Bulldogs favourites to get Cousins

[DOGGIEDOGGIEDOG]

I think It would be beneficial for him to be at the club when you are questioning how he he goes with influencing our youngsters. I believe he would have the opposite effect than what people are saying. Ben could let them know that drugs ruined basically the last 18 months of his life when he was on top of the footy world. Give our guys some respect, I would like to think they are not that stupid. They surely can't be pressured into something by a renowned drug adddict.

As for Ben playing for the club, I say why not. Geez I would love to win a flag in the next year or so and I can't see how his talent added to our midfield would not help this happen. Not to mention his experience as a big finals player. So I say lets give him a go If we can

 

[Drunken Bum]

Again i am not advocating going out and grabbing him regardless, i would want the club to firstly talk to the playing group as a priority and get their opinions on it and the club give their position on it, which i would hope would be something similar to what i outlined on my original post.
Obviously speaking to Cousins to gauge whether he was serious and what he could offer and what he expected from the club, and then price and availibility and contract stipulations come into it.
All i am saying is dont just rule it out just cause of his past, this could be very beneficial to the club as a whole, the teams onfield performance and also to Ben himself.
There is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet but any club would be derelict in their duty to their fans to not even entertain the thought.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

I wouldn't think so. As if he'd play with Aker...or more importantly as if Aker would want to play with him.


But for those worried about salary cap issues. Cousins wouldn't be demanding anywhere near the 500K mark he used to. More likely around the 200K mark. Every team has room for that considering he'll only be on the list for 2-3 years.

Exactly. Aker has had a lot to say about drugs, as well as Ben himself. Not sure that the dynamic would be too good between them. If you had to choose between Akermanis or Cousins, who would it be?

The other worry would be his fitness. His hammies are not getting any younger, and he had problems with them during his last comeback.

He'd have to be cheap, unless there are several teams competing for his services.

I thought I read somewhere that, although the Bulldogs haven't ruled him out, they have declined to comment further.

 

[Red.White and Blue]

Just heard Eade on Fox ports News.

Said we have no interest in Cousins

 

[bludger]

Just heard Eade on Fox ports News.

Said we have no interest in Cousins

Funny how every coach is saying that at the moment. The way it is going no club will want him, and i think that is a little misleading. You can bet any coach or football manager worth their salt will have a cup of coffee with him or at least his manager. It would be poor management not to.

 

[boydsno1]

well in the herald sun it said cousins best mate is our boxing coach.

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

This is what i am saying, use this as an opportunity to help someone, it just so happens that this same person can pay us back with the talent he happens to posess.

I know what you are saying DB and I admire you sentiments, but it is a multi million dollar business with 30,000 members and other stakeholders. You can't be damaging your brand just for the sake of helping one person who has self inflicted problems. The club does already have a number of programs in the western suburbs where it helps disadvantaged people and youth with problems.

I think nobody doubts his talent, and for sure he would be an asset to any club on field. It is his off field stuff which is the turn off for most clubs. Even Cousins can't assure himself that he wouldn't take drugs, so how are you and I meant to have any assurances.

 

[BB1888]

Just heard Eade on Fox ports News.

Said we have no interest in Cousins

Good, Cousins is bad news, he has zero remorse for his actions and how it affected his club and the people who support it.

We are a great club, with a fantastic group of players who are going places, a guy like Cousins is poison as by many accounts he is STILL very much involved with some seriously dodgy people.

 

[soupaman]

Funny how every coach is saying that at the moment. The way it is going no club will want him, and i think that is a little misleading. You can bet any coach or football manager worth their salt will have a cup of coffee with him or at least his manager. It would be poor management not to.

I think Terry Wallace said that they weren't looking at it yet, so I reckon the clubs he is the biggest chance to go to are Richmond and Collingwood. Hawthorn are a bit like us in that they have a strong midfield, and it would be interesting to see the effect he would have on Buddy. St.Kilda is the only other club that I think will look at him, and only if they delude themselves to think they're still not far off a premiership race.

 

[jeemak]

Good, Cousins is bad news, he has zero remorse for his actions and how it affected his club and the people who support it.

We are a great club, with a fantastic group of players who are going places, a guy like Cousins is poison as by many accounts he is STILL very much involved with some seriously dodgy people.

So you obviously know Ben and his family, as well as having links to the WCE? If not, how can you say that he has no remorse?

The public knows very little about Ben Cousins, and the shortfall in our knowledge is supplemented by rumor and innuendo supplied by people who in many cases know somebody who knows somebody who knows Ben Cousins second cousin. If you do have reliable sources then I apologise, but it frustrates me when people form opinions of people based on the very limited information available to the public.

