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Cousins contrast to struggling team
By Garry Lyon
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
THERE haven't been too many opportunities this year to pass positive comment on the West Coast Eagles.
They are suffering like never before in their 14-year history, during which they have been, at times, the most powerful and imposing combination in the land.
But right now they are struggling to be competitive at all, on any front, a reminder of how fleeting success can be and how demoralising the bottom rungs of the AFL ladder can be to occupy.
But amid the doom and gloom of Friday night's 81-point drubbing emerged a performance that was striking, not only in its execution but also in its contrast to the sorry display put on by his team.
It came from the Eagles' 22-year-old co-captain, Ben Cousins, and was memorable because he is a young player who refused to compromise his extremely high standards, regardless of what can be a seductive mediocrity inherent in the Eagles at the moment.
I was taken with his desire to impose himself on almost every contest. I suspect that if I was actually at the game I would have appreciated his indefatigable work ethic even more. He has at times been accused of winning most of his possessions in the back half, where the smart onball player can accumulate large numbers with the luxury of little or no opposition. This wasn't the case on Friday night.
Cousins wasn't trying to save the game, nor ''beef'' up his possessions tally. In fact he was credited with winning only four of his 34 touches in his own defensive 50m. He was terrific in the centre square where his work, in tandem with Michael Gardiner, was instrumental in the Eagles' four-point quarter-time lead.
So often he would be involved in a passage of play, have the ball cleared toward the West Coast goal, only to see him bob up in the next contest. His punishing training regime is almost legendary in Western Australia, but to actually be able to take full advantage of your superior fitness in a game situation is another matter altogether.
One would only have to ask Andrew Dimattina, Tarkyn Lockyer, Carl Steinfort or Paul Licuria for confirmation this is exactly what Cousins can do. They all, at different stages and for varying lengths of time, had to run with Cousins and all had little success.
In fact it would be an interesting exercise to ask Dimattina to compare the style of game, and output, of Cousins and reigning Brownlow medallist Shane Woewodin. In Dimattina's last outing he eclipsed Woewodin, performing a similar close-checking assignment to that asked of him with Cousins, to the point where at the end of the game it almost appeared that Woewodin was tagging Dimattina.
Against the Eagles he was sitting on the bench before quarter-time with Cousins having already chalked up close to 10 touches. It might be a handy video of the game for Woey to get a hold of as well to have a look at, to remind himself of just how hard you have to work to shake a tag.
The fact that Cousins is able to consistently perform at or near his peak, while all around him are struggling, speaks volumes for the man's class and mental toughness.
He no longer has the luxury of sharing the considerable load with Glen Jakovich, Dean Kemp and Peter Matera. They have been where Cousins now sits, among football's elite, but they sit there no longer. Their battle is to maintain a physical and mental equilibrium that will allow them to play out their remaining days as valuable contributors to the team.
From someone who encountered them at their dominant and all-conquering best, it's sad to say that it's a battle, on both fronts, they all seem to be struggling with.
Cousins will enjoy an enormously successful football career. By the time this season finishes he will be 23, probably have his first best and fairest under his belt to add to his two All-Australian jumpers and his Norwich Rising Star Award.
The club captaincy will be his and his alone, a situation that could remain for another six or seven years.
Whether or not he walks away from the game with a couple of premierships -- as his mates Jako, Roo and Tommy Kemp will -- remains to be seen, and to be honest it seems a fair way off.
I get the feeling though, that when Cousins' time is up, he will have deserved one.
By Garry Lyon
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
THERE haven't been too many opportunities this year to pass positive comment on the West Coast Eagles.
They are suffering like never before in their 14-year history, during which they have been, at times, the most powerful and imposing combination in the land.
But right now they are struggling to be competitive at all, on any front, a reminder of how fleeting success can be and how demoralising the bottom rungs of the AFL ladder can be to occupy.
But amid the doom and gloom of Friday night's 81-point drubbing emerged a performance that was striking, not only in its execution but also in its contrast to the sorry display put on by his team.
It came from the Eagles' 22-year-old co-captain, Ben Cousins, and was memorable because he is a young player who refused to compromise his extremely high standards, regardless of what can be a seductive mediocrity inherent in the Eagles at the moment.
I was taken with his desire to impose himself on almost every contest. I suspect that if I was actually at the game I would have appreciated his indefatigable work ethic even more. He has at times been accused of winning most of his possessions in the back half, where the smart onball player can accumulate large numbers with the luxury of little or no opposition. This wasn't the case on Friday night.
Cousins wasn't trying to save the game, nor ''beef'' up his possessions tally. In fact he was credited with winning only four of his 34 touches in his own defensive 50m. He was terrific in the centre square where his work, in tandem with Michael Gardiner, was instrumental in the Eagles' four-point quarter-time lead.
So often he would be involved in a passage of play, have the ball cleared toward the West Coast goal, only to see him bob up in the next contest. His punishing training regime is almost legendary in Western Australia, but to actually be able to take full advantage of your superior fitness in a game situation is another matter altogether.
One would only have to ask Andrew Dimattina, Tarkyn Lockyer, Carl Steinfort or Paul Licuria for confirmation this is exactly what Cousins can do. They all, at different stages and for varying lengths of time, had to run with Cousins and all had little success.
In fact it would be an interesting exercise to ask Dimattina to compare the style of game, and output, of Cousins and reigning Brownlow medallist Shane Woewodin. In Dimattina's last outing he eclipsed Woewodin, performing a similar close-checking assignment to that asked of him with Cousins, to the point where at the end of the game it almost appeared that Woewodin was tagging Dimattina.
Against the Eagles he was sitting on the bench before quarter-time with Cousins having already chalked up close to 10 touches. It might be a handy video of the game for Woey to get a hold of as well to have a look at, to remind himself of just how hard you have to work to shake a tag.
The fact that Cousins is able to consistently perform at or near his peak, while all around him are struggling, speaks volumes for the man's class and mental toughness.
He no longer has the luxury of sharing the considerable load with Glen Jakovich, Dean Kemp and Peter Matera. They have been where Cousins now sits, among football's elite, but they sit there no longer. Their battle is to maintain a physical and mental equilibrium that will allow them to play out their remaining days as valuable contributors to the team.
From someone who encountered them at their dominant and all-conquering best, it's sad to say that it's a battle, on both fronts, they all seem to be struggling with.
Cousins will enjoy an enormously successful football career. By the time this season finishes he will be 23, probably have his first best and fairest under his belt to add to his two All-Australian jumpers and his Norwich Rising Star Award.
The club captaincy will be his and his alone, a situation that could remain for another six or seven years.
Whether or not he walks away from the game with a couple of premierships -- as his mates Jako, Roo and Tommy Kemp will -- remains to be seen, and to be honest it seems a fair way off.
I get the feeling though, that when Cousins' time is up, he will have deserved one.
