Eagles want Cousins costs deal
Mike Sheahan and Damian Barrett
April 12, 2007 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 88,00.html
THE AFL Commission will rule on West Coast's bid for salary cap relief for costs related to Ben Cousins' drug problem.
In a highly unusual move, football operations manager Adrian Anderson has referred the matter to the commission for decision.
Anderson refused to discuss the issue last night, saying only that he did not want to pre-empt the commission's decision.
West Coast has applied for relief from an estimated $60,000 it has paid for Cousins' extended treatment for drug addiction at a clinic in the US.
The figure includes in-patient charges estimated at $50,000, air fares and associated expenses.
And the Herald Sun learnt yesterday the investigation into Eagle Daniel Kerr's alleged conversations with a drug dealer has been completed and will also be referred to the commission.
AFL investigators Allan Roberts and Bill Kneebone submitted their findings to Anderson yesterday.
Kerr was recorded by Victorian Police in 2003 allegedly talking to a convicted drug dealer about the horse sedative ketamine, which is also used as a drug.
The commission will rule on both issues at its meeting in Brisbane late next week.
Whatever the answers, there is likely to be fall-out.
While there is widespread sympathy for Cousins and his plight, the hardliners make the point a club can't expect relief for payments made on behalf of a player who has knowingly and repeatedly broken the law.
When Anderson was first contacted about the issue, he indicated the costs would be allowed because they were unforeseen medical expenses, which are exempt from the Total Player Payments.
He called back to say the matter probably would be referred to the commission. He confirmed the commission plan late yesterday.
While the commission is expected to rule in favour of the Eagles, any subsequent application by the club for injury payment relief for Cousins -- up to $100,000 if he were to miss 25 games -- will be hotly disputed by opposition clubs and, we suspect, many fans.
In simple terms, why should a club receive a benefit for a player missing through an injury or illness suffered outside of his job?
The West Coast application makes no mention of injury payments.
In the Kerr case, Anderson will today speak with the investigators and the AFL executive team, including chief executive Andrew Demetriou.
The AFL investigation began late last month and was delayed when police central to the case were unable to be interviewed because they had taken annual leave.
When he announced the AFL investigation, Demetriou would not speculate on possible sanctions, but said: Any footballer partaking in illicit drugs, whether they be talking on tapes or actually taking drugs, is not good . . . and unacceptable."
At the time of the recordings, the AFL did not have an illicit drugs policy. It was introduced in 2005. The horse sedative is not banned under the policy.
In another development, the story of Chad Fletcher and His Adventures in Las Vegas seems finished.
Fletcher, reported to have suffered a near-death experience in a drug-related incident late last year, is believed to want to move on.
The Eagle's manager Colin Young has told the Herald Sun there would be no further comment from him about any medical report of the incident.
Originally, Young said a hospital report would clear Fletcher of any involvement with illicit substances.
