Ben Cousins

Ben Cousins
Cousins at the 2006 AFL Grand Final parade
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Luke Cousins
Nickname(s)	Cuz
Date of birth	(1978-06-30) 30 June 1978 (age 38)
Place of birth	Geelong, Victoria
Original team(s)	Bullcreek-Leeming JFC
Draft	Father/son selection, 1995 (West Coast) 6th overall, 2009 Pre-season Draft (Richmond)
Height / weight	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) / 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1996–2007	West Coast	238 (205)
2009–2010	Richmond	032 0(12)
Total		270 (217)
International team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1999	Australia	2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 1999.
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star: (1996) 6x All-Australian Team: (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006) Goal of the Year: (1999) International Rules Series: (1999) West Coast Captain: (2001 (co-captain), 2002–05) 4x West Coast Club Champion: (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) Geoff Christian Medal: (2001) West Coast Life Member: (2003) Brownlow Medal: (2005) Leigh Matthews Trophy: (2005) Western Australian Sports Star of the Year: (2005) West Coast Team 20: (2006) West Coast Premiership Player: (2006)

Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins (born 30 June 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with West Coast and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Cousins is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. During his twelve years with West Coast, he won several of the league's highest individual awards, including a Brownlow Medal, Most Valuable Player and a premiership medallion. He was also selected six times in the All-Australian Team and represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He was West Coast's club champion for four seasons and captain for five seasons.

Cousins' football career was marred by highly publicised off-field incidents involving recreational drug use, traffic convictions and association with criminal elements. On several occasions he was fined or sanctioned by the West Coast Eagles, culminating in his contract's termination on 17 October 2007. On 19 November 2007, he was banned from AFL for one year by the AFL Commission for "bringing the game into disrepute". He was cleared to return to football in 2009 and was drafted by the Richmond Football Club on 16 December 2008. He retired from the game at the end of the 2010 season.

Cousins was born in Geelong in 1978, to Stephanie and Bryan, a former player for the Geelong Football Club. When Cousins was 18 months old, his family moved back to Perth, Western Australia, where he was raised with younger siblings Matthew, Sophie and Melanie. He played junior football for the Bull Creek-Leeming Junior Football Club and for his private school, Wesley College. In his last year at Wesley in 1995, he was recruited to join the East Fremantle Football Club's senior side in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and played for both his school and East Fremantle throughout the season.