BEN COUSINS [merged]

[Chuck17]

He still has to be picked to play or have they forgotten about that side of it.
Not saying he wont be picked.

Plus his hammies have to hold up.

It's funny on the whole we here are hoping for at least him to play in half the games for the season and this betting mob has him at decent odds to win the Brownlow.  Talk about riding on the wings of optimism.

[mightytiges]

The drafting of Cousins is doing strange things to some people. We've got a Essendon supporter on BB is full praise of Richmond while long time Tiger supporter David Clayton who started one of the first Richmond ddicated websites in the late 90s is walking away from the Club  ???. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised as he's been a bit of a sourpuss in the past as far as off-field RFC issues.

16/12/2008: After just a few short weeks ago seeing (finally) some decent long-term player recruiting - and giving me hope that we might just be on the road to some real improvement - we have now caved in and overturned this
policy for a high-risk short-term action by recruiting Ben Cousins.

I've had enough of this and after 34 years of continuous membership the club can now do without people like me, and this will also mark the end of any updates to this website - I will leave it up for as long as possible for anyone who may want any of the content.

Good luck to all of your who remain as club members and support the Tigers.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~dcstar/

Annoyed at the way some on this site are discrediting the recruitment of Ben Cousins ...

Ben will be an on field role model who sets standards of excellence during a game & on the training track

Will educate / guide young midfielders in the art of gut busting / self sacrificing / positional / possession accumulating play

Will drive a developing, exciting list towards a potential finals berth (look at the impetus Judd provided in Carlton’s move up the ladder)

Will give the club & its long suffering supporters a huge lift in morale

His recruitment has generated a wave of intense support throughout the football & wider community. The club are showing themselves to be leaders in significant areas such as aboriginal development/welfare (in a football sense) & now drug reform / rehabilitation ... lets face it clubs are more than just football clubs ... they’re big business & when you can gain an advantage (in a marketing sense) over your rivals you’re viewed as a leader in your field of expertise (which, amongst other things, is a lot about developing young men & setting public/moral standards)

Richmond have shown tremendous courage to take on the challenge & as a result have gained additional exposure, public support & are reaping tangible rewards with a spike in membership & potential sponsorship (with companies wanting to be aligned with a proactive / socially aware organisation)

Ben Cousins is finally the good feel story the AFL have been crying out for given recent & ongoing misdemeanours from footballers like Shaw & Didak.

As previously stated, the club have gained a massive boost in public appeal ... eg. opposition supporters have pledged their financial support to the club because Richmond had the balls to do the right thing & not be swayed by the perception they’re inheriting a problem that was going to damage the clubs brand (St Kilda & North who need all the exposure they can get are probably regretting their decisions not to offer Ben an opportunity. Same could be said of the Pies who once again shied away from bringing a big player to the club ... a player who had the potential to assist them in their premiership aspirations)

Richmond have positioned themselves beautifully ... they're in a win / win situation whichever way the Ben story unfolds ... ie. they won’t be ridiculed for giving a reforming drug addict (remember addictions are a mental illness & not just sign of weakness) an opportunity to get his (very public) life back on track ... they will be applauded ... Aussies are a forgiving bunch & really want to see Ben succeed

Similarly, let’s not forget the huge upside of having a player of Ben’s calibre running around in the yellow & black ...

Importantly, the Ben Cousins story will not be a distraction for the RFC ... it will provide the impetus for a highly successful season & redefine the status of the club as an organisation who are willing to take risks for the ultimate betterment (from a football, marketing & socially responsible perspective) of the club

Memo to all clubs (including the ultra conservative Essendon) ...
1. You had a chance to make a difference (on many levels, but especially from a football point of view)
2. You stared at the reality of the situation & froze (gutless)
3. You missed out on a once in a life time opportunity (once again, on many levels)
4. Well done to the RFC for acting & not sitting on your hands like so many others who were too scared to dare

http://www.bomberblitz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=46456

[Infamy]

Not sure if I'll miss David Clayton around the club, no great loss really

[Smokey]

Not sure if I'll miss David Clayton around the club, no great loss really

Every single person that leaves the club is a loss.  Whether you agree with their opinion or not is irrelevant - the fact is when someone who has done many hours of voluntary work for the club and been a member for numerous years leaves then the club is diminished.  Of course the club won't notice his absence as such but the fact he left is unfortunate, especially for him.

