Terry Wallace takes a shot at Ben Cousins * Jon Ralph
* From: Herald Sun
* April 15, 2010 FORMER Richmond coach Terry Wallace has criticised the late-night antics of troubled Tiger Ben Cousins.
Wallace was the man who controversially drafted Cousins in 2008, but said yesterday the 31-year-old should know better than to involve himself in a late-night brawl.
He also revealed teammate Daniel Connors had a litany of warnings for poor behaviour.
It is believed Connors, who was suspended for eight weeks for drunken behaviour, might have had as many as eight warnings.
Wallace has kept a low profile since his sacking, but used a Fox Sports interview to discuss the club's plight.
He also backed the direction of Damien Hardwick, at Richmond, but said his successor did not have the list for the kind of slow build that took Hawthorn to a premiership.
Wallace says Cousins' fragile confidence means the club cannot afford to drop him to the VFL if his form remains modest.
"Why would Ben put himself in that situation late in an evening when you know someone is consuming that much alcohol," Wallace said.
"You try to get the player (Connors) out of there and if you can't control the player you try to get yourself out of there.
Wallace said he was unsure if Cousins still deserved his place in the side or should be replaced by a younger player.
"That's a fascinating question. One of the reasons he was there in the first place was the humanitarian side of it, to try to help this bloke who's been such a champion of the game to get himself right, but there is a football club to be run at the same time and the biggest problem he has is he is getting no continuity of football.
"I think it is (delicate). We all know he treads a really fine line with his emotions. The one thing he's been able to hang his cap on is that football is his life and his lifeblood. To take it away would be very difficult."
Wallace said supporters should back Hardwick, even if the club struggled this year.
"There were people asking for Alastair Clarkson's scalp after seven or eight matches and they were getting belted in matches. Damien has seen that, he's been at the coalface when Hawthorn turned it around. The question that needs to be asked is does Richmond have the list that Hawthorn was developing at that stage, and that's very doubtful."
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