Sumich reveals Cousins’ plea for help

At the height of West Coast’s drug scandal in 2007, club great Peter Sumich learned life lessons of such impact he even used them to help educate his own children.

Sumich, who will play a key role in WA football’s revamped junior development system, told of his anger over claims the club’s 2006 premiership was tainted after the secret Gillard report into the Eagles off-field woes was recently revealed.

He said it wasn’t until Ben Cousins finally reached out for help that he and other officials realised about how ill-equipped they had been to deal drug addiction.

“I remember being in the office the day Ben Cousins said to us, ‘I need help’,” Sumich said.

“I’d been in the office before when the finger was pointed at him and he always just said nothing was going on and asked whether we had any proof. But we had nothing — Ben never had a (drugs) strike from the AFL and you never saw any photo or videos until well after the event.

“But this time, he sat in the chair and broke down. I sat back and I nearly started crying, too. We all looked at each other and I remember thinking to myself, ‘How would I know what to do’ — we were coaches of a football side…

Source: Sumich reveals Cousins’ plea for help | Perth Now