[crackertiger]

Good Riddens David imho!

[1965]

Not sure if I'll miss David Clayton around the club, no great loss really

Unfortunately that could be said about most (if not all) of us.

The club is bigger than the individual.

Let's hope a good year means David rejoins next year.

[one-eyed]

Ben Cousins into drug testing regime
Jackie Epstein | December 21, 2008

BEN Cousins was drug tested on his third day as a Richmond player, but has declared he is a changed man with a changed lifestyle.

Cousins's personal manager, Flying Start's Carlie Merenda, said the confessed drug addict gave a urine sample on Thursday, but was determined to again become an elite AFL player, and would keep a low profile in Melbourne's social scene.

The Brownlow medallist and premiership West Coast midfielder flew back to Perth on Friday. He will return when Richmond resumes pre-season training early next month.

"His lifestyle will change but he needs to keep doing what he likes to do," Merenda said.

"He knows he has to change. He's willing to change because he's got this opportunity now and he's doing what he loves.

"I would say that I'm extremely confident in where he's at. I know that every day could be a challenge for him and that's something he'll deal with.

"But being given an opportunity by Richmond and being put into an environment he loves - I'm extremely confident."

In a candid interview Merenda also revealed:

THE documentary on Cousins's rehabilitation could air in March.

HE would live near Punt Rd with his sister Sophie or Merenda.

HE was friendly with some convicted criminals because they were helping him stay clean.

Merenda said the disappointment of St Kilda's rejection was the lowest point in Cousins' comeback, but had served as motivation.

"After that St Kilda decision I think I spoke to him that night and then it was just texts for a couple of days because it was at the point that he just needed to work out what to do," she said.

"In a new place he can start afresh. His family will be over quite a bit but he'll move (to Melbourne) by January 5 when training starts."

Meanwhile, Kim Hagdorn reports Richmond has put Cousins on a one-month good behaviour trial.

The 30-year-old has agreed to a strict disciplinary code, with any breach resulting in instant dismissal.

Tigers coach Terry Wallace has insisted Cousins submit to AFL-imposed drug tests, including up to three urine samples a week and a hair-follicle test every three months.

His contract will be terminated if he is late to training, misses a recovery session or team meeting, or repeats any of the indiscretions that forced West Coast to sack him.

Wallace was not scared off by stark confessions from Cousins in a warts-and-all meeting in Melbourne in the days before he was drafted.

Cousins revealed details of his drug-troubled past and pleaded, in several phone calls, for a final chance to salvage his career.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24827598-19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

from today's Herald-Sun...

---------------------
BEN'S 'INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL'
Sunday Herald-Sun | 21 DEC 2008, Page 011

BEN Cousins (right) has thanked Richmond Football Club for giving him what he has missed for so long: a footy family.

"That environment of the extended family is what I've missed and I'm incredibly grateful to Richmond for allowing me to feel that again,'' Cousins said yesterday. "I'm glad to be part of a team, back in a team environment.''

Cousins, 30, declared he was desperate to play top football again and would do anything for a place.

"I want to play on my hard work, not my history,'' he said.


====================
Perfect pad for a Tiger
By Caroline James
Sunday Herald-Sun | 21 Dec 2008, Page 077

IF BEN Cousins is looking for somewhere to hang his Tiger footy boots, he may want to spend his rumoured six-figure salary on a pad in Richmond's newest development.

