BEIJING, Dec. 17 -- Ben Cousins, an admitted recreational drug user who was once one of Australian Rules football's top stars, was selected in a player draft on Wednesday by the Richmond Tigers. Five clubs who had draft picks ahead of the Tigers decided to pass on Cousins, who won the league's most prestigious individual award, the Brownlow Medal, in 2005.

He also led his former club, the Perth-based West Coast Eagles, to the Australian Football League title in 2006 before being suspended in early 2007 for drug use.

Three other teams ?? Collingwood, St. Kilda and Brisbane ?? said earlier they wouldn't draft Cousins after meetings with him or his manager. Yesterday's draft was the midfielder's last chance to re-enter the AFL for at least another 12 months.

Officials from Richmond, a Melbourne suburb, initially said they had no interest in signing the 30-year-old Cousins. But in the past few days, the team changed its stance, possibly swayed by dozens of callers to radio talk shows and on Internet forums who wanted the Tigers to take a chance on Cousins.

Cousins' manager Ricky Nixon said his player is in excellent physical shape.

"For Richmond fans it's pretty exciting at the moment and for AFL fans in general," Nixon said. "There's no doubt in the last few days the overwhelming support of the football public has been tremendous. Ben now needs to take that on board and use it to his advantage." (WWw.hxen.com)

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