Chance for Ben Cousins is good for footy
Kevin Sheedy | March 22, 2009
BEN Cousins and Chris Judd. Two champions - one in full bloom and one on the other side of the mountain.
As footballers, both are as good as each other, although by the time Judd retires he might have surpassed Cousins in the accolade department.
But when they go head to head on Thursday night it is footy that wins in every way.
Our game has helped a person rehabilitate and has given him another chance.
If Ben plays well for the Tigers and has a great year or two, then that's wonderful. But he's had the courage to turn his life around.
A lot of Australians want their champions to be squeaky clean, but the reality is not all of them are.
So why not help them?
From my dealings with Ben so far I've noticed he is a much happier person and less aggressive.
When we last met in Perth, before Ben had been drafted, he simply couldn't understand why a club had not committed to picking him up in the national draft.
I was honest and told him that no one in the eastern states gave a stuff about him. Fifteen clubs said no.
But here is an opportunity for him to show clubs and the community that they may have made an error of judgment.
The Richmond Football Club had to change its initial opinion. Not many people like to do that, so the club is to be congratulated for making a bold decision.
You would hope that sooner or later Ben will say "look, I've stuffed up and I'm sorry. I'm going to get into it and show people that I can be a great footballer from 30 onwards". The most important thing is that he's alive from 50 or 60 onwards.
The best player Richmond ever recruited in my playing career was Ian Stewart. We all sat and hoped and watched and waited. And he was terrific.
He came into Richmond and blended into the place and taught us how to train a bit better and smarter.
Ben has been dedicated and has mixed in well. He hasn't rushed in and thumped his chest and declared "I'm the man".
I'll catch up with Ben this week before the game and I will continue to meet him and chat to him about whatever he wants.
His coach, Terry Wallace, and I have met to discuss my involvement and what role I can play with Ben. Perhaps you could call it mentoring.
At this point I can't see how Richmond loses from having Ben at Punt Rd. There wouldn't be many fitter 30 year-olds out there in the world of sport.
I think he'll peak about a month or so into the season, but winning the Brownlow - as so many pundits seem to think is possible - would be a big ask.
In saying that, no one expected James Hird to be as good as he was and win the best and fairest in his last year at age 34.
Ben should learn from that and look at how smart Hird trained and performed. It's all about your willpower and what you want to do.
And that's a strong message for the entire team as well.
If you go into a season having won eight of your last 11 the year before, and you don't believe in yourself, well, you won't go anywhere.
The Tigers have been down for so long they've picked up a couple of good recruits.
And they're getting Mark Coughlan back, Tommy Hislop has come on board and then there's Cousins. So all of a sudden the senior players will just say to themselves: Why not?
I think they will finish higher than Carlton. These two great clubs - who have been in the wilderness - will take centre stage in a war of attrition.
Before 95,000 people, I know Ben won't want to be embarrassed.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25220651-19742,00.html
