Former AFL champion Ben Cousins has turned his turbulent life around after a harrowing battle with drug addiction, but there is still one big regret he can’t shake.
Cousins played 238 games and scored 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, winning the club’s best and fairest award in four of those five seasons.
He was suspended by the club in March 2007, just six months after the grand final win 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 biggest regret is the amount of time it took him to turn his life around when his struggle with addiction ended his football career.
The champion player spent many years battling his drug 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 track and is reading Seven news in Western Australia, and will appear on Dancing With The Stars.
Appearing on The Front Bar on Wednesday night, Cousins said he only regrets the time it took him to get clean.
“I wish it hadn’t taken so long and had run its course like it did,” he said.
Most Front Bar guests have a beer while being interviewed, but Cousins drank from a water bottle (pictured)
Former Brownlow Medal winner says his life now has never been better
“But yeah, it’s nice to be working and busy, have a real ambition and, you know, reconnect with friends, family and even on a community level, you know.”
“To be honest, life has never been better.”
Beer brand Furphy sponsors the show, and hosts Andy Maher, Mick Molloy and Sam Pang are regularly seen with a glass in front of them, but in a telling reminder to stay alert to your demons, Cousins drank of a bottle of water while most other guests opt for a beer.
When asked about his new job reading sports news for Channel Seven in Perth, Cousins responded with a joke.
“It’s a lot easier than being in the news,” he said.
Cousins also spoke about his time at Richmond and said he is eternally grateful to the club for taking a chance on him.
“I don’t like Richmond, I love Richmond,” he said.
“I will always be connected to the group and the football club because they played a very important role in my life, which goes far beyond football.
Cousins said he will always have a place in his heart for Richmond after the club took a chance on him when he was released by the Eagles.
“But even in a purely football sense, one of the best things about not ending up on the West Coast was the opportunity to come here (to Melbourne) and play football.
‘I had spent 10 years coming every two weeks, (so) when I moved here, probably three of my five closest friends lived here.
‘But it wasn’t until I got into the structure 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 pitch, but even after I finished, to just sit back as a supporter and fan of the football club from afar, to be on the road with the Tigers, there were a good eight or nine lads (with whom) played) who went on to hold premierships and led the club through a dynasty.
“Seeing that from afar has been one of the great joys of my football life.”