Ben Cousins asked awkward question, joke leaves comedians in stitches

Andy Maher asked Ben Cousins an awkward question.

Ben Cousins discussed his life and AFL career in a wide ranging appearance on a footy talk show, which included one awkward question.

Ben Cousins reputation rehabilitation continued in a wide ranging appearance on Channel 7’s The Front Bar on Wednesday night, with the AFL great deftly answering questions about his footy career and troubled past.

Cousins said “life’s never been better” as he reflected on his early life following his father’s footsteps before eventually becoming one of the game’s biggest names.

However, his impressive career has been overshadowed by a number of off-field incidents that turned his life upside down.

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The Brownlow Medallist and premiership player was sacked by the Eagles in 2007 after he was arrested for drug possession and handed a 12-month suspension by the AFL.

He spent time in prison after being found guilty of stalking his ex-partner Maylea Tinecheff — the mother of the pair’s two children — in 2020.

Earlier, in 2018, Cousins also served 10 months of a 12-month prison sentence for stalking Tinecheff.

But now, the 45-year-old says he’s on the right path. He is now reading the news for Seven in Western Australia, and is set to appear in the latest edition of Dancing With The Stars.

Andy Maher asked Ben Cousins an awkward question. Photo: Channel 7.

Cousins reflected on how he became a smash hit with fans in his early days with West Coast, where he would receive buckets of fan mail, even more than the established “household names” who were also in the side.

It prompted Front Bar co-host Andy Maher to ask an awkward question to Cousins.

“How did you deal with that? Because it would’ve been pretty intense, the focus on you?” Maher asked.

One viewer described the question as “incredible”, presumably because of Cousins well-known struggles with drugs during his playing career.

“Andy Maher just asked Ben Cousins on the front bar how he dealt with all the pressure and fame he had while playing. Incredible stuff,” the viewer wrote on X.

Podcast host Ralph Horowitz posted: “How much better is the Ben Cousins interview on The Front Bar with Andy Maher saying “yeah” and “yep” every ten seconds while he’s speaking? #thanksAndy.”

Cousins left the West Coast Eagles at the end of 2007, one year after winning the premiership, amid a well publicised drugs saga detailed in a court dossier.

To his credit, Cousins responded diplomatically to Maher’s question: “I did remember early on in my career, it all happened pretty quickly a lot quicker than I thought.

“Just breaking into the side, and I got more than my fair share of public scrutiny.

“For what I’d done in the game, that side was full of household names, dual premiership players. And I did feel from the beginning, it was out of whack. So I tried to keep it in perspective.

“I’ve been really lucky, for whatever reason, you know, the public, footy public, has been very good to us. And I’ve been very fortunate.”

Ben Cousins reads the News in Perth on Channel 7.

Cousins finished his AFL career at Richmond and said while he treasured his time at Richmond, he didn’t entertain the idea of leaving West Coast.

“It never entered my head of not being a one club player,” Cousins reflected.

“When the dust settled after the club made the decision to part ways, I fully understood the situation I put them in and the reasons why it was probably best for everyone that change was made. But it took some time to come to terms with.”

Maher concluded by thanking Cousins for appearing on The Front Bar.

“We love celebrating footballers’ contributions to the game that we as fans love,” he said.

“We would have given our right arm to do what you did as a footballer to be able to get on the show and relive the career is a great joy for us. It’s great to see you so well.”

Comedian Sam Pang had a joke at his co-host’s expense, telling Cousins: “Your cheekbones are unbelievable. Mahery can’t stop looking at them, it’s unbelievable.”

Ben Cousins is getting his life back on track. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Maher also asked Cousins for his early impressions of No. 1 draft pick Harley Reid, who helped West Coast to their first win of the season against Richmond.

“The bloke wearing the jumper now, Nic Nat carried the No. 9 jumper beautifully for a few years,” Maher said. “What do you make of this kid Ben?”

Most tackles broken to the end of round five, since the stat was first recorded:

15: Harley Reid 2024
14: Jason Horne-Francis 2023
12: Dustin Martin 2017, Dustin Martin 2021, Adam Saad 2017

— Ethan (@ethanmeldrum_) April 17, 2024

“It’s exciting for him and the footy club,” Cousins said.

“He has got more than his share of publicity. In the time he’s been playing this year he’s shown he’s more than up to the grade. He is exciting.

“I’ve met him a few times and he’s a big strong kid. The way he plays, some people (run away from) the fire or body contact. He runs towards it.”

Other tid bits from the show included Cousins naming Home and Away as his favourite TV show.

“When I was locked up I did not miss an episode,” he said with a grin.

Co-host Mick Molloy joked: “They’ll be running with that on the promos. I’m guessing you were more home than away.”

He even cracked a prison joke. Photo: Channel 7.

The hosts were in stitches. Photo: Channel 7.

The Front Bar panel made it clear Cousins appearance on the show wouldn’t be all about his past struggles, but he appeared more than happy to share a snippet of his life after working hard to rebuild himself.

“I wish it hadn’t had to have taken this long (to get my life back on track), and had to run its course the way it did,” he said.

“But yeah, it’s nice to be working and busy, have some real ambition back, and, you know, just connected back in with friends, family, and even on a community level, you know. Life’s never been better, to be honest.”

Earlier this week, the AFL acknowledged Cousins’ improved circumstances, with AFL commission chair Richard Goyder hinting at a potential future induction into the sport’s Hall of Fame.

“I won’t talk about Hall of Fame. I will say it’s a joy to see Ben in the shape he’s in right now, and I’ve seen a fair bit of him in the west,” Goyder said.

“I think (Cousins’ recovery story) is fantastic … what I would say with Hall of Fame, and it’s almost my precursor to our committee discussions each year, is it’s not who’s in, it’s who’s not in.

“It’s an incredibly high bar to be a Hall of Famer in the AFL, and it’s even higher to be a Legend, so we’ll look at those things in due course.”