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

The public knows very little about Ben Cousins, and the shortfall in our knowledge is supplemented by rumor and innuendo

You make a good point, not only about Cousins but footballers in general. There is so much garbage around about all types of footballers, a lot fuelled by media commentators who want to seem important.

There is still a lot of questions I have about Cousins that no one has seemed to answer.

If the guy was a drug addict(ie had a physical addiction to drugs) how come he never tested positive?

This doesn't add up to me, but maybe I am the only one who can't work that out.

I mean, how often do drug addicts have to use drugs? I would have thought it was reasonably regular, if they had an addiction to it. So, why did he never test positive?

Maybe, he might answer these questions in his documentary.

Jeemak, regarding your point which was a good one, there is a lot of inuendo about Cousins, but there are also a lot of facts as well, regarding all the things he has been charged for in the past.

 

[arkie]

I'd be disappointed if the dogs were to pick him up.

 

[lindsay_bulldogs]

All things aside. After watching the interview last night I saw a very arrogant, ego driven man. He definitely is either in denial about how people perceive him or he has lost to many brain sells to know the difference. Whether he is proven to be an addict or not the fact is Westcoast and the AFL suspended him because off a problem with drugs full stop.

Now here is the thing. We under went a review were all players had to honest about each other etc. How do you think he would fit into that. From what I saw on the footy show I doubt he would be able to deal with it. Still hasn't come to terms with the issues he is facing and really doesn't look like he is fully committed to do anything other than having a good time. Which is fine off course but we need a better commitment than what Ben offers.

 

[BB1888]

So you obviously know Ben and his family, as well as having links to the WCE? If not, how can you say that he has no remorse?

The public knows very little about Ben Cousins, and the shortfall in our knowledge is supplemented by rumor and innuendo supplied by people who in many cases know somebody who knows somebody who knows Ben Cousins second cousin. If you do have reliable sources then I apologise, but it frustrates me when people form opinions of people based on the very limited information available to the public.

I do have good friends in WA who have known his family for many years.

His Dad is a good guy by all accounts, Ben was a precocious talent at a very young age and has had people let him get away with anything his entire life due to this talent.

This has led to him having one of the biggest egos in the state and he has ZERO remorse for his actions in the past and cannot understand why people would dare question him now.
(Why would clubs take me? Why wouldn't they?)

The WCE are a club that owns the media in WA and his actions have never been questioned over there by anyone bar Dockers supporters.

It would appear from his attitude since his removal from the Eagles list that he feels he has nothing to be sorry about and I for one would not like this kind of man at our club.

Like I have said previously, he still has many underworld ties and feels he has no reason to discontinue them either on the West or East Coast.

He and Michael Gardiner have always been a very toxic mix since their days at High School and that would continue in Melbourne.

This is just my opinion, but after living in WA and having friends there who know the family etc I think he is a time bomb simply waiting to go BOOM.

When he does I would much rather he is wearing Black and White than Red, White and Blue.

Like I said, its just my opinion but I would think that most indicators would suggest that Cousins is best well left alone.

 

[Fossie 32]

Brad Hardie said he [Cousens] is unlikely to play AFL next year FWIW

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

Brad Hardie said he [Cousens] is unlikely to play AFL next year FWIW

I still think there is more chance of him not playing than playing.


It astounds me that so many people on this board want the club to take him, when even Cousins can't guarantee he will be drug free next year, and is even not sure whether we wants to play AFL again.

 

[MrChristo]

Like I have said previously, he still has many underworld ties and feels he has no reason to discontinue them either on the West or East Coast.

He and Michael Gardiner have always been a very toxic mix since their days at High School and that would continue in Melbourne.

A good mate of mine worked for Customs in Perth...who obviously work pretty closely with the drug squad.
He told me, about 2 years before any of this came to light, that Gardiner had a 'code name'.
Reasonably big player...and not so much in the football sense.

There was also a situation (that I'm pretty sure did make some headlines?) where Cousins' fled his car after being pulled over for a breath test.
Again, failing an alcohol test wouldn't have been his problem.

Why did he never test positive in AFL circles?? How do we know he didn't?? You get 2 confidential strikes after all...
...that is assuming he was tested at all, given it's all very random. (Pretty sure the AFL pulls a number out of a hat and each player with the number gets tested??)

He was far more likely to test positive to an Eagles in-house testing process...in which case they'd be keeping the lid well and truly shut!

