Greg Denham and the Australian have gone the early call.........
Battling Ben Cousins to call it quits Greg Denham
The Australian
August 16, 2010 The controversial Richmond midfielder is understood to favour leaving the code on a high note rather than potentially limping out next year.
The 32-year-old is finding it increasingly tough in the second half of this season to back up at the elite level on a weekly basis.
The four-time West Coast best-and-fairest winner and 2005 Brownlow medallist, could end his illustrious career against Port Adelaide in round 22 at Etihad Stadium.
The recovering drug addict could have played a third season with the Tigers next year if he had been clearly convinced his physical fitness and condition would have enabled him to get through a final season. It is understood that first-year coach Damien Hardwick was last week prepared to have backed Cousins to play on, provided the veteran of 268 games rated himself a better than 50/50 chance to maintain his current sound form into another year. Cousins has amassed more than 24 disposals in each of his past five games for a career tally of more than 6000 possessions.
Neither Richmond nor Cousins wanted to commit to each other if Cousins was half-hearted about his future, with neither also wanting the champion to be forced into playing some games with VFL affiliate club Coburg.
Both parties spoke last night, with Cousins set to meet Hardwick and the Tigers general manager of football operations Craig Cameron today. It is understood that Cousins has no regrets about bowing out, despite publicly saying several times earlier this season that he thought he could play on for another year.
Richmond has been adamant that the soon-to-be aired Cousins' "Such Is Life" documentary on Network Seven has had no influence on any club decision on Cousins' future.
Despite causing a boardroom split at Punt Road over his recruiting when several other clubs abandoned such a bold move, Cousins has proved a huge success for the rebuilding club with his on-field leadership and off-field popularity. After being drafted with the last available selection in the pre-season draft in December, 2008, Cousins has played 30 games and averaged more than 23 possessions, just two below his Brownlow Medal-winning average output.
He agreed to return to the game in 2009 on a contract worth less than $200,000, which was increased to more than $300,000 this year. But, his presence generated between $1-2 million in additional revenue for Richmond due to soaring membership numbers and a hike in merchandise sales.
His arrival at Richmond prompted 2009 membership figures to increase by 20 per cent from 30,820 in 2008 to almost 37,000.
Despite just five outright wins last year, and a change of senior coach, the Tigers faithful remained loyal with only a slight membership drop-off on their 2009 record figure.
His immediate rank-and-file following at Punt Road was evident in the opening round of the 2009 season, when the Richmond-Carlton MCG Thursday night clash drew 86,972 fans, and attracted a massive average Melbourne television audience of another 708,000 viewers.
Unfortunately, Cousins tore his hamstring in his first match since a similar injury in his final game for the Eagles in the 2007 second semi-final.
It remains unclear whether there will be an official football role for Cousins next season at Richmond, but the club has held talks on his behalf with the AFL and the AFL Players Association about an on-going role.
Cousins made his debut for the Eagles in 1996, but his highly decorated career with West Coast, including the 2006 premiership, ended in 2007 when he was initially stood down indefinitely and then axed later in the year over his well-publicised drug-related problems.
His career appeared to be over the following year when he was deregistered for 12 months by the AFL Commission for bringing the game into disrepute.
Despite receiving a badly corked leg against Carlton on Saturday, Cousins has seven days to recover before the Tigers meet St Kilda on Saturday.
However, if he is still sore today, he will be required to have scans to determine if he has sustained more serious damage.
Cousins' two-year Richmond career appears set to officially conclude three nights after the Tigers' round 22 clash, at the club's best-and-fairest award night.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/battling-ben-cousins-to-call-it-quits/story-e6frg7mf-1225905602472
