Dean Cox book - Eagles Drug Culture

[jeemak]

I'll raise you one-fifth of the story! Cousins was the fittest player in the AFL for a long while, there. Training intensity = fitness. Getting one's self 'up' for a training session after training session is pretty difficult to do - naturally!

As an ex-teammate would, the focus is on the "poor bloke" and "destruction" angle. However the performance enhancing angle is predictably unaddressed.... Cousins played by far the best football of his career at the height of his drug taking! His on-field output was at its peak in 2005. He won the Brownlow and 18 months later was outed as an amphetamines addict. Six months after his teammate's heart apparently stopped... As an 'elite' athlete who apparently had too much vodka...

Many Eagles players were admittedly on amphetamines. They played in two grand finals in the preceding two seasons leading up to Cousins' outing as an addict.. That addiction is acknowledged to have built up over many years of 'experimenting'. Sure, the longer term results have been predictably sad. However I struggle to overlook the fact that the Eagles played some pretty 'enhanced' football in the lead up to it all.

Although, I doubt Cox is going to touch on that point too much!! Nor will the AFL - who's drug testing program was exposed as a joke during the whole episode! For me, 2006 is a premiership with a question mark over it.. Add that to the COLA enhanced premierships and tanking-enhanced premierships and we have ourselves a competition which is just brimming with integrity!

Chronic binging on amphetamines, cocaine and booze (not to mention ketamine and ecstasy) wouldn't help an AFL player or a collective of AFL players perform at a higher level.

I look at this time in WCE history and think if anything they would have probably underachieved due to their partying culture, not overachieved.

[Remi Moses]

Chronic binging on amphetamines, cocaine and booze (not to mention ketamine and ecstasy) wouldn't help an AFL player or a collective of AFL players perform at a higher level.

I look at this time in WCE history and think if anything they would have probably underachieved due to their partying culture, not overachieved.

Definitely . I'm not sure how they'd train or play when coming down

[Webby]

Chronic binging on amphetamines, cocaine and booze (not to mention ketamine and ecstasy) wouldn't help an AFL player or a collective of AFL players perform at a higher level.

I look at this time in WCE history and think if anything they would have probably underachieved due to their partying culture, not overachieved.

No doubt destructive in the longer term, however anyone who tries amphetamines (particularly an athlete) would have to join the dots on the effects of 'uppers' pre-training sessions and/or matches.

As I say, it obviously got away from him. However, as I say, did it take 6 months for that to happen, or 6 years?
I guess we'll never know. However one thing I'm sure of is that Dean Cox's book will not bring us any closer to knowing!

With that being the case, 2006 has to remain a dubious flag..

[jeemak]

No doubt destructive in the longer term, however anyone who tries amphetamines (particularly an athlete) would have to join the dots on the effects of 'uppers' pre-training sessions and/or matches.

As I say, it obviously got away from him. However, as I say, did it take 6 months for that to happen, or 6 years?
I guess we'll never know. However one thing I'm sure of is that Dean Cox's book will not bring us any closer to knowing!

With that being the case, 2006 has to remain a dubious flag..

I'm fairly convinced he wasn't smashing the glass BBQ before training and games, but we can agree to disagree on that.

[Remi Moses]

No doubt destructive in the longer term, however anyone who tries amphetamines (particularly an athlete) would have to join the dots on the effects of 'uppers' pre-training sessions and/or matches.

As I say, it obviously got away from him. However, as I say, did it take 6 months for that to happen, or 6 years?
I guess we'll never know. However one thing I'm sure of is that Dean Cox's book will not bring us any closer to knowing!

With that being the case, 2006 has to remain a dubious flag..

Probably just as dubious as the 05 Barry Hall GF.
Love big bad, but he should have been suspended

[LostDoggy]

I'm fairly convinced he wasn't smashing the glass BBQ before training and games, but we can agree to disagree on that.

Glass BBQ, lol. At a much lower level I recall being surrounded by associates who'd systematically bake light globes in their cars before each game they played in country football. Made them relaxed and fearless on the field. Terrible stuff.

[Ozza]

Why are people so surprised about this? I would be surprised if at least 5-10 players from all clubs hadn't experimented with recreational drugs.

Yep.

Certainly pre-recreational drug testing days in the AFL, there were AFL players who preferred drugs over alcohol - as the alcohol was seen as worse for the recovery and for keeping the skin folds down.

The Eagles appear to have had a worse/more public problem with it - but as you say- every club would have had players experimenting both in and out of the season.

[EasternWest]

I'm fairly convinced he wasn't smashing the glass BBQ before training and games, but we can agree to disagree on that.

Glass BBQ, lol. At a much lower level I recall being surrounded by associates who'd systematically bake light globes in their cars before each game they played in country football. Made them relaxed and fearless on the field. Terrible stuff.

I'm so out of touch, I don't understand any of this.

[ledge]

See I am 50 and I played football and cricket in the western suburbs and never saw it, except at one club, but even then it was kept very secretive until we won a Gf and it was offered around to celebrate.
I was around 17 at the time and the club was always getting kicked out of competitions for its violence but to play with the club you were amazed at how family orientated and great the club was.. It was a strange atmosphere.

[jeemak]

I'm so out of touch, I don't understand any of this.

Google search it my friend.

[Twodogs]

I'm so out of touch, I don't understand any of this.

It's a reference to the glass pipe users use to smoke ice.

[Twodogs]

The stupid thing was in protecting the drug culture did them more harm than good, and Worsfold's ignorance.
I suppose winning is paramount

In AA/NA we call those people enablers. Enabling is bad mmmm'kay.

I don't know that Worsfold would have been ignorant of what was going on.

[EasternWest]

Error

[EasternWest]

Google search it my friend.

You could have just been a bro and told me, friend.

It's a reference to the glass pipe users use to smoke ice.

Thanks, friend.

[jeemak]

You could have just been a bro and told me, friend.



Thanks, friend.

Sorry, I didn't think explaining references to drug consumption methods was appropriate, though on reflection I suppose it's probably no big deal.