Ben Cousins in stunning life turnaround after landing new TV job

AFL legend Ben Cousins has continued his stunning life turnaround having started at Channel 7 three times a week as a sports reader in Perth. Cousins saw his life spiral out of control after retiring from AFL when he found himself jailed for six months and battling a widely reported battle with drug addiction.

This saw him face a number stints behind bars. However, the West Coast great landed a job at Seven last year and helped analyse the weekend's AFL action.

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Cousins featured in the Channel 7 weekly segment since July last year. And in a further step, Cousins will now read the sports news bulletin three days a week in the morning.

The former Brownlow Medallist featured this week and admitted the role brought new challenges to his burgeoning media career.

“It’s been fun. A journey, but I’m learning every day,” Cousins said. “I can tell you, as the words scroll through, it’s harder than it looks.” AFL fans were quick to praise Cousins for his new found role.

Ben Cousins turns life around after retirement

During his prime, Cousins was one of the AFL's top midfielders and played a crucial role in West Coast's premiership triumph in 2006. He played 238 games for the Eagles, but off-field troubles cost him the captaincy in early 2006 and he was sacked by the club after the 2007 season. He returned to the AFL in 2009 and played 32 games for Richmond before he retired at the end of 2010.

He was previously convicted of stalking his ex-partner and spent more than six months in jail. The 44-year-old has endured a widely—reported battle with drug addiction after his career. However, the Brownlow Medallist has been making giant leaps forward in turning his life around.

In 2021 he made his return to the footy field for Queens Park in the Perth Metro Football League, and has been working in an assistant coaching role with WAFL side Perth Demons. At the end of the 2021 season he attended the Brownlow Medal ceremony for the first time in 11 years alongside friend Kellye Fergus.

When asked at the ceremony if he was back on the right path, Cousins replied: "Yeah absolutely. It's definitely a big night. It's been a while since I've been to one of the football industry nights.

"(There's been) a little bit behind the scenes, but that's part of it. You find yourself in different situations along the way. It's just great to be here tonight. There's been plenty of people. I won't go into it tonight. I'm just very fortunate that I've got the opportunity to come to one of football's great nights."

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