Tigers pick Cousins

RICHMOND has revived the career of Ben Cousins by selecting him with pick six in Tuesday's pre-season draft.

The Tigers had been hoping to select the former West Coast captain at pick seven.

But after the league rejected the Tigers' bid to have injured utility Graham Polak placed on the rookie list Richmond football operations manager Craig Cameron said it was 'highly unlikely' the club would pick Cousins with its remaining selection as it planned on taking a young player with that selection.

However, the Tigers had a late change of heart on Monday night and decided to give the 30-year-old a chance to add to his 238-game career.

Cousins, whose 12-month suspension for bringing the game into disrepute following his much-publicised drug addiction was lifted in November, will be subject to up to three urine tests per week and up to four hair tests per year.

Meanwhile, Melbourne chose Northern Territory youngster Liam Jurrah with pick one while Josh Carr will return to Port Adelaide after the Power selected the former Fremantle midfielder with pick two.

Essendon revived the career of former Adelaide midfielder Hayden Skipworth with pick three.

Skipworth has been out of the AFL system for two seasons but since then he has played for Essendon's VFL team Bendigo, where he won the best and fairest this year.

Carlton chose former Melbourne defender Chris Johnson at pick four while Brisbane selected promising youngster Tom Rockliff at five.

2008 AFL Pre-season Draft

1. Melbourne - Liam Jurrah (Yuendumu Magpies)
2. Port Adelaide - Josh Carr (Fremantle)
3. Essendon - Hayden Skipworth (Bendigo Bombers)
4. Carlton - Chris Johnson (Melbourne)
5. Brisbane Lions - Tom Rockliff (Murray Bushrangers)

6. Richmond - Ben Cousins (Port Melbourne)

2008 AFL Rookie Draft

Round 1:
1. Melbourne - Jordie McKenzie (Geelong Falcons)
2. West Coast - Liam Bedford (Geelong rookie)
3. Fremantle - Casey Sibosado (Oakleigh Chargers)
4. Port Adelaide - Wade Thompson (North Adelaide)
5. Essendon - Bryce Carroll (Western Jets)
6. Carlton - Jefferey Garlett (Swan Districts)
7. Brisbane Lions - Daniel Murray (East Perth)
8. Richmond - Robin Nahas (Port Melbourne)
9. North Melbourne - Marcus White (Calder Cannons)
10. Adelaide - Ricky Henderson (Trentham)
11. Collingwood - Tristan Francis (Gippsland Power)
12. Sydney - Kristin Thornton (Sydney Swans)
13. St Kilda - Zac Dawson (Hawthorn)
14. Western Bulldogs - Jamason Daniels (Murray Bushrangers)
15. Geelong - Adam Varcoe (Central Districts)
16. Hawthorn - Riley Milne (Murray Bushrangers)

Round 2:
17. Melbourne - Rhys Healey (Bendigo Pioneers)
18. West Coast - Adam Cockie (Subiaco)
19. Fremantle - Matthew de Boer (Claremont)
20. Port Adelaide - Danny Meyer (Richmond)
21. Essendon - Tom German (Calder Cannons)
22. Carlton - Luke Stanton (Northern Knights)
23. Brisbane Lions - Pass
24. Richmond - David Gourdis (Richmond)
25. North Melbourne - Luke Delaney (Geelong Falcons)
26. Adelaide - Chris Schmidt (Brisbane Lions)
27. Collingwood - Jarryd Blair (Gippsland Power)
28. Sydney - Taylor Gilchrist (Sandringham Dragons)
29. St Kilda - Tom Simpkin (Geelong Falcons)
30. Western Bulldogs - Liam Picken (Williamstown)
31. Geelong - Bryn Weadon (North Ballarat)
32. Hawthorn - Haydn Kiel (Brisbane Lions)

Round 3:
33. Melbourne - Danny Hughes (Melbourne rookie)
34. Fremantle - Hamish Shepheard (East Perth)
35. Port Adelaide - Daniel Stewart (Labrador)
36. Essendon - Christian Bock (Woodville West Torrens)
37. Carlton - Greg Bentley (Port Adelaide)
38. Brisbane Lions - Pass
39. Richmond - Andrew Browne (Murray Bushrangers)
40. North Melbourne - Ben Speight (Norwood)
41. Adelaide - Pass
42. Collingwood - John Bennell (Peel Thunder)
43. Sydney - Kyle Coney (Tyrone, Ireland)
44. St Kilda - Brad Howard (St Kilda)
45. Western Bulldogs - Pass
46. Geelong - Tom Allwright (North Hobart)
47. Hawthorn - Luke Breust (Temora)

Round 4:
48. Fremantle - Clancee Pearce (Swan Districts)
49. Port Adelaide - Matthew Martin (West Adelaide)
50. Essendon - Kade Klemke (Murray Bushrangers)
51. Carlton - Darren Pfeiffer (Carlton)
52. Brisbane Lions - Pass
53. Richmond - Alroy Gilligan (Claremont)
54. North Melbourne - Alan Obst (North Melbourne)
55. Adelaide - Brian Donnelly (Louth, Ireland)
56. Collingwood - Toby Thoolen (Collingwood)
57. Sydney - Michael Pyke (Canada)
58. St Kilda - Steven Gaertner (Dandenong Stingrays)
59. Western Bulldogs - Pass
60. Geelong - Ranga Ediriwickrama (NSW)
61. Hawthorn - Carl Peterson (Richmond)

Round 5:
62. Fremantle - Jay van Berlo (West Perth)
63. Port Adelaide - Jesse Lawrie (Claremont)
64. Essendon - Michael Quinn (Longford, Ireland)
65. Carlton - Lachie Hill (Carlton)
66. Brisbane Lions - Adam Spackman (Morningside)
67. Richmond - Pass
68. North Melbourne - Conor Meredith (Laois, Ireland)
69. Collingwood - Lachlan Keefe (Non-registered)
70. Sydney - N/A
71. St Kilda - Ross Tangatulum (St Mary's NT)
72. Western Bulldogs - Chris Ogle (NSW)
73. Hawthorn - Garry Moss (Hawthorn)

Round 6
74. Fremantle - Greg Broughton (Subiaco)
75. Port Adelaide - Pass
76. Carlton - Sam Jacobs (Carlton)
77. Brisbane Lions - Daniel Dzufer (Brisbane Lions)
78. Collingwood - Scott Reed (NSW)
79. Sydney - N/A
80. St Kilda - Sam McGarry (Sandringham Dragons)
81. Hawthorn - Matthew Suckling (Sandringham Dragons)

Round 7:
82. Brisbane Lions - Joel Tippett (Brisbane Lions)
83. Sydney - N/A
84. St Kilda - Blake McGrath (NSW)
85. Hawthorn - William Sierakowski (NSW)

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