Latest news with #EJWhittenLegendsGame
7NEWS
6 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Ben Cousins set to play in blockbuster EJ Whitten Legends Game
Ben Cousins is lacing up the boots one more time. The Brownlow medallist and AFL premiership champion has announced he will be playing in the upcoming EJ Whitten Legends Game on August 28, which will air live and exclusively on Channel 7 and 7plus. It's the first time since 2019 that the iconic charity match, which raises funds and awareness for prostate cancer, will be played. Dropping the news of his inclusion on his Perth radio show on Monday, Cousins said he only made the decision to play in recent days. 'I think it might be time to dust them off. One game, hey? I can get myself up for one,' he told Mix94.5. 'It should be a bit of fun. I'm looking forward to it. 'Shane Crawford is the coach, Nick Riewoldt is the captain. I only decided (to play) over the weekend. But, for me, the chance to play alongside Cyril, you know? I'm excited about that.' The former West Coast and Richmond midfielder said playing with Hawthorn icon Cyril Rioli was the main drawcard. 'It's a big thing — he was just such a great player,' Cousins told Mix94.5. 'Everyone's situation is different but because he was 28 when he stopped playing, we all felt he had so much good footy left in him. 'To see him run around and have a kick is so exciting and I'm looking forward to handpassing to him or getting one off him' The likes of Rioli, Gary Ablett Jr, Luke Hodge and Riewoldt are all set to feature in the clash, with Crawford and Tim Watson filling coaching roles. Now 47, Cousins is still in pristine physical condition, and says he'll be fine getting up for one game, despite having only recently recovered from a hernia operation. 'I'm only just getting over my hernia. It's supposed to be like riding a bike, isn't it?' he joked. 'It's a young man's game but I can get myself up for one, surely. How hard can it be?' The six-time All-Australian will partner 2006 premiership teammate Andrew Embley, while fellow Eagles favourite Luke Shuey is locked in to pull on the big V for the Victorian outfit. - With The West Australian
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Ben Cousins to join Cyril Rioli and Gary Ablett Jr in EJ Whitten Legends Game
The quality of players turning out in the reborn EJ Whitten Legends Game has been enhanced with Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins set to take to Marvel Stadium. Fifteen years after his AFL retirement, having endured significant breakdowns and controversies, the West Coast premiership star will pull on the boots for charity. Cousins will join a growing list of former champions, including Cyril Rioli, Gary Ablett Jr, Luke Hodge and Nick Riewoldt. It marks a significant moment for Cousins, who went through a well-publicised battle with drug addiction that prematurely ended his time at the Eagles where he was a club legend. But in recent years the six-time All-Australian player has turned his life around and become a media mainstay, with a radio gig in Perth and even a star turn on Dancing with the Stars. Cousins will partner 2006 premiership teammate Andrew Embley in the All Stars side, while 2018 West Coast premiership captain Luke Shuey is locked in to line up for the Victorian team. Organisers have managed to lure the reclusive Rioli into playing, with his Hawthorn premiership teammate Shane Crawford coaching the All Stars team. The game will be played on the Thursday night between the end of the home-and-away season and the start of the finals series.
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Reclusive AFL great set to make shock return
AFL great Cyril Rioli will make his first public football comeback since his messy exit and prolonged absence from the game when he runs out in the reborn EJ Whitten Legends Game. After a six-year break, the charity match is returning in August with a raft of big names locked in, including Rioli and Gary Ablett Jr. Rioli, a four-time premiership player and Norm Smith Medal winner, was unveiled as the All Stars' No.1 pick on Tuesday morning. The selection of the former excitement machine is a positive sign after he was involved in a lengthy battle with his former club Hawthorn over historical claims of racism, including some levelled at his premiership coach Alastair Clarkson that were first raised in 2022. The matter involved mediation and court proceedings before being settled by the Human Rights Commission in May without a determination of the allegations. Rioli has played several matches in the Northern Territory but has lived a concealed life since his premature retirement. Another all-time great in Gary Ablett Jr was named Victoria's No.1 pick. All Stars coach Shane Crawford said he was looking for a 'bums on seats player' and found the perfect type in his former premiership teammate. 'We thought we might go with Kane Cornes when they said (Gary) Ablett Jr so we could tag him,' Crawford told SEN. 'Our No.1 pick, we want to have fun, we've gone the ultimate 'No.1 bums on seats player'. 'A player with one of the all-time great highlight reels in the history of the games and that is Cyril Rioli.' There was a report earlier this year that Rioli pondered an AFL return under coach Alastair Clarkson when he accepted the role as North Melbourne coach. Rioli's return never eventuated but he will lace up the boots at Marvel Stadium for the charity match on Thursday, August 28.
