Clubs fear effects of Ben Cousins loophole
Courtney Walsh | December 12, 2008
The Australian
RIVAL clubs have raised fears about Richmond's perceived manipulation of the rules which could see Ben Cousins join the Tigers next week.
A day after Collingwood president Eddie McGuire queried the timing of Richmond's request to list Graham Polak as a rookie, a move that would allow the Tigers to claim Cousins in Tuesday's pre-season draft, two club chief executives have queried whether the request should be allowed under the rules.
Should the commission agree with the request on Monday, it will give Richmond an extra pick in the following day's pre-season draft, one almost certain to revive Cousins' controversial career.
The Tigers could select Cousins with their existing choice, but coach Terry Wallace made it clear last week that was reserved for another player.
Adelaide Crows chief executive Steven Trigg, while sympathetic with the plight of Polak, who is rehabilitating after being struck by a tram in June but is too old to be placed on the rookie list under current rules, is concerned about a possible precedent should the AFL commission make an exception for him on Monday.
Essendon was granted permission to downgrade recently retired Adam Ramanauskas's status at Essendon as he battled cancer, but West Coast was refused permission when it sought a similar solution for forward Brad Smith as he struggled with chronic knee conditions.
"It is just interesting," Trigg said.
"I think we need to be a bit careful that every time someone gets hurt there is not a concession to be made."
Trigg, while saying Adelaide was not in a position to object to the request because it was not privy to information likely to be available to the commission, used Trent Hentschel as an example of a player who could benefit if there were a change in procedure on Monday.
Hentschel severely injured a knee against Port Adelaide late in 2006 and missed all of the following season and most of this year.
"There are a lot of ways to get injured, and we feel for Graham, but Trent missed a season of footy and he was always going to miss a season of footy, so we have to be careful with this," Trigg said.
At Geelong, it is a similar story with All-Australian centre half-back Matthew Egan, who is facing an extended battle to return from a serious foot problem, according to chief executive Brian Cook.
"We didn't think that was within the spirit of the rule," Cook said of placing him on the rookie list.
"Rules are rules and we need to know whether this should be looked at as exceptional circumstances."
McGuire was the first to question the move, querying Richmond's decision to wait until after last month's national draft, where it could have selected Cousins with another pick.
"My only issue with this, and this is no drama with the sentiments of Graham Polak, is this should have all been done before the (national) draft," he told Melbourne radio.
It follows comments from Wallace last month that the Tigers would not seek special dispensation to list Polak as a rookie.
"We could have tried to get compensation from the AFL, but we thought from Graham's point of view that we wanted to keep the door open and the light shining there," Wallace said.
While Richmond refused to discuss either the request or the possibility of recruiting Cousins, a club source said the change in thought occurred after Polak told team-mates he believed he would struggle to return to senior football next year.
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett joined Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson in supporting Richmond's request provided "the commission is satisfied by the medical status of Graham Polak".
"This particular case is not based on the Ramanauskas case, but it is an individual case and we would hope that football has the capacity to support the individual," Kennett said.
Should Richmond succeed, former club identities have given the Tigers the green light to draft Cousins despite several other clubs shunning him.
Greg Miller, who was sacked as Richmond's football manager mid-year, said he would complement the Tigers' talented but youthful midfield.
"I think that Terry Wallace is a very upfront and honest person and he'll be able to talk with him and work with him and senior players like Kane Johnson and Nathan Brown would assist him greatly," he told Radio SEN.
"He's got some stringent hurdles to jump over but I think it'll be a great story."
Former Richmond coach Danny Frawley agreed.
"Good luck to Richmond for at least having the courage to go through the process," he said.
AFL great Kevin Sheedy, believed to be a driving force behind the Tigers' decision, said: "I have always supported giving people a second chance."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24787422-2722,00.html