 

[Bloods_33]

if you can make aker work at the bulldogs then why not ben cousins you might not get too many more chances for the flag after these coming seasons

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

Why did he never test positive in AFL circles?? How do we know he didn't?? You get 2 confidential strikes after all...
...that is assuming he was tested at all, given it's all very random. (Pretty sure the AFL pulls a number out of a hat and each player with the number gets tested??)

I think I have heard AFL people such as Demetriou and Anderson say that he has never tested positive.

But okay, even if he had two strikes, that is not much for a person who is a drug addict. Remember he was target tested every week when he came back to AFL last year. That was one of the conditions that was in his special contract last year.

Maybe it is just me, but it doesn't make sense to me. I have little knowledge of drug addicts but I would have thought that someone who is addicted to drugs would be taking them often. And if he was taking them often, why didn't they turn up in the target testing?

As far as Ben Cousins is concerned, it is none of my business what type of addiction he has and the details with his drug taking. I just wish him well in his recovery. But if you are on the board of a multi million dollar business that is an AFL club thinking of recruiting him, for sure you would need to know a lot more than what we know now.

 

[FootyLover123]

if you can make aker work at the bulldogs then why not ben cousins you might not get too many more chances for the flag after these coming seasons

Why would that be?

 

[MrChristo]

I think I have heard AFL people such as Demetriou and Anderson say that he has never tested positive.

But okay, even if he had two strikes, that is not much for a person who is a drug addict. Remember he was target tested every week when he came back to AFL last year. That was one of the conditions that was in his special contract last year.

.

Again, I assume that was a West Coast stipulation? Or specifically AFL testing?

Either way, Cocaine/amphetamine detection will result in a 'positive' test result up until about 3 days after use.

Depends on how random the tests were I guess.

But, ultimately I agree, we probably shouldn't be speculating about stuff we really don't know about.

 

[Spiritof82]

Why would that be?

Because unlike the Swines, the AFL doesn't want us to succeed, there's no money in that when they can pump unlimited funds into the Swines and buy them premierships like they did a few years ago and boost their revenue in the NSW market.

 

[beyondthevalley ofthedogs]

The guy's toxic. Look at what's happened to West Coast the last year or so. Would you like to see Cooney or Griff head back to SA a la Chris Juddv just because they can't stand the egotistical little $#@%$, just to get another midfielder we don't really need?

Let St Kilda or Freo pick him up. That's the sort of thing they're good at.

We're a footy club not a benevolent home for clapped out has been addicts.

 

[slapper]

Another aspect of getting Cousins is the possible positive outcome for both him and the club that gets him. I believe that the Western Bulldogs would be the perfect club to get Cousins. Being from the Western suburbs with its known drug problems what a story it would be if the club could help Cousins overcome his addiction, play good football and become a spokesman about the evils of drugs etc.

 

[jeemak]

I do have good friends in WA who have known his family for many years.

His Dad is a good guy by all accounts, Ben was a precocious talent at a very young age and has had people let him get away with anything his entire life due to this talent.

This has led to him having one of the biggest egos in the state and he has ZERO remorse for his actions in the past and cannot understand why people would dare question him now.
(Why would clubs take me? Why wouldn't they?)

The WCE are a club that owns the media in WA and his actions have never been questioned over there by anyone bar Dockers supporters.

It would appear from his attitude since his removal from the Eagles list that he feels he has nothing to be sorry about and I for one would not like this kind of man at our club.

Like I have said previously, he still has many underworld ties and feels he has no reason to discontinue them either on the West or East Coast.

He and Michael Gardiner have always been a very toxic mix since their days at High School and that would continue in Melbourne.

This is just my opinion, but after living in WA and having friends there who know the family etc I think he is a time bomb simply waiting to go BOOM.

When he does I would much rather he is wearing Black and White than Red, White and Blue.

Like I said, its just my opinion but I would think that most indicators would suggest that Cousins is best well left alone.

Fair enough, your entitled to it. I'd just really like to know from someone close to Cousins (or himself for that matter) what his frame of mind is.

If we were to get Cousins I believe it should be for team performance reasons only. While it would be nice to help out a person in strife I can see it being a distraction to us moving forward. Our team has had a history of being noted for its level of brilliant individuals and this hasn't brought us team success. We are in a situation where it seems the message coming from Whitten Oval is a team first message with the performances so far showing this, and I would hope that this continues and any player coming into the mix should fit the team first ethos. Would picking up Ben Cousins and making a big deal out of helping him recover from his addiction be helpful to what we are trying to achieve?