Ben Cousins still full of beans * Mike Sheahan
* Herald Sun
* July 08, 2010 BEN Cousins bounced up to the media throng, surveyed the familiar if nameless faces, and declared: "I didn't get this many to my 21st."
There he was, little more than 24 hours after leaving hospital, confidently fronting the media (again). No prompting, no notes, just the occasional hint of exasperation with his extraordinary capacity to spark headlines.
As usual, the words came freely and directly, generally delivered with that signature half-smile.
It was a short, succinct performance, even if some of us smiled at what we heard as a noteworthy faux pax. Asked whether he would take the same unidentified sleeping tablet again, he said: "No ... once bitten, twice shy."
Earlier, he had alighted from his car at Punt Rd with a coffee cup in hand. "Don't panic, it's only decaf," he quipped. Is there anyone in football who copes with pressure better than this bloke?
In all the circumstances, Cousins looked healthy, fit and relaxed.
Then again, he always has been at home on the football field, and the media conference did occur on the grandstand wing of Richmond's training ground.
He admitted he had been in a "bit of a bad way" overnight on Sunday, but had learned his lesson.
He also declared himself back in the mix for selection for Richmond's suddenly engrossing engagement with Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
He promised to push his case to Damien Hardwick and co at training today, and his history suggests he will make it extremely difficult for the coach to overlook him.
Yes, it sounds bizarre, given Cousins was taken to hospital by ambulance on Monday morning to spend the day in intensive care, but life is nothing if not a never-ending string of surprises from the one-time Golden Boy of football and his home state of Western Australia.
Of course he wants to play, for he is a career footballer loving his work, relishing a second life provided by Richmond.
He wants it to continue this year and extend into 2011. If his career doesn't go into a 16th year, so be it. He will be disappointed but not bitter.
Now, to the question of the ongoing practice of players using caffeine to heighten their awareness before and during games.
No, it's not a good look, but, bottom line, it's not illegal, either.
Simply, caffeine is not named on the banned list. While it obviously is a stimulant, it is a choice open to the players.
It's an issue that goes back five years, revived by the Cousins mishap.
When players of the ilk of James Hird and Matthew Lloyd own up to "using", we have to believe the practice is widespread.
While the authorities say there is nothing wrong with the culture, here's my issue. If caffeine use requires club doctors to prescribe tablets to restore players to their natural state, how can that be accepted so readily by both the AFL and the AFL Players' Association?
Surely it means players are over-hyped, surely that's a meaningful player-welfare issue.
Particularly with a central administration that is zealous in the extreme about image: dissent towards umpires, verbal or physical; finger gestures towards anyone in the stadium at the time; even length of sock.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ben-cousins-still-full-of-beans/story-e6frf9ox-1225889172627
