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Ben Cousins Profile |
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Birth Date: June 30, 1978
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Birth Place: Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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Birth Name: Benjamin Luke Cousins
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Height: 5'10"
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Biography |
Ben Cousins is an Australian rules footballer, best known
for his successful 238-game career with the West Coast
Eagles and several off-field incidents that led to a
year-long ban from AFL in 2007. Richmond Football Club
drafted Cousins for his return to professional football in
the 2009 season.
Cousins was born in Geelong in 1978, to parents Stephanie
and Bryan, a former player for the Geelong Football Club.
When Cousins was 18 months old, his family moved back to
Perth, 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,
Cousins was recruited to join the East Fremantle Football
Club's senior side in the WAFL, and played for both his
school and East Fremantle throughout the season.
While Cousins was still at school, three AFL teams competed
to draft him under the Father-Son Rule: Geelong Football
Club, West Coast Eagles and newly formed Fremantle Football
Club. Cousins' father Bryan played for Perth Football Club
in the WAFL, and played 67 games for Geelong in the AFL.
Geelong's recruiting manager, Stephen Wells, said, "Ben
barracked for Geelong and we tried everything to get him
here". However, Cousins preferred to remain based in Western
Australia and chose West Coast in October 1995. |
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