Ben Cousins may abandon a planned comeback to AFL football because the drug-testing regime announced on Tuesday by the AFL is too tough, his manager says.
Cousins' manager Ricky Nixon is expected to tell the AFL Players' Association the rules make it almost impossible for the former West Coast captain to resume his career, the Herald Sun newspaper reported.
It's expected Nixon will use a meeting with the players' association today to call for drastic charges to the league's drug-testing rules.
Cousins will decide his playing future over the next few days, Nixon said.
Sources close to the 2005 Brownlow Medallist are said to be furious Cousins has been singled out by the league after confessing to a drug problem when six players remain on the field with two strikes against their name under the AFL's drug-testing program.
Cousins was sacked by West Coast late last year after being arrested by WA police in Perth and charged with possessing a prohibited drug and failing to comply with a requirement to undergo a driver assessment.
Both charges were withdrawn, but the Eagles maintained they were right to sack him, with those incidents the last of a series of misdemeanours involving Cousins.
Cousins must agree to urine testing up to three times a week, plus hair testing up to four times a year.
Any failure to stick to the conditions would result in Cousins, who was banned for 12 months in November last year for bringing the game into disrepute, being suspended indefinitely pending an investigation.
St Kilda have already declared their interest in Cousins and have made contact with the Brownlow Medallist, although they have yet to make a firm commitment to recruiting him.
Brisbane have also expressed an interest but are yet to meet with Cousins.
