Former AFL star Ben Cousins has opened up about the road to recovery from his very public battle with substance abuse.
The one-time Brownlow Medalist’s problems with drug addiction became extremely publicised after he was forced to resign as captain of West Coast Eagles in 2006.
The 44-year-old had fled an RBT before it was revealed he had a problem.
He spent time in rehab following the incident, however, was arrested for drug possession the following year.
He was banned from the AFL for 12 months, returning in 2009 for a two-season stint at Richmond before pulling down the curtains on his retirement.
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His life subsequently spiralled out of control, leading to further battles with drugs and legal issues, as well as 12-mont prison sentence in 2017 for stalking former partner Maylea Tinecheff.
However, more recently he has shown huge signs of improvement in both mental and physical well-being.
He returned to football by playing in the Perth Metro Football League, is now a full-time scaffolder, and even impressed in a TV segment about AFL on 7 News Perth.
Speaking in Bunbury, as per The West Australian, he said: “It just gets back to being happy and for a long time, I hadn’t been and I had those fleeting moments where I thought I was kidding myself just to try and get by.
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“It’s been a big struggle but today I sit here and it’s not in any way about the things I’ve given up or had to give up or sacrifice, it’s all about things I can give back.”
He also shared his gratitude to Richmond for giving him a chance during his troubling times.
He said: “I played the majority of my football at West Coast and never once did I entertain the idea of leaving West Coast or did I ever see my future being anything other than a one-team player but obviously what happened, happened.
“One of the great things about that whole situation was the opportunity that I got to play for Richmond who were sort of brave enough to take it on and pick me up.
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“I was desperate to play, I was no guarantee to get picked up and there was a circus that sort of followed me for the past 12 or 18 months.
“As much as I would have loved for it to be just a football decision, it really wasn’t.
“I’m forever grateful. (Richmond) were a fantastic club to play for.
“I had two pretty tough years on field but it’s been amazing to be at that footy club at that time with a handful of that core group that was able to go on and build something from those days and win those three grand finals and have that dynasty.”
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The former Premiership winner has slowly but surely become more prominent in the AFL world following his troubles.
Last year he appeared on the Brownlow Medal red carpet.
Topics: Australia, Australia Afl
Jayden Collins