Ben Cousins punched drunken teammate Daniel Connors in Sydney fracas Michael Warner, Aaron Langmaid
Herald Sun
April 13, 2010BEN Cousins punched a drunken Richmond teammate in the face while trying to restrain him during a boozy night out.
Cousins, Dean Polo and Luke McGuane were stood down for a week while youngster Daniel Connors, the cause of Saturday night's ruckus, copped a massive eight-week ban.
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Seething Richmond officials said the group's conduct during a rowdy gathering at the team hotel in Sydney on Saturday night was "unacceptable".
Cousins, 31, was among a group of players seen drinking at the Intercontinental Hotel bar between 11.30pm and 1am.
A handful of Tigers then shifted the party to an upstairs room where a drunken Connors was seen arguing with Cousins, Polo and McGuane in a corridor at 3am.
The trio are believed to have tried to restrain Connors, with Cousins giving him a black eye.
Hotel guests complained about the wild showdown in the corridor.
A club insider said Connors was being "loud, obnoxious and aggressive".
It comes just days after high-profile player manager Ricky Olarenshaw claimed Cousins, who is a recovering drug addict, had again "lost his way".
The club recently rejected a report that Cousins had been warned to curb his drinking.
Long-suffering Tigers fans reacted furiously to revelations the team was at the bar after Saturday night's 55-point thrashing by the Swans.
Richmond has lost its opening three games by a combined 183 points to become the AFL's laughing stock.
New coach Damien Hardwick delivered a fearful spray to the club's entire playing list yesterday.
Connors, 21, who has been in trouble before because of his drunken antics, admitted to a drinking problem.
"I am extremely disappointed in my actions and I regret the stupid decisions I made on the night," he said.
"I apologise to all Richmond members, teammates, club officials and guests at the Intercontinental Hotel, who were subjected to my behaviour.
"Over the next few weeks I will be doing everything I can to win back the respect of those who I have let down.
"This has been a massive wake-up call for me and I accept that I have a problem with alcohol, which I need to address."
Connors cannot train at the club for the first six weeks of his suspension and must undergo alcohol counselling indefinitely.
Richmond football manager Craig Cameron said Cousins, Polo and McGuane were not intoxicated but failed to act responsibly.
"The Richmond Football Club will not tolerate the behaviour shown by these players, and has acted accordingly," Cameron said. "These actions go against all the values that we set for ourselves as a club."
Furious fans called on the league's worst team to spend less time partying and more time on their game.
"This is so disappointing for fans," cheer squad president David Norman said.
"The last thing we need is to have players in the best 22, out of action because of something stupid they did off the field.
"It's hard enough if they have an injury or if they do something dumb like belt somebody during a game.
"You name the average 23-year-old who is getting the sort of money these guys are? It's a joke."
Sydney police said they had not received a complaint.
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