Fallen footy star Ben Cousins gives the thumbs up in a rare picture with Nic Naitanui - as fans offer their heartfelt support ahead of his tell-all interview
- AFL star Ben Cousins was seen alongside West Coast Eagles player Nic Naitanui
- Cousins once captained the West Coast Eagles before retiring from AFL in 2010
- Cousins turned to a life of drugs after retirement and spent time in and out of jail
- After Naitanui shared the post, Cousins was flooded with support from AFL fans
Fans have rushed to offer their support to AFL legend Ben Cousins as he prepares for a tell-all television interview about his fall from grace and decent into drug addiction.
Cousins, 41, posted a rare smiling picture of himself sitting with West Coast Eagles star Nic Naitanui - with the pair giving the thumbs up on Monday.
Cousins, 41, made his name at the West Coast Eagles before he was kicked out of the club for a series of indiscretions in 2007. After serving a one-year ban from the game, he played at the Richmond Tigers, retiring from the game in 2010.
The fallen star was flooded with support after Naitanui's Instagram post, with many remembering Cousins as the 'best player' in the game who captained the West Coast Eagles at just 23, winning a premiership flag and a Brownlow Medal in 2005.
Ben Cousins was seen giving the thumps up with West Coast Eagles player Nic Naitanui on Monday
'9', Naitanui captioned the photo, referencing the jersey number he inherited from Cousins.
'Best player I’ve ever seen play,' one fan commented on the post.
'Love seeing Benny, he looks happy, I hope he is doing well,' another said.
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'What I’d pay to see you tapping down to Benny,' someone else wrote.
'Best Ruck, Best Mid of all time,' one person said.
Cousins was destined to be a star in the AFL world.
Cousins spent two stints behind bars after being charged with drug possession in 2017 and 2018
Cousins was destined to be a star in the AFL world, captaining the West Coast Eagles at just 23 and winning a Brownlow Medal for best and fairest in 2005
But in 2007 Cousins's career started to plummet in a downwards spiral.
He was administered into a drug rehab facility in the U.S. and was later charged with drug offences.
After the charges were dropped, Cousins was sacked from the Eagles and banned from AFL for a year.
In 2009 he was re-signed by the Richmond Tigers but retired a year later and released a documentary detailing his struggles, 'Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins'.
In the ten years since ended his football career, Cousins found himself in and out of court over drug offences.
In 2017 he was jailed for a year for breaching a restraining order by calling his ex-lover thousands of times.
Cousins was released in January, 2018 but was arrested just seven months later for drug possession and found himself behind bars again.
Ben Cousins opened up about his struggles with drug addictions in his documentary 'Such is Life'
In February last year, the former AFL star was fined $1,750 for possessing meth and hiding it up his anus while in jail.
He was released from jail on parole in April 2019.
Other controversial moments for Cousins include the time he punched teammate Daniel Kerr at West Coast Eagles's best and fairest awards in 2002.
In another incident, Cousins swam across the Swan River in an attempt to avoid police after fleeing and RBT in 2006.
Cousins will open up for the first time since his 2010 documentary in a tell all interview with Channel Seven
The Brownlow Medallist and West Coast Eagles premiership superstar, 41, sat down with respected Channel Seven presenter Basil Zempilas in Perth last week, where he opened up about his turbulent post-AFL life, which included two stints behind bars.
The 'no question off limits' interview took place over five days and will screen later in March as a feature-length special,
It will be the first time Cousins has opened up about his history with drugs since his 2010 documentary.
During his time at the West Coast Eagles Cousins played 238 games and booted 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, where he won a premiership with the club in 2006.
He played 32 games during his stint with the Tigers and kicked 12 more goals before he retired.
'I'll always regret what I've put my family through. There's a lot of shame and regret. People wonder why I haven't broken down or shed a tear (in public). My tears are something that I hold close to me; they're for me and my family,' Cousins said at his retirement announcement.
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
2019 - (February) He was fined $1,750 for possessing meth and hiding it up his anus while in jail
(March) Cousins pleaded not guilty to 14 offences in court, including breaching a family violence restraining order and a count each of aggravated stalking and threatening to injure, endanger or harm
(April) Cousins is released from jail on bail after eight months inside.
