Fallen footy star Ben Cousins makes a surprise visit to his old team's training session as he awaits trial for 'stalking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend'
- Ben Cousins was seen at the Richmond's training session on Saturday afternoon
- He appeared in good spirits as he posed for a picture alongside Sydney Stack
- In March, Cousins, 40, pleaded not guilty to 14 offences including stalking
- The AFL champion is currently awaiting trial which is set to begin in September
Troubled AFL star Ben Cousins made a surprise appearance at his old team's training session while on bail ahead of his trial for allegedly stalking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
The former champion, 40, appeared in high spirits when he arrived at Richmond's Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon as he posed for a picture alongside rising star Sydney Stack.
Stack, 19, showed his support for Cousins by uploading the image to his Instagram account with the caption 'the greatest' alongside a love-heart emoji.
Cousins (pictured left) posed for a picture alongside his former teammate Sydney Stack (pictured right) at the Richmond's Optus Stadium
Cousins (pictured with a friend), 40, was released on bail and was previously spotted out and about in Palmyra, a suburb of Perth, sporting a long beard and ponytail
The image proved popular with fans and has already amassed more than 4,500 likes in the past two hours, since it was uploaded.
Cousins, who is considered one of the greatest footy players of all time, stood at the sidelines of the Tigers' training session as they prepared for their clash against Fremantle on Sunday.
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His father, Byran Cousins, who is a former Australian rules footballer, was also seen at the session.
Cousins' outing comes shortly after he was seen out and about in Palmyra, Perth, sporting a long beard and ponytail.
In March, Cousins (pictured) pleaded not guilty to 14 offences at Armadale Magistrates Court
In March, Cousins pleaded not guilty to 14 offences at Armadale Magistrates Court, including breaching a family violence restraining order and a count each of aggravated stalking and threatening to injure, endanger or harm, PerthNow reported.
Cousins had first been arrested his ex-girlfriend home in August.
He was held in custody at Hakea Prison in Western Australia.
Police have alleged that Cousins bombarded Ms Tinecheff with phone calls, messages and unannounced visits, breaching the conditions of the violence restraining order.
'I'm going to kill you. I'm going to take your life and your freedom and the things you love the most,' he allegedly told her.
Cousins also allegedly said he was going to bury her in a car 'where she would survive for a couple of days, then he would bring the kids to play so she would hear them but would not be able to get to them'.
The former Brownlow medallist was arrested at his ex-girlfriend Maylea Tinecheff's (pictured with Cousins) home in August
Cousins allegedly threatened the mother of his children with a screwdriver after getting into her BMW in Burswood and telling her he 'can't wait to use it.'
Before he applied for bail, his lawyer Michael Tudor said Cousins was 'the clearest I have seen him'.
'He is the one who is approaching me about rehabilitation, but one of the problems we have is that his predicament at the moment precludes him from going to a lot of rehabilitation places,' Mr Tudor said.
Cousins was granted bail and his trial will start on September 12.
Cousins won the Brownlow Medal as the game's best player and an AFL premiership with the West Coast Eagles during a career marred by off-field incidents.
He was jailed in 2017 before being released in January 2018 on parole.
Cousins (pictured) won the Brownlow Medal as the game's best player and an AFL premiership with the West Coast Eagles during a career marred by off-field incidents
THE TROUBLED LIFE AND TIMES OF BEN COUSINS
1996 - Makes AFL debut with West Coast and is named the league's Rising Star
2001 - Named club captain of West Coast at age 23
2002 - Breaks his arm falling down a flight of stairs at a nightclub months after punching his teammate Daniel Kerr
2005 - (May) Is quizzed by police about association with underworld identities
- (September) Wins Brownlow medal as the AFL's best and fairest player
Cousins after the 2006 AFL Grand Final
2006 - (February) Swims across a Perth river to escape a booze bus
- (September) Wins AFL premiership with the Eagles
- (December) Is arrested after passing out in front of Melbourne's Crown Casino and spends four hours in jail
2007 - (March) Suspended by West Coast after missing training session
- (April) Goes to a drug rehabilitation facility in the US
- (October) Revealed to have visited fellow Eagles legend Chris Mainwaring twice on the night he died of a drug overdose
- (October) Arrested and charged with drug offences that are later dropped
- (November) Eventually sacked by West Coast and banned from the AFL for one year
2008 - AFL re-registers Cousins and he is signed by Richmond
2010 - Retires from the AFL but releases autobiography and documentary
Cousins has been charged with drug possession and refusing a drug test in 2007, but the charges were later dropped
2015 - Arrested three times before leading police on a slow-speed car chase
2016 - (June) Spotted behaving erratically and directing traffic on a highway
- (October) In and out of court over drug offences and breaches a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner
2017 - Jailed for one year for breaching restraining order by calling his ex-lover thousands of times
2018 - (January) Released from jail on parole just 10 months into his sentence
He takes up a community support role with the West Coast Eagles - a requirement of his parole conditions
- (May): Reports emerge he hasn't been seen at the club for a month
The club confirms the he told officials in April he no longer wanted the job
- (August) Arrested and charged with drug possession and breaching a restraining order
Source: AAP
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