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February 2006, Cousins resigned his captaincy after an off-field incident where he fled a booze bus.[25] In May 2006, he signed a new three-year contract with West Coast, and in September 2006, West Coast won the Grand Final, defeating Sydney.[26] Cousins was suspended indefinitely by West Coast on 20 March 2007 after missing two training sessions.[27] West Coast chairman Dalton Gooding said:
"We always said we would suspend players if they reoffended and Ben has reoffended by missing training, and we have been very consistent with that... We believe he's breached his contract and acted unprofessionally and that's why he's been suspended and that's why we're giving him every opportunity to fix up his personal and private issues."[27]
After returning from four weeks of rehabilitation in Malibu, California for substance abuse,[26] Cousins was offered an amended contract by West Coast, rumoured to contain strict conditions such as repaying the cost of rehab and undertaking regular drug tests.[28] On 29 June 2007, Cousins was given clearance by the AFL to resume training with the West Coast Eagles, which he did on the following Monday.[29] However, he injured a hamstring in training,[30] delaying his comeback until West Coast's home game against Sydney on 21 July at Subiaco Oval. He gained 38 disposals in the game,[31] and six marks, inspiring West Coast's win.[32]
Cousins was sacked by West Coast on 17 October 2007, a day after his car was stopped and searched and he was arrested for drug possession,[3] which meant that he was no longer a registered AFL player.[3] He was banned from playing senior football for 12 months by the AFL Commission on 19 November for "bringing the game into disrepute",[33][4] and formally delisted by West Coast on 30 November.[34]