Former AFL champion Ben Cousins has turned his turbulent life around after a heartbreaking battle with drug addiction, but there’s still one big regret that he can’t shake.
Cousins played 238 games and booted 205 goals for West Coast between 1996 and 2007, winning the premiership in his penultimate season in Perth.
The former midfielder captained the Eagles from 2001 to 2005, securing the club’s best and fairest award in four out of those five seasons.
He was suspended by the club in March 2007 – just six months after the grand final triumph over Sydney – for alleged substance abuse and sacked six months later after being arrested for drug possession and refusing to submit to a blood test.
Ben Cousins says his big regret is the amount of time it took to turn his life around as his struggle with addiction ended his footy career
The champion player spent many years battling his drugs demons – but can now joke about spending time in jail
He returned to the AFL in 2009 with Richmond, before retiring at the end of the 2010 season.
Cousins was jailed on six separate occasions in 13 years and spent seven months behind bars in 2020, when he apparently decided enough was enough.
The 45-year-old is now on the right path and is reading the news for Seven in Western Australia, and is set to appear on Dancing With The Stars.
Appearing on The Front Bar on Wednesday night, Cousins said he only regrets how long it took to get clean.
‘I wish it hadn’t had to have taken this long, and had to run its course the way it did,’ he said.
Most Front Bar guests have a beer while they’re being interviewed – but Cousins drank from a bottle of water instead (pictured)
The former Brownlow Medal winner says that his life now has never been better
‘But yeah, it’s nice to be working and busy, have some real ambition back, and, you know, just connected back in with friends, family, and even on a community level, you know.
‘Life’s never been better, to be honest.’
Beer brand Furphy sponsors the show, with hosts Andy Maher, Mick Molloy and Sam Pang regularly seen with a glass in front of them – but in a telling reminder that he has to stay vigilant about his demons, Cousins drank from bottle of water while most other guests opt for a lager.
When asked about his new job reading the sports news for Channel Seven in Perth, Cousins hit back with a joke.
‘It’s much easier than being the news,’ he said.
Cousins also spoke about his time spent at Richmond, saying he’s eternally grateful to the club for taking a punt on him.
‘I don’t like Richmond – I love Richmond,’ he said.
‘I will forever stay connected to the group and the footy club because they played such an important part in my life, which far exceeds football.
Cousins said he will always have a place in his heart for Richmond after the club took a gamble with him when he was cut by the Eagles
‘But even in just a pure football sense, one of the great things about not finishing up at West Coast was the opportunity to come here (to Melbourne) and play football.
‘I’d spent 10 years coming every second week, (so) by the time I moved here, probably three of my closest five mates lived here.
‘But it wasn’t until I got into the fabric and lived here that I learned to love the place, Melbourne, but Richmond was a big part of that.
‘We had some tough times on the field, but even after I finished up, to just sit back as a supporter and fan of the footy club from afar, to be on the ride with the Tigers, there were a good eight or nine guys (that I played with) that went on to play in premierships and steer the club through a dynasty.
‘To watch that from afar has been one of the great joys of my footy life.’
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