West Coast - trade Cousins while you can

I'm tipping that Ben Cousins will be traded to the east by the end of trade week. He's too much of a risk for the West Coast to keep on the list. It seems that he's never too far away from trouble and you'd suspect that another slip from the star could see the club lose favour with a major sponsor. Rather than wait, the club would be better off getting a good trade deal for him and pick up a youngster an experienced small forward in his place. Cousins would provide the likes of the Tiges or the Saints with some mid-field power and the move could well be good for Cousins by getting him away from the circle of people in Perth that got him into trouble in the first place. It's a win all round.

Besides that, Worsfold must be fuming (not to mention sad) that one of his grand final brothers is no longer with us. By sending Cousins East, he sends a powerful message to other players that mis-behaviour will no longer be tolerated. One would wonder if the Cousins fiasco earlier this year was what tipped Judd to leave the club. It's no stretch of the imagination that it was, and the club is worse off for his departure.