Former AFL star Ben Cousins has admitted going through "a bit of a tough time" and revealed he has no permanent home after being bailed at a Perth court on Thursday.
The 2005 Brownlow Medallist and former West Coast captain and premiership star was given a $600 fine and released on bail in Armadale Magistrate's Court for breaching a violence restraining order brought by his former partner Maylea Tinecheff, the mother of his two young children.
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After two nights behind bars, former West Coast Eagle admitted to breaching a violence restraining order and was fined. Vision courtesy Network Ten
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Ben Cousins out of jail
After two nights behind bars, former West Coast Eagle admitted to breaching a violence restraining order and was fined. Vision courtesy Network Ten
Cousins was arrested on Tuesday while playing with his kids, aged three and five, at a Canning Vale park near his former partner's home.
Upon leaving court on bail after two nights in police custody, Cousins told a waiting media pack he considered himself "really lucky" to be released after previously admitting he expected to spend Christmas this year in jail.
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Cousins, 38, further detailed his troubles to a journalist who offered him a lift after a taxi driver who came to collect him saw the media scrum and drove off.
"It's hard to know where to go to," he told a News Corp journalist while deciding on a destination to be driven to.
"I am living out of a backpack at the moment.
"I move between three mates' houses, spend time on different couches.
"There's a lady I knock around with these days who I stay with, otherwise I just move on to another place.
Cousins also told journalist Sarah Blake his trademark grin in front of media packs hid a much deeper problem.
"Well, it's a bit of a facade really... I am having a bit of a tough time," the 38-year-old told her.
The Brownlow medallist, who has lost his vast fortune built over a glittering AFL career to drugs and addiction, saw the irony of accepting a lift with a journalist.
"Well, it's a bit of a facade really... I am having a bit of a tough time."
"That's pretty funny that I am going to get a ride with someone from the media, but so be it." he said to Ms Blake before being driven for 10 minutes to a friend's house nearby.
Cousins' battle with drug addiction has been well documented and resulted in several court appearances, moreso in recent years, with the 38-year-old due in court again next week for two separate matters.
History of mental health and drug battles
Cousins has battled drug addiction throughout his AFL career and after it ended in 2010.
The 38-year-old was last detained by police, and then hospitalised, in late June after interfering with traffic on Canning Highway in Como while in a dazed state.
At one stage he was banned for a year from football while contracted to the Eagles and had several run-ins with police after Richmond threw him a lifeline in 2009.
The 2005 Brownlow medallist was spared jail last year for a bizarre episode in which he trespassed at a Sikh temple in Canning Vale.
In the subsequent court case, a lawyer for Cousins said his client had been mentally ill at the time of incident, had been hospitalised rather than locked up and had taken a fencing job in Collie.
When former Eagles teammate Chris Judd launched his autobiography Inside last October, he said Cousins seemed to be "doing well" when they caught up recently.
Even West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett, on the eve of the club's 10-year premiership celebrations, touched on the Brownlow medallist's battle, saying he would forgo that 2006 success in exchange for the good mental health of Cousins and other troubled ex-Eagles from that side.
Cousins' on-field career garnered just about every honour imaginable, including six All-Australian jumpers and his 2005 Brownlow triumph.
But there was just as much drama off it, with West Coast forced to take the captaincy of its favourite son after he famously avoided a booze bus by jumping into the Canning River.
He was eventually sacked by the club in 2007 after several failed stints in rehab and finished his career after two seasons at Richmond in 2009 and 2010, for a total of 270 career AFL games.
For anyone seeking crisis support or needing help, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
- with AAP