Collingwood Looking Like Cousins' New Home
Sun Herald
Sunday August 24, 2008
COLLINGWOOD are the frontrunners to secure fallen West Coast star Ben Cousins.
The Sun-Herald understands Cousins has been given a conditional guarantee by the Pies that they will select him in either the national or pre-season draft later this year. The news came from an interview with former Eagles star Karl Langdon on Radio 6PR yesterday, when he claimed Cousins had all but signed at Collingwood. "He's been pretty much guaranteed that if he gets through all fitness checks, all health regulations and does everything right that he needs to do to then he will be signed at Collingwood for next season," Langdon said. The conditions, which must comply to the AFL's regulations and needs to satisfy them that he has overcome the drug-related issues that led to his ban in order to be granted the right to enter the following month's national draft. AFL football operations chief Adrian Anderson said Cousins must undergo a series of tests and prove he has been undergoing some kind of counselling or therapy and have written documentation of his recovery. Collingwood would not comment on the Cousins story. His manager, Ricky Nixon, denies speaking to the Pies and said "there's still a lot to get through" before Cousins is able to nominate for the draft. "I'm not really interested in any clubs contacting me at the moment, to be honest," Nixon said. "Ben still has to get his body right, and until he gets not only the football side of things, but other things back on track, he won't be going anywhere." Cousins was set to join Port Melbourne in the VFL this week, but the Borough hierarchy put a stop to it, stating it was the "wrong time of the year" for any distractions. It is understood Cousins will instead train privately at the Lexus Centre in order to prove his fitness before the draft period. With only one week of the VFL season remaining for Collingwood, he could not train with the affiliate team. "We've got a finals series to think about and it doesn't matter if Ben Cousins or Kevin Rudd was coming, we have to think about our finals campaign," Port Melbourne general manager Barry Kidd said yesterday. Cousins's options in any return to AFL football hit a few minor hiccups in June when Carlton coach Brett Ratten and North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley declared they had no interest in the Brownlow medallist. Meanwhile, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has outlined criteria for troubled Magpies Heath Shaw and Alan Didak to stay at the club. McGuire said it was up to Shaw and Didak to show that they had a passion for the club and had changed their off-field behaviour, after Shaw was charged with drink driving and he and Didak lied to club officials.
© 2008 Sun Herald
