IT'S OFFICIAL. The 238-game career of Brownlow Medallist Ben Cousins has been revived by Richmond with its selection (sixth overall) in Tuesday's NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft.
Cousins is expected to train with his new club at Punt Road on Wednesday morning.
De-registered for one year before earning a reprieve from the League last month, several clubs – including Collingwood, St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions – considered recruiting the 30-year-old but opted against it in the November 29 national draft.
With his hopes of resuming at the elite level hanging by a thread, Cousins appeared to be thrown a last-minute lifeline by Richmond last week.
However, the Tigers said the opportunity was contingent on the AFL allowing injured tall Graham Polak being allowed to move – Adam Ramanauskas-like – to the rookie list, a request denied by the Commission on Monday.
Late in the afternoon, the club said it was "highly unlikely" to use pick six in the pre-season draft to select Cousins, preferring to target youth – its stated policy all along.
But a series of late-night meetings and phone hook-ups between coaching staff and senior administrators saw the Tigers change course yet again and take the troubled star back into the football family.
Cousins has ridden the rollercoaster of fame, fortune and destruction over the years – winner of the NAB AFL Rising Star award in his first year, the Brownlow Medallist in 2005, a member of West Coast's 2006 premiership side, suspended by the club early in 2007 and sacked by them later that year.
At his best, Cousins was the premier goalkicking midfielder in the competition, with his ability to gut-run and inspire his team second to none.
Even after the captaincy was passed to Chris Judd, Cousins was seen by many – and referred to by teammates – as West Coast's 'spiritual leader'.
But even the Eagles' oft-tested patience with Cousins was stretched too far in early 2006 when he ran from a booze bus.
He was forced to resign his captaincy, and the Eagles won the flag under Judd.
Cousins was then suspended in the 2007 pre-season after missing training sessions and turning up at the club in an unfit state.
He made a comeback late in the year before seriously injuring his hamstring in West Coast's narrow qualifying final loss to Port Adelaide.
The club sacked him after his arrest in October 2007, only for police to drop charges, however, the League deemed he'd erred enough to spend 12 months away from the game.
Cousins becomes a Tiger
Ben Cousins is bound for Punt Road after Richmond used pick six to select him in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft