sport news Ben Cousins reveals his huge regret about battle with addiction that saw him ... trends now
Former AFL champion Ben Cousins has turned his turbulent life around after a heartbreaking battle with drug addiction, but there's still one big regret that he can't shake.
Cousins played 238 games and booted 205 goals for West Coast between 1996 and 2007, winning the premiership in his penultimate season in Perth.
The former midfielder captained the Eagles from 2001 to 2005, securing the club's best and fairest award in four out of those five seasons.
He was suspended by the club in March 2007 - just six months after the grand final triumph over Sydney - for alleged substance abuse and sacked six months later after being arrested for drug possession and refusing to submit to a blood test.
Ben Cousins says his big regret is the amount of time it took to turn his life around as his struggle with addiction ended his footy career
The champion player spent many years battling his drugs demons - but can now joke about spending time in jail
He returned to the AFL in 2009 with Richmond, before retiring at the end of the 2010 season.
Cousins was jailed on six separate occasions in 13 years and spent seven months behind bars in 2020, when he apparently decided enough was enough.
The 45-year-old is now on the right path and is reading the news for Seven in Western Australia, and is set to appear on Dancing With The Stars.
Appearing on The Front Bar on Wednesday night, Cousins said he only regrets how long it took to get clean.
'I wish it hadn't had to have taken this long, and had to run its course the way it did,' he
