The rise and fall of former AFL star Ben Cousins
The tale of Ben Cousins' life is one of extraordinary sporting achievements mixed with crippling personal lows, with the former AFL star revealing the extent to which drug addiction has ruined his life.
1996: A 17-year-old Cousins makes his West Coast debut, kicking two goals against Geelong.
1998: Cousins' stock continues to rise at West Coast as he finishes runner-up in the club’s best and fairest, and is named in the All Australian team.
2001: Named co-captain at West Coast alongside Dean Kemp. Takes over the role by himself after Kemp’s retirement at the end of the 2001 season.
September 2002: Involved in a fight with West Coast teammate Daniel Kerr at a Perth nightclub. Cousins suffers a broken arm as a result of being pushed down a set of stairs in a separate incident.
May 2005: Cousins apologises for association with gangland figures after he and Eagles ruckman Michael Gardiner became embroiled in a police investigation into a nightclub shooting in January.
September 2005: Wins the Brownlow Medal as the AFL’s best and fairest player, pipping teammate Daniel Kerr by one vote.
February 17, 2006: Does a runner from a police booze bus in Applecross and evades authorities by jumping into the Canning River.
September 30, 2006: Wins the AFL premiership after the West Coast Eagles defeat the Sydney Swans in the grand final.
March 2007: Travels to America to undergo drug rehabilitation in Los Angeles. Rushed to hospital and comes close to dying after a five-day cocaine binge.
October 2007: Sacked by West Coast a day after being arrested in Perth and charged with possessing a prohibited drug and failing to comply with a requirement to undergo a driver assessment.
November 2007: Suspended by the AFL for 12 months for bringing the game into disrepute. Cousins admits for the first time that he is battling a drug addiction.
November, 2008: The AFL gives Cousins another chance by re-registering him. Richmond sign the former Brownlow winner with the final pick of the pre-season draft.
August 2010: Cousins announces that he will retire at the end of the 2010 season.
January 2012: Has a fall at a drug rehab clinic and is admitted to a Perth hospital. Later suffers a drug-induced psychosis and is committed to a mental health unit.
March 2012: Charged with possession of ice with intent to sell or supply, and in June is fined after pleading guilty to three drug charges.
March 2015: Fined and disqualified from driving for 10 months, following a low-speed police pursuit that ended with his arrest.
March 2015: Pleaded guilty to trespass and property damage charges relating to a bizarre rooftop incident in Canning Vale. He was fined $500 for trespassing on the roof of a house in March and $300 for causing damage to the roof tiles.
June 2016: Admitted to hospital after reportedly trying to direct traffic on a busy Perth Highway and other erratic behavior.
November 2016: A heavily medicated Cousins was granted bail after he had missed a court date, then crashed his car into a truck prompting a two-day stay in hospital.
December 2016: Cousins fined $600 and released on bail for breaching a violence restraining order brought by former partner and mother of his two children Maylea Tinecheff. Admits to reporters he has lost just about everything to drugs, is sleeping on random couches and is living out of a backpack.