and the Tigers, his reputation is a black cloud that will continue to rain on him now, and forever.
No matter what happens, at the end of the season, Daniel Connors owes him a beer for the latest trouble.
Well, maybe a lemonade.
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