If you want to talk about Ben Cousins, post it here (mega merged thread)

[swantastic]

Well WC didn't force Cousins' habit on him. I believe the club should not be punished, but the individual does. His contract should be torn up and re-done with strict conditions and with a significant pay reduction. This should be a lesson to any footballer. You would probably find that clubs will be inserting specific conditions related to inappropriate behaviour from now on.

As for feeling sorry for him....na, do you feel sorry for Lawrence Angwin?

Good point CC,Lawrence was a no name and he copped it too hard IMO but BBB gets off easy because he is a super player not very fair. WT should suspend him for the rest of the season to set an example like Fremantle did to Farmer altho Freo were a little lenient with that little turd.

[tara]

Good point CC,Lawrence was a no name and he copped it too hard IMO but BBB gets off easy because he is a super player not very fair. WT should suspend him for the rest of the season to set an example like Fremantle did to Farmer altho Freo were a little lenient with that little turd.

Swantastic Lawrence wasnt exactly a no name, however he ensured that he became one. The kid was drafted at no 7 by the Crows who thought they had a bargain given he could have gone at no 1. Recruiters regarded him as having the potential to be one of the all time greats. What Adelaide didnt know that the other recruiters did was he is a head case. They even wanted to investigate the possibility of compentsation from the AFL becuase they didnt have all the facts available to them when they drafted him.

Carlton took a punt given the draft penalties restricting the real talent from them. They hoped that Denis could work magic and transform him. Alot of his indiscretions were hidden/cleaned up so that the media didnt get a hold of them. The guy at one stage broke into Karl Normans (yes his stupid mate)
and stole various stuff like cds etc. One Carlton player even deliberately left a wallet lying around at PP in the rooms to see what happened. Yep he pinched that to and duly copped a flogging for it. The final straw at Carlton was when both he and Norman showed up to a recovery session after allegedly popping 17e's each and were so @@@@@@ up the players concerned for their immediate health alerted staff to the state they were in.

Still feel sorry for him?

[swantastic]

Swantastic Lawrence wasnt exactly a no name, however he ensured that he became one. The kid was drafted at no 7 by the Crows who thought they had a bargain given he could have gone at no 1. Recruiters regarded him as having the potential to be one of the all time greats. What Adelaide didnt know that the other recruiters did was he is a head case. They even wanted to investigate the possibility of compentsation from the AFL becuase they didnt have all the facts available to them when they drafted him.

Carlton took a punt given the draft penalties restricting the real talent from them. They hoped that Denis could work magic and transform him. Alot of his indiscretions were hidden/cleaned up so that the media didnt get a hold of them. The guy at one stage broke into Karl Normans (yes his stupid mate)
and stole various stuff like cds etc. One Carlton player even deliberately left a wallet lying around at PP in the rooms to see what happened. Yep he pinched that to and duly copped a flogging for it. The final straw at Carlton was when both he and Norman showed up to a recovery session after allegedly popping 17e's each and were so @@@@@@ up the players concerned for their immediate health alerted staff to the state they were in.

Still feel sorry for him?

I forgot your a blues supporter oh well He was a no-name compared to Cuzz thats what i ment.

[tara]

I knew what you meant mate. I was just pointing out the kid had been seen to have the ability to be better than that turd Carey and given endless opportunites but blew it. Cannot feel sorry for him copping the axe becuase he didnt learn from his mistakes.

I hope for Cousins sake he does learn because if he doesnt its his life not just his career he is pissing away. That being said 4 weeks in "rehab" is only a token gesture.

[swantastic]

4 weeks in "rehab" is only a token gesture.

A token gesture,its a f@#$#n disgrace now all the young kids yet to get hooked are saying"geez is that all it takes to get of the stuff,thats a piece of puss.Oh well what the hell lets give it a go

[NMWBloods]

That being said 4 weeks in "rehab" is only a token gesture.

But he hasn't finished rehab - it was 4 weeks in the US, followed by continuing rehab back here.

[Ruda Wakening]

That being said 4 weeks in "rehab" is only a token gesture.

No it's not. It's perfectly normal.

Due to the individual nature of addiction, there is no prescribed treatment stay, although the vast majority of program participants stay 30-45 days.

And as Bloods said he is still undergoing rehab as an outpatient.

[tara]

No it's not. It's perfectly normal.



And as Bloods said he is still undergoing rehab as an outpatient.

I can only go on what I have experienced first hand with a friends addiction. Four weeks is generally the period that it takes to dry out - ie break the cycle and begin reprogramming the individuals perceptions. He has only just embarked upon his journey of rehab and given his celebrity status over in the West hes bound to have anynumber of people in his ear telling him how well he's done giving him a false sense of security.

[Chow-Chicker]

The club still chose to hide the problem, so they too are accountable

Understand what you say, but lets not forget that the AFL themselves went out of their way to protect the identity of players who were tested positive for drugs. So what penalty should the AFL impose on themselves?

[573v30]

The media will surely dissect Ben's public apology when he finally gives it. Any chance he'll admit that he's a tool?

[Wardy]

The media will surely dissect Ben's public apology when he finally gives it. Any chance he'll admit that he's a tool?

I doubt it - He will turn around and make out he's the victim here (yes I know put the claws away!)

Of course the media will pick his apology to peices, Im keen to see if it will be a long winded spiel - or a two line speech and no questions afterwards.

Seeing as one of the conditions imposed for his return is that he has to cut all ties with his underworld friends (which you would think that would include his supplier), will he have one of those monitor tracking devise things on his ankle ? I'm keen to see how they are going to enforce that condition.

[573v30]

Keeping Ben away from the dodgy characters will be a challenge for the Eagles and the AFL. These conditions set for Ben surely apply for the off-season and I'm assuming this isn't a short-term fix either.

Though it's possible for him to keep clean, I wouldn't be surprised that he'll get into some serious trouble before the 2008 season. If he does, everyone will want to know what the Eagles and the AFL are going to do about him. If the AFL and Eagles just gave him a fine, they fail miserably.

[Albert Park]

[QUOTE=573v30;303430]Keeping Ben away from the dodgy characters will be a challenge for the Eagles and the AFL. These conditions set for Ben surely apply for the off-season and I'm assuming this isn't a short-term fix either.

US FDA statistics and anecdotal evidence of addicts indicate only a 1 in 10 recovery rate from ice addiction. Rehab varies from six weeks to five months

But Ben has the leadership group of the Eagles and his "colourful" Perth friends to lean on. No doubt his coach will spring into action to protect him from a relapse just like he did in July last year when he admits that he knew about this player's "problem" and similar problems in a number of other Eagles players

I am reminded of a famous Abraham Lincoln story:

the Civil War was going badly for the Union because their Generals lacked aggression. Lincoln noticed that Ulysses Grant was winning battles in the western theater and doing it audaciously.

Lincoln asked his advisers if he should promote Grant to get more fight into the Union Army. He was told "No, the man's a dreadful drunk"

Lincoln is reputed to have quipped "Well, find out what brand he drinks and send all our Generals a barrel of it"

I wonder if in June when Worsfold found out what made Benny run and run and run he didn't think about Lincoln's half joking suggestion

The question looms large in my mind: Did they win the 2006 Premiership totally clean???

[swantastic]

The question looms large in my mind: Did they win the 2006 Premiership totally clean???

Of course they didnt but prove they didnt that's the hard part.

[Wardy]

Well the AFL's Mr Anderson has said that we should all stop talking about it, Bens been through enough - he's obviously unwell (well gee who's fault is that?) and we should just move on - well the thing is if Ben hadnt takent the drugs in the first place, then none of this would have happened.