BEN COUSINS [merged]

[Infamy]

Infamy - I wouldnt trade him.

Cuz's value is immeasurable to the young brigade coming through.  His leadership on field is immense.

I watched him in the bulldogs game the previous week shouting out instructions etc to his young team mates...encouraging them...His leadership alone on field should get him another contract for next year.

Playing devils advocate for a minute, couldn't 12 months of his influence around the club be enough?
He's instilled his work ethic and team focused play on our current kids and leaders, so the only people he could further influence next year are the new kids. Couldn't the current players carry on his work from the standard he's set this year, and pass on the required work ethic to the new kids?

[mat073]

I would hate to see Cuz play for another club now.

Massive risk picking him up in the first place (we were the only team with enough balls to roll the dice).....We now deserve to reap all the benefits.

Having a champion footballer like Cousins around the club is never a bad thing.

Hes not just Richmond "good"....hes AFL elite "good"

At the moment I am struggling to remember a better midfielder running around in yellow and black over the last 20 years.......and he is still only 80 % fit.Only Knights comes close.

[WA Tiger]

I think as these younger players develop more and the new crop come in at the end of the year Cousins value will be increased more so than it is now. You only have to listen to the way the current players talk about his value at the moment, I also think Cousins will be better on field next season then he is at the moment.

He needs a good pre-season that is managed properly and he will be a bonus, with him and Richo carying on next year a rear foundation could be layed for the future.

[Ox]

I don't know about u guys but i haven't seen a more qualified candidate for Captain of the RFC since stuff knows.

[WilliamPowell]

I don't know about u guys but i haven't seen a more qualified candidate for Captain of the RFC since eff knows.

Certainly the most natural leader we've had for a long long time

He is one of those blokes who doesn't need a title to be a leader 

[Jacosh]

Infamy - I wouldnt trade him.

Cuz's value is immeasurable to the young brigade coming through.  His leadership on field is immense.

I watched him in the bulldogs game the previous week shouting out instructions etc to his young team mates...encouraging them...His leadership alone on field should get him another contract for next year.

Playing devils advocate for a minute, couldn't 12 months of his influence around the club be enough?
He's instilled his work ethic and team focused play on our current kids and leaders, so the only people he could further influence next year are the new kids. Couldn't the current players carry on his work from the standard he's set this year, and pass on the required work ethic to the new kids?

I see what you are saying Infamy but you have to remember he did little pre-season and is still only 80% fit now.  I think another year would be even better to show the kids that 1 year isnt enough for your career you have to do the hard yards each and every year.  How many of our players have one good year then seem to fade out?  To have Cuz around and fit for a full pre-season and follow that through into the season would be worth more than whatever trade we may get for him.  Besides that from what i hear he has really embraced the RFC (if only he would let a few fans have pictures taken with him) and i would love to see him stick around after he has finished playing and take up some sort of coaching (development) role.

[Chuck17]

Still if the Ainter's offered up pick 15 or 16 for him on the belief they would have a serious crack at the flag in 2010 would you take it?

[TigerTime]

Still if the Ainter's offered up pick 15 or 16 for him on the belief they would have a serious crack at the flag in 2010 would you take it?

NO WAY.
what did the blues offer for judd? cuz deserves better than that

its pick 1 or 2 or nothing.  but then again would pick one or 2 be able to come in and keep teaching the team and club how it should be done.,,,no

we need a guy like cuz, he is an onfield coach and someone all the kids we have can learn from.

til now, our young players have had absolutely no one to be able to teach them the way, not even richo

cuz should stay as long as his body allows him too, hope he plays til 37

[mat073]

Still if the Ainter's offered up pick 15 or 16 for him on the belief they would have a serious crack at the flag in 2010 would you take it?

To play Devils Advocate again Chuck....There would be a lot of pressure on that kid and Richmond fans are not known for their patience.

Where does it end ?....Do we try to trade Richo for pick 30 aswell ?

I would rather see a shameless tank than for us to trade Cuz

Whats the point of having a promising 18yo if there are no quality senior players to show them the way.

[WA Tiger]

Still if the Ainter's offered up pick 15 or 16 for him on the belief they would have a serious crack at the flag in 2010 would you take it?

Thats a great question and I find some of the responses hard to fathom. Just about everyone has complained about how we gave away early draft picks to secure mature age players that we have not benifited from.

You now have the choice (hypothetical) to get a pick in the top 15-20 for a potential star and 10 year player versus keeping a mature player that has maybe one to two years left and all of a sudden experience and mentoring is better.

We will still have Richo, Brown (maybe) and players like Foley, Moore and a few others that can mentor next year. Why all of a sudden have people changed their views?????

Don't get me wrong Cousins is great and I don't want to see him go and in all honesty I do not think he will but gee another pick in the top 20 could really lay the foundations for this club...... provided we recruited wisely.

[Infamy]

Still if the Ainter's offered up pick 15 or 16 for him on the belief they would have a serious crack at the flag in 2010 would you take it?

NO WAY.
what did the blues offer for judd? cuz deserves better than that

its pick 1 or 2 or nothing.  but then again would pick one or 2 be able to come in and keep teaching the team and club how it should be done.,,,no

we need a guy like cuz, he is an onfield coach and someone all the kids we have can learn from.

til now, our young players have had absolutely no one to be able to teach them the way, not even richo

cuz should stay as long as his body allows him too, hope he plays til 37

Judd still has a lot more football left in him compared to Cousins
No club is going to give up Pick 1 or 2 for a 31 year old, no matter how good they are.
The other thing is the team with Pick 1 or 2 is going to be down the bottom of the ladder like we are, what's the point of the trade when you need to rebuild? The only team who would consider trading for him would be a team on the verge of a flag, just like the Bulldogs traded a 2nd round pick for Akermanis, who was in a similar position to Cousins, over 30, ex Brownlow medalist and still capable of being a matchwinner.

[FooffooValve]

Silly discussion, really. What club in their right mind would offer any sort of pick for a 31 year old with a suspect body and background? Sure, he's a gun, but let's get real.

[TigerTime]

Silly discussion, really. What club in their right mind would offer any sort of pick for a 31 year old with a suspect body and background? Sure, he's a gun, but let's get real.

cousins body is not suspect, he is in mint condition and most of his injuries were due to lack of match play and  conditioning
he maybe 30/1 but he is in better shape than harvey was and could play easily 6 more yrs if his head stays right not his body

[one-eyed]

This isn't on the web so I typed it out.....

Ben's a keen Tiger
Scott Palmer | Sunday Herald-Sun | 21 June 2009, Pg S18

BEN Cousins wants to remain with Richmond -- and will if the Tigers' next permanent coach wants him.

Brownlow Ben has embraced the Punt Rd environment, has gained respect among his peers and has developed a close relationship with president Gary March, who has indicated to us that Cousins would be interested in extending his one-year contract.

But Cousins and his management are aware it will now be the judgment of Richmond's next appointment as coach.

Cousins's advisers have told us they will need to know ``where the coach might stand'' before the next step can be taken.

Certainly the next Tiger boss won't have too many concerns over Cousins's formline.

[WA Tiger]

Good to hear that he likes it at the club, now lets hope the new coach has the sense to keep him, I am sure he will.