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I agree. I thought that his lack of any kind of actual match fitness was always going to be a big factor in club's decision making. Its okay to burn up the field for a few games relying on natural stamina but if he couldn't last the season due to a lack of match hardness, it reduces his effectiveness as a draft pick and possibly reduces his overall lifespan as a player also. Also I thought there was a fair amount of talk from Cousins about a desire to play again but little actual action onfield to show that. It makes you think...RudeBoy wrote:Ultimately I reckon he did his case no good by choosing not to play football with another club anywhere this past year. If he'd played the 2nd half of the year with Port Melbourne or somewhere in the WAFL I've got no doubt he'd have been drafted. Such a waste and a sad end to a brilliant career.
No doubt it would have helped his cause, well, assuming he played well and stayed fit. Submitting himself to regular, voluntary drug checks would have gone even further, you know, actually proving he could stand up, not just saying it.RudeBoy wrote:Ultimately I reckon he did his case no good by choosing not to play football with another club anywhere this past year. If he'd played the 2nd half of the year with Port Melbourne or somewhere in the WAFL I've got no doubt he'd have been drafted. Such a waste and a sad end to a brilliant career.
Sponsors would've creamed at the prospect of gaining Cousins. Whichever club was going to recruit Ben was going to get 10 pages of the Herald SUn dedicated to them, along with press-conferences etc.rocketronnie wrote:St Kilda's sponsors also said they had nothing to do with their club's decision. Sponsor pressure is an easy line to trot out by those suspicious of the AFL's increasing corporatisation, particularly as a substitute for the real facts which aren't actually known at this point.AN_Inkling wrote:Agree. There is more to it than clubs not wanting to take the risk on future indiscretions, there is something not quite right about his behaviour in recent months that is putting them off. Whether that is simply associations (even Ablett snr has come out and told him to cutoff certain undesirable mates), attitude or actual actions is immaterial.rocketronnie wrote: If Cousins was as fit and ready and clear of his addiction and its lifestyle as some would have us believe, why wasn't he picked up by an AFL club, given he was a reasonably talented footballer? Please don't trot out the sponsor argument because on a number of occasions that's been shown to have been not true. My guess is there was more to the story than has been discussed in the public arena.
A relatively common piece of static that keeps re-appearing relates to his peers and lifestyle. Some allege he hasn't left the lifestyle that got him into trouble in the first place. if true that could be a major contributing factor as to why he wasn't picked up. Sometimes giving up the actual drug use is relatively easy, replacing the lifestyle and your peers is not.
At the end of the day the only person responsible for his rehabilitation is himself. Some here try shifting the responsibility to the AFL but really that could only be an adjunct to his rehabilitation (and a two edged sword at that given the pressures of AFL these days).
There is no way every club in the league would pass on him purely for image or sponsor dollars (Brisbane's major sponsor publicly stated they'd leave signing decisions to the club). His potential playing ability is too good for that.
Shane Whitnall says sometimes good footballers are not good brothersChinaman John M wrote:me brother said sometimes good footballers are not good people
Particularly when they snaffle the last bread roll and scarff all the party pies!frankiboy wrote:Shane Whitnall says sometimes good footballers are not good brothersChinaman John M wrote:me brother said sometimes good footballers are not good people
sounds like they will. Can't understand it but...the guy is a very average player and they have an abundance of his type as well. You would even think they would be more likely to take a punt on a delisted defender or forward than another outside mid.Podpicken wrote:carlton will take johnson
Which Johnson is this?DaVe86 wrote:sounds like they will. Can't understand it but...the guy is a very average player and they have an abundance of his type as well. You would even think they would be more likely to take a punt on a delisted defender or forward than another outside mid.Podpicken wrote:carlton will take johnson