It has been decided that Cousins would be able to play VFL in the lead up to his return to AFL next yr.

How the haters will choke on that one  



THE VFL has approved Ben Cousins' application to play with Port Melbourne.

The league received the official documentation from the Port Melbourne Football Club to register the disgraced former Eagles captain as a VFL player today.

As revealed in the Herald Sun last week, Cousins plans to training with the club as the next step in his recovery from drug addiction. He hopes to play for an AFL club again in the future.

Cousins is currently living in Perth where he will train with two WAFL clubs before moving to Melbourne.

AFL Victoria Operations Manager John Hook said the VFL had approved the application and Cousins was now eligible to play for Port Melbourne in the VFL competition.

Cousins was deregistered by the AFL for 12 months last November, preventing him from playing at the elite level, following revelations about his drug addiction.

The AFL Commission, when announcing the deregistration, said Cousins would be free to play in other competitions this year, subject to state league constitutions.

Acid Monkey wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2008 at 8:57pm:



Have a sneaking suspicion you could be correct Acidmonkey..I doubt he can gel as well as he did with West Coast..

A foreign state and a foreign club --will be difficult for him to get back to his best form .

But then we are talking about Ben Cousins and I  expect he still has a lot left in him.

The man is fit and committed and loves his game.

The AFL is full of drug addicts, most are alcohol, rather than illegal, drug addicts, and if they can play well enough, they get a free pass on their problems, just like Fevola.

Personally, I think any club who does not want him are idiots, they could even have weekly, or bi-weekly urinalysis if they were truly concerned about him using drugs again.

He is a true superstar of the sport, I would like to see him at carlton, playing with judd again.

oceanz wrote on Jul 4^th, 2008 at 11:01am:


Yes, Collingwood VFL wants him not Collingwood AFL.

He is 30 years old and has a 12 month suspension to complete. That'll take him to 2009 where he will be 31 years old. Then he'll go into a VFL club (most likely Collingwood) for say at least 1 maybe 2 years. He'll be at least 32 years old before being even be considered for elite AFL. This is a sport where 30 is considered the peak and the beginnings of a fast downhill slide. He'll have at least 1 year of non-elite playing with 2 years worth of countless young guys passing him by. All this, and providing that he doesn't get himself in the limelight for the wrong reasons again between now and then.

By 2010/11 will any club consider him? Will he be fit enough at his age when most would be considering retirement? There will be many younger, faster, cheaper, fresher players to select and mould into the club coporate image and doctrine instead of trying to mould a has-been.

Don't get me wrong. He's a great player and a pleasure to watch in action. I'm being realistic on his chances. I'll be surprise if any AFL team picks him.

I hope he goes ok.
Probably the AFL should run random drug tests on him.

For his benefit, the games and the supporters.

Tell ya what, he ought to be the spokesman for this company. (if they still had the original ingredients)

ex-member DonaldTrump wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 6:44pm:


Hi there donald..

Yes that pic deserves several of these   

as opposed to Sydney being at the top..?

ha ha.