Ben Cousins

Ben Cousins

Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins (born 30 June 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with West Coast and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Cousins is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. During his eleven years with West Coast, he won several of the league's highest individual awards including a Brownlow Medal, Most Valuable Player and a premiership medallion, was selected six times in the All-Australian Team and represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He was West Coast's club champion for four seasons and captain for five seasons.

His football career has been marred by highly-publicised off-field incidents involving recreational drug use, traffic convictions and association with criminal elements. On several occasions he was fined or sanctioned by the West Coast Eagles, culminating in his contract's termination on 17 October 2007. On 19 November he was banned from AFL for one year by the AFL Commission for "bringing the game into disrepute". Cousins was cleared to return to football in 2009 and was drafted by Richmond Football Club on 16 December 2008. He retired from the game at the end of the 2010 season.