Richmond Football Club's new recruit can choose from a long list of swanky shacks with high capital growth potential near Punt Rd oval.

But he'd be hard-pressed to beat a luxury apartment in Mantello Holdings's Tanner Lane development in the "very popular'' inner-city pocket between Swan St and Bridge Rd, Bennison Macmillan agent Elliot Gill said.

Just a drop punt from the MCG, 6-14 Tanner Lane will have 14 luxury units, including eight four-bedroom townhouses, which will be ready for house-warming parties by mid-2009, Mr Gill said.

They are priced from $1.15 million to $1.32 million.

[Darth Tiger]

Not sure if I'll miss David Clayton around the club, no great loss really

Every single person that leaves the club is a loss.  Whether you agree with their opinion or not is irrelevant - the fact is when someone who has done many hours of voluntary work for the club and been a member for numerous years leaves then the club is diminished.  Of course the club won't notice his absence as such but the fact he left is unfortunate, especially for him.

Someone that has put their hard earned on the table for 34 years in any membership based club structure is a loss, and IMHO should not be dismissed because they ask some hard questions and attempt to give their input to improve the club via volunteering.

Hope that DC does come back to the Tiger fold after a season's ponder, because the accounts still require scrutiny with the increasing revenue stream and expenditure into the facilities.

[yellowandback]

Not sure if I'll miss David Clayton around the club, no great loss really

Every single person that leaves the club is a loss.  Whether you agree with their opinion or not is irrelevant - the fact is when someone who has done many hours of voluntary work for the club and been a member for numerous years leaves then the club is diminished.  Of course the club won't notice his absence as such but the fact he left is unfortunate, especially for him.

Someone that has put their hard earned on the table for 34 years in any membership based club structure is a loss, and IMHO should not be dismissed because they ask some hard questions and attempt to give their input to improve the club via volunteering.

Hope that DC does come back to the Tiger fold after a season's ponder, because the accounts still require scrutiny with the increasing revenue stream and expenditure into the facilities.

While I agree with the sentiment, surely this guy is overreacting? If we had forced Richo to retire or traded for Ben Cousins maybe but his reaction is just way over the top.

Personally, with everything that has happened at this club over the past 26 years - coach turnover, player swapping with Collingwood, the treatment of Bartlett in the early 90s, the board upheaval and spats through the 90s and even early this decade, the recruitment of recycled players from 2000-2003 - all of that and he chooses the last pick of any draft - effectively about pick 80 - a pure pick in speculation to walk away?

Mate, the club is not about a supporters hissy fit, we don't need it, we don't need him.  I've never heard of him and already feel richer for it.

[Smokey]

........
Mate, the club is not about a supporters hissy fit, we don't need it, we don't need him.  I've never heard of him and already feel richer for it.

What you say is right YandB but this wasn't just a hissy fit from a 'chicken poo' supporter.  David Clayton has been a paid-up member for over 30 years, has spent many, many hours working voluntarily for the club, travelled interstate to every game and then when interstate often took on menial support tasks (filling water bottles, gate marshall, etc) that caused him to miss much of the game he paid his money to go and see.  He was front and centre rattling cans during the SOS campaign and even ran for the board during the cancerous reign of Clinton Casey.  In a nutshell, he has bled yellow and black for most of his adult life thus far.  Yes you are right - we don't need hissy fits and we don't need supporters thinking they are bigger than the club but David has done the time and at least deserves the respect of acknowledgment that he has contributed significantly to our club in a positive way.  The best result would be for David to allow time heal the perceived wounds and come back to the fold - after all, this has all come about because we have identified with a need to give someone a second chance - and he has invested too much personal time and effort to miss out on enjoying the fruits of the next successful era of our club.

[yellowandback]

........
Mate, the club is not about a supporters hissy fit, we don't need it, we don't need him.  I've never heard of him and already feel richer for it.

What you say is right YandB but this wasn't just a hissy fit from a 'chicken poo' supporter.  David Clayton has been a paid-up member for over 30 years, has spent many, many hours working voluntarily for the club, travelled interstate to every game and then when interstate often took on menial support tasks (filling water bottles, gate marshall, etc) that caused him to miss much of the game he paid his money to go and see.  He was front and centre rattling cans during the SOS campaign and even ran for the board during the cancerous reign of Clinton Casey.  In a nutshell, he has bled yellow and black for most of his adult life thus far.  Yes you are right - we don't need hissy fits and we don't need supporters thinking they are bigger than the club but David has done the time and at least deserves the respect of acknowledgment that he has contributed significantly to our club in a positive way.  The best result would be for David to allow time heal the perceived wounds and come back to the fold - after all, this has all come about because we have identified with a need to give someone a second chance - and he has invested too much personal time and effort to miss out on enjoying the fruits of the next successful era of our club.

I understand that and have a high level of respect for any supporter who puts that time and effort into the club.

But to me, here is the rub.

To me if he walks away, all that hard work and effort has now been a waste of his time. 
And for what?  A potentially bad pick in the draft?
Even if he is right, now is the time for him to be even more involved in the club knowing the club may need his support if this goes pear shaped.
You described his commitment to the club almost like it is a marriage - and he should be there in good times and bad.  He should support the club through a period that he does not agree with - this is the time where clubs like Richmond should judge David.  He should be man enough to say "I don't agree and this is totally wrong" but in saying that remain a strong supporter of the club and say that he will still stick by them.

He has a vote in the board elections - if he is that upset, he should have called a no confidence motion - anything, anything but walking away. That is what cowards do when they are in a fight.

[Smokey]

I understand that and have a high level of respect for any supporter who puts that time and effort into the club.

But to me, here is the rub.

To me if he walks away, all that hard work and effort has now been a waste of his time. 
And for what?  A potentially bad pick in the draft?
Even if he is right, now is the time for him to be even more involved in the club knowing the club may need his support if this goes pear shaped.
You described his commitment to the club almost like it is a marriage - and he should be there in good times and bad.  He should support the club through a period that he does not agree with - this is the time where clubs like Richmond should judge David.  He should be man enough to say "I don't agree and this is totally wrong" but in saying that remain a strong supporter of the club and say that he will still stick by them.

He has a vote in the board elections - if he is that upset, he should have called a no confidence motion - anything, anything but walking away. That is what cowards do when they are in a fight.

Yep.  I don't disagree with any of that.  I don't agree with what David did.  I just don't see a difference in talking up the importance of giving second chances and at the same time wiping someone who has (to pinch a marketing phrase) "earned their stripes".  Yes, cowards do run from a fight but if you have a track record of staying for the fight and being there at the lowest of low times then it is very hard to apply this rule in all consciousness.  Maybe he felt more like he had hit his head on the same brick wall one time too many.

[mightytiges]

David needs to go away over the Christmas break and think it over with a clear head rather than emotion. He'll probably comeback eventually anyway as he's been prone to being overdramatic in the past. It's crazy to hop off now over one pick just when we are about to rise.

Meanwhile, Kim Hagdorn reports Richmond has put Cousins on a one-month good behaviour trial.

The 30-year-old has agreed to a strict disciplinary code, with any breach resulting in instant dismissal.

Tigers coach Terry Wallace has insisted Cousins submit to AFL-imposed drug tests, including up to three urine samples a week and a hair-follicle test every three months.

His contract will be terminated if he is late to training, misses a recovery session or team meeting, or repeats any of the indiscretions that forced West Coast to sack him.

Didn't Craig Cameron say we haven't put any further restrictions or stipulations in Cousins' one-year contract?  ???

[mightytiges]

Ben Cousins walks to his media conference followed by team mates and West Coast supporter Tim Quick. Published: Sunday Herald Sun - December 21, 2008 Page: S11


There must be something in the water in Perth lol.