sydneysharkbrisbane68
Bench
- Messages
- 4,591
From Fox sports website today.
Sharks had been tossing up for several weeks whether they should offer Cousins a second chance if he was suspended by the AFL Commission.
Full story below, i know its a slow day, so we didnt get Mason at least we can laugh at this.
Cousins can still play in 2008
By Daryl Timms
November 20, 2007 BEN Cousins may be banned from the AFL next year, but he is free to play in any other football competition in the country.
His original West Australian club, East Fremantle, is already considering whether to offer him a lifeline to play in the WAFL.
East Fremantle club president David Miller said the Sharks had been tossing up for several weeks whether they should offer Cousins a second chance if he was suspended by the AFL Commission.
He said if Cousins was well enough and playing was part of his rehabilitation, the club would look at giving him another chance if he asked to play.
"We haven't discussed it (yesterday's AFL ban) as a club and although it hasn't taken us by surprise, we haven't had a lot of time to think about it," Miller said.
"But we will be talking about it at our next board meeting, which is in a week's time. So we would leave it until then. He is our player through the AFL and the WAFL, but we will wait and see what happens because there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge."
East Fremantle recently appointed former Melbourne and Collingwood player Shane Woewodin as its coach for the next two years.
Woewodin, who won the 2000 Brownlow Medal while playing for Melbourne, returned home to Western Australia after retiring from the Magpies at the end of the 2004.
If Cousins decides to play again, it would make him Australia's most sought-after footballer.
He would be a financial bonanza for any club as a massive drawcard, including in the VFL.
Other clubs around Australia - in every state and territory - are expected to queue up for Cousins's services if he decides he wants to maintain his fitness and play.
"The club still believes it to be the case and we hope Ben can do that and successfully fight this problem," the Eagles said.
Although the AFL handed down a one-season suspension after it found Cousins guilty of bringing the league into disrepute, it cannot prevent him from playing football altogether.
Because the AFL Commission and not the AFL Tribunal handed down the suspension, he is eligible to play in any lesser league.
The AFL said last night it did not see Cousins's eligibility to continue playing next season as a loophole in its rules, but believed it gave him the option of staying fit and hopefully "clean" as he continued his drug rehabilitation program.
He will continue to be monitored by the AFL's medical experts next season and is expected to be subjected to drug testing.
They will advise the commission on whether there has been a relapse by Cousins, the likelihood of any such relapse, and whether the lifting of the suspension in 12 months' time is in the player's and/or the AFL's best interests.
Despite suggestions Cousins would be better off out of Western Australia as he rehabilitates himself against his self-confessed drug addiction, WA football commentator and former Eagle Adrian Barich said support for Cousins in Perth remained high.
But Barich said there were people who questioned whether the AFL commissioners were hypocrites given the behaviour of at least one Melbourne-based club.
"They are saying what about the other club that is having similar problems?" Barich said.
"Have they been bringing the game into disrepute again?"
Barich said a lot of people agreed it was correct to "smash" Cousins but asked whether other clubs would also be pulled into line.
"They are saying there are some who aren't far away from where he is," he said.
"There are certainly not many people arguing that he hasn't been out of line."
Barich said others in Perth had questioned whether it was wise to take employment away from a recovering drug addict.
"People hope that this doesn't push him over the edge," he said. "He just can't be cut loose."
While the AFL's issues with Cousins have been dealt with, Los Angeles police may still lay charges over his alleged cocaine binge in California.
The LA Police Department delayed the release of its findings until Tuesday.
Sharks had been tossing up for several weeks whether they should offer Cousins a second chance if he was suspended by the AFL Commission.
Full story below, i know its a slow day, so we didnt get Mason at least we can laugh at this.
Cousins can still play in 2008
By Daryl Timms
November 20, 2007 BEN Cousins may be banned from the AFL next year, but he is free to play in any other football competition in the country.
His original West Australian club, East Fremantle, is already considering whether to offer him a lifeline to play in the WAFL.
East Fremantle club president David Miller said the Sharks had been tossing up for several weeks whether they should offer Cousins a second chance if he was suspended by the AFL Commission.
He said if Cousins was well enough and playing was part of his rehabilitation, the club would look at giving him another chance if he asked to play.
"We haven't discussed it (yesterday's AFL ban) as a club and although it hasn't taken us by surprise, we haven't had a lot of time to think about it," Miller said.
"But we will be talking about it at our next board meeting, which is in a week's time. So we would leave it until then. He is our player through the AFL and the WAFL, but we will wait and see what happens because there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge."
East Fremantle recently appointed former Melbourne and Collingwood player Shane Woewodin as its coach for the next two years.
Woewodin, who won the 2000 Brownlow Medal while playing for Melbourne, returned home to Western Australia after retiring from the Magpies at the end of the 2004.
If Cousins decides to play again, it would make him Australia's most sought-after footballer.
He would be a financial bonanza for any club as a massive drawcard, including in the VFL.
Other clubs around Australia - in every state and territory - are expected to queue up for Cousins's services if he decides he wants to maintain his fitness and play.
"The club still believes it to be the case and we hope Ben can do that and successfully fight this problem," the Eagles said.
Although the AFL handed down a one-season suspension after it found Cousins guilty of bringing the league into disrepute, it cannot prevent him from playing football altogether.
Because the AFL Commission and not the AFL Tribunal handed down the suspension, he is eligible to play in any lesser league.
The AFL said last night it did not see Cousins's eligibility to continue playing next season as a loophole in its rules, but believed it gave him the option of staying fit and hopefully "clean" as he continued his drug rehabilitation program.
He will continue to be monitored by the AFL's medical experts next season and is expected to be subjected to drug testing.
They will advise the commission on whether there has been a relapse by Cousins, the likelihood of any such relapse, and whether the lifting of the suspension in 12 months' time is in the player's and/or the AFL's best interests.
Despite suggestions Cousins would be better off out of Western Australia as he rehabilitates himself against his self-confessed drug addiction, WA football commentator and former Eagle Adrian Barich said support for Cousins in Perth remained high.
But Barich said there were people who questioned whether the AFL commissioners were hypocrites given the behaviour of at least one Melbourne-based club.
"They are saying what about the other club that is having similar problems?" Barich said.
"Have they been bringing the game into disrepute again?"
Barich said a lot of people agreed it was correct to "smash" Cousins but asked whether other clubs would also be pulled into line.
"They are saying there are some who aren't far away from where he is," he said.
"There are certainly not many people arguing that he hasn't been out of line."
Barich said others in Perth had questioned whether it was wise to take employment away from a recovering drug addict.
"People hope that this doesn't push him over the edge," he said. "He just can't be cut loose."
While the AFL's issues with Cousins have been dealt with, Los Angeles police may still lay charges over his alleged cocaine binge in California.
The LA Police Department delayed the release of its findings until Tuesday.
