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Controversial midfielder Ben Cousins has announced his AFL retirement, paying tribute to his family and both the clubs he represented, West Coast and Richmond.
Cousins, 32, said he was proud to be able to leave the sport on his own terms.
“I am forever indebted to the (Richmond) football club for the opportunity to play footy again,” Cousins told a packed media conference at Richmond’s Punt Road headquarters.
“I understand there were associated risks with picking me up.”
Cousins said he planned to remain in Melbourne and hoped to have a continuing close relationship with Richmond, the only club prepared to take a gamble on him in the 2008 pre-season draft.
Cousins approached the Tigers last week, telling them he thought it was time to retire, even though on current form he remained one of the Tigers’ better players.
He will round out his career with Richmond’s final two games against St Kilda and Port Adelaide.
“By walking away from the game now I can walk away in a positive light,” he said.
“… I’ve had to endure a fair bit over the last few years.
“The game is getting harder and it can pass you by very quickly … I just think that I’ve worked too hard over the last few years not to go out on my own terms.”
He paid tribute to many current and former office-holders at Richmond including coach Damien Hardwick and his predecessor Terry Wallace, CEO Brendon Gale, president Gary March, general manager of football Craig Cameron, captain Chris Newman and the players.
And Cousins also thanked the people at West Coast, the club where he played the majority of his celebrated career.
Hardwick paid tribute to the influence Cousins had had on his young side.
“From a coaching perspective we would like him to play have played another year … but from a personal point of view we understand,” said Hardwick.
” … the Richmond football club as a whole is a better club for having him come through our environment.”
Cousins’ retirement dovetails perfectly with the scheduling of the television documentary detailing his drug addiction and rehabilitation, which will air on August 25 and 26 on the Seven Network.
Despite the club’s struggles, his time at Richmond has been mostly successful on-field, though it hasn’t been without its off-field moments.
He was suspended for one match by the Tigers earlier this year for misbehaviour over an incident following an away match in Sydney.
There was also a health scare in early July when the club said he had been hospitalised because of a bad reaction to a sleeping tablet.
Cousins turned his life and sporting career around at Richmond after he had been suspended for a year by the AFL in 2008 for bringing the game into disrepute.
The Eagles sacked the 2005 Brownlow medallist in late 2007 citing an accumulation of incidents, the last of which was his arrest by WA police when he was charged with possessing a prohibited drug and failing to comply with a requirement to undergo a driver assessment.
Both charges were subsequently withdrawn.
FACTBOX ON BEN COUSINS, WHO ANNOUNCED TODAY HE WILL RETIRE AT THE END OF THE 2010 AFL SEASON.
Born: June 30, 1978
Senior debut: For West Coast, 1996
Playing honours: West Coast 238 games, Richmond 30 (current).
2005 Brownlow Medal; 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 West Coast best and fairest; six-time All Australian; 2006 premiership player; Eagles captain 2001-05.2006
February: Runs from booze bus in Perth suburb. Later confirms to police he was driving the car but refuses to answer questions. Stands down from the West Coast captaincy.
September: Wins Brownlow Medal.
September: Joins the man who replaced him as captain, Chris Judd, on the premiership dais after West Coast beat Sydney in the grand final by one point.
2007
March: West Coast suspend Cousins indefinitely for missing training sessions. Father Bryan confirms his son has a “substance abuse” problem.
July: Returns to training and ends his suspension. Makes his comeback against Sydney in round 16 and is one of his side’s best players.
September: Cousins tears a hamstring to end his season as West Coast are beaten by Port Adelaide by three points in their qualifying final.
October: Arrested by WA police in Perth and charged with possessing a prohibited drug and failing to comply with a requirement to undergo a driver assessment. Both charges are subsequently withdrawn. West Coast sack Cousins, citing an accumulation of incidents.
November: Suspended from the AFL for 12 months after the AFL Commission finds him guilty of bringing the game into disrepute.
2008
November: The AFL Commission rules that Cousins can return to the competition, subject to him agreeing to stringent anti-doping protocols.
December: Richmond recruit Cousins with pick No.6 in pre-season draft.
2009
March: Suffers hamstring injury in first regular-season match for Richmond, misses next five games.
2010
March: Twice hospitalised for stomach pain.
April: Suspended for one week for role in player misbehaviour which saw teammate Daniel Connors banned for eight weeks.
July: Admitted to hospital intensive care ward for two days after overdosing on sleeping medication, misses one AFL game.
August: Channel Seven announce they will screen Cousins’ documentary on August 25-26. The two-part documentary details his drug addiction and rehabilitation.
August 17: Announces retirement.
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