TonyK
CibbuanoCousins unsure about return
June 27th 2008 00:30
FORMER West Coast capatain Ben Cousins plans to register with VFL side Port Melbourne by next Monday.
Cousins said he will train with the side but doubts he will play football before the end of the year.
"I want to do a bit more football-specific training, see how the body feels ... I don't want to come back and slip up again," he said.
"I want to be 100 per cent certain that one, I can do it and two, that's what I want to do.
"I intend to hopefully register with Port Melbourne in the hope of coming over to Melbourne at some stage later in the year and training.
"I don't intend to play at this stage, but certainly to keep the options open."
Speaking to Channel Nine's The Footy Show on Thursday night, the 2005 Brownlow medallist, who has been battling a highly publicised substance abuse problem, said he was 'pretty confident' he could get back to his best form despite spending the past 12 months on the sidelines, but said he has not yet decided if he wanted to return to the AFL.
"Training and preparing for footy is the easy part, so if I ever made the decision to come back and play footy, the footy part, I wouldn't be worrying about at all," he said.
"It's not preparing for footy, it's not being fit enough, it's not wondering if I'm going to get a kick, but it's everything that comes with it. It's having to take into account everything that comes with addiction."
Cousins said he had not yet spoken to any clubs about a possible comeback and that if he was to retrun it would most likely be with a Victorian club.
The 29-year-old was given a 12-month suspension by the AFL at the end of the 2007 season for bringing the game into disrepute after a battle with drug addiction.
Cousins said he will train with the side but doubts he will play football before the end of the year.
"I want to do a bit more football-specific training, see how the body feels ... I don't want to come back and slip up again," he said.
"I want to be 100 per cent certain that one, I can do it and two, that's what I want to do.
"I intend to hopefully register with Port Melbourne in the hope of coming over to Melbourne at some stage later in the year and training.
"I don't intend to play at this stage, but certainly to keep the options open."
Speaking to Channel Nine's The Footy Show on Thursday night, the 2005 Brownlow medallist, who has been battling a highly publicised substance abuse problem, said he was 'pretty confident' he could get back to his best form despite spending the past 12 months on the sidelines, but said he has not yet decided if he wanted to return to the AFL.
"Training and preparing for footy is the easy part, so if I ever made the decision to come back and play footy, the footy part, I wouldn't be worrying about at all," he said.
"It's not preparing for footy, it's not being fit enough, it's not wondering if I'm going to get a kick, but it's everything that comes with it. It's having to take into account everything that comes with addiction."
Cousins said he had not yet spoken to any clubs about a possible comeback and that if he was to retrun it would most likely be with a Victorian club.
The 29-year-old was given a 12-month suspension by the AFL at the end of the 2007 season for bringing the game into disrepute after a battle with drug addiction.
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