Cousins hopes doco will screen soon
Richmond veteran Ben Cousins hopes a revealing documentary on his battle with drug addiction will be televised soon, and with the blessing of his AFL club.
Cousins, 32, said on Tuesday a documentary detailing the drug battle which led to his demise at West Coast was a "week or two" away from completion.
The documentary, which also covers Cousins' path to recovery, has attracted significant interest from Australia's television networks, but Seven is understood to be close to finalising a deal for the rights.
Richmond have been wary of the documentary since they recruited the Brownlow medallist in late 2008 and at the time said the program would never be screened without the Tigers' permission.
Tigers football manager Craig Cameron told radio station SEN on Sunday he expected the Tigers to be given a look at the documentary before it aired.
But Cameron said it was not a case of Cousins choosing the screening of the documentary over another one-year contract.
Cousins was hopeful the documentary could air while he was still an active player in the AFL.
"I think so," he told radio station Nova.
"... It will be there to certainly not upset people."
Cousins hoped the documentary could have "a bit of an impact" when it was televised.
But he doubted the documentary would be screened at the pinnacle of the AFL season, as has been suggested.
"I think grand final week would be out of bounds because it's a pretty special week for the football industry," he said.
Cousins played in West Coast's 2006 premiership win but was sacked by the Eagles after the 2007 season when his drug problem and behaviour spiralled out of control.
He was suspended by the AFL soon after for bringing the game into disrepute, before Richmond recruited him for the 2009 season.
Comment was being sought from Seven and Cameron.
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