Perth Now
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
AFL great's exile set to end
AFL great Cyril Rioli will make his first public football comeback since his messy exit and prolonged absence from the game when he runs out in the reborn EJ Whitten Legends Game. After a six-year break the charity match is returning in August with a raft of big names locked in including Rioli and Gary Ablett junior. Rioli, a four-time premiership player and Norm Smith Medal winner, was unveiled as the All Stars' No.1 pick on Tuesday morning. The selection of the former excitement machine is a positive sign after he was involved in a lengthy battle with his former club over historical claims of racism including some levelled at his premiership coach, Alastair Clarkson, first raised in 2022. The matter involved mediation and court proceedings before being settled by the Human Rights Commission in May without a determination of the allegations. Rioli has played several matches in the Northern Territory but has lived a concealed life since his premature retirement. Another all-time great in Gary Ablett Jnr was named Victoria's No.1 pick. All Stars coach Shane Crawford said he was looking for a 'bums on seats player' and found the perfect type in his former premiership teammate. 'We thought we might go with Kane Cornes when they said (Gary) Ablett Jnr so we could tag him,' Crawford told SEN. 'Our number one pick, we want to have fun, we've gone the ultimate 'No. 1 bums on seats player'. 'A player with one of the all-time great highlight reels in the history of the games and that is Cyril Rioli.' There was a report earlier this year Rioli pondered an AFL return under coach Alastair Clarkson when he accepted the role as North Melbourne coach. Rioli's return never eventuated but he will lace up the boots at Marvel Stadium for the charity match which will be played on Thursday, August 28.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Cheers and jeers, hugs and thugs: life as a sporting mascot is anything but predictable
'Hawka, ya dickhead!' *THWACK* I've just been punched in my spongey beak by a pre-teen Collingwood fan. It didn't tickle. Yes, I'm wearing the Hawthorn FC mascot suit, dressed as Hudson 'Hawka' Knights. Yes, I'm on level two of the MCG, deep in enemy territory sans minder (where did she get to?). And yes, the brown and gold are giving the Pies a touch-up. But there's no need for this. Do I retaliate? No. For two reasons. One, I'm not about to hit a young kid. Two, I'm especially not about to hit a girl, no matter how much she's perpetuating the Magpie fan stereotype. I get whisked into the Family Rooms to perform my duties. Kids are eating party pies, drinking soft drink and getting their faces painted. 'Hawthorn Mascoooooottt!' one kid screams, forgetting my nickname in the heat of the moment. Seven of them swoop in and group-hug me, literally hanging off my legs. That's more like it. Being a sporting mascot is an unpredictable side hustle that can be quite rough at times. We saw evidence of it last weekend in the NRL with Reggie the Rabbit. The South Sydney Rabbitohs' mascot tipped over the edge when he gave a youngster a 'don't argue', likely after enduring one too many hurtful sledges. It wasn't a good look. But I feel for the man under the suit, Charlie Gallico, still climbing into the cumbersome red and green costume at the ripe old age of 81. I dare say he's the only octogenarian mascot in the world and it might be time for the Rabbitohs brains trust to suggest a passing of the baton. In my 19 years as Hawka, I've copped it every which way from opposition kids. The most full-on example was when I appeared at a clinic in Lilydale in 2008. Now, the word 'clinic' strikes fear into the heart of any veteran of the vocation. At best, you'll have a few kids sticking up for