What a Legend.

Ben Cousins made his big return game this evening for the West Coast Eagles in their match against the Sydney Swans in Perth. For those that don't know recent Australian Football League History, these are the two teams who have won the national championship over the last two years. For that period they were clear and outstandingly superior to the other 14 teams in the competition. The Eagles were the premiers last year.

Ben Cousins was their captain. Hard playing, handsome, talented and skilled, he had an air of notoriety about him with his kicking around with gangsters, involved in various nefarious activities. Though to my knowledge he was never actually charged with anything.

What he did have as a favour of the wildside, however, was a nasty little drug habit by all accounts. This was a major crisis, both for him personally and the football world as a whole. Here was a 'role model' premiership captain, at his peak, who was incapable of continuing due to his methamphetamine habit.

So Ben toddled off to the US for a bit or rehab for a few weeks, and stayed out of the game for over half a year. Not totally out of the limelight at any time, his plight was used by drug campaigners, politicians, lawyers, and sportsmen for their own ends. One wondered at times how he'd be coping with the added pressure, brought about by the fact of his celebrity, on top of his rehab program and growing lack of match practice.

Tonight he returned to play at his home ground and the end result was quite spectacular. The Eagles won, by one of the larger margins of games between these two team for the last few years (couple of goals). Secondly, Cousins played pretty well the whole game. Thirdly, he got 39 (?) possessions - which is an amazingly high number of touches.

I think he equalled his own record for number of possessions. And this, from a brownlow medalist premiership captain, after an eight month break from the game played at any level, against one of the greatest teams in the land.

Even if I have my own issues with Ben, I gotta say, what a legend. Well Done.

PS - gave me great pleasure to write the above post and not have to put 'drugs' as a category tag for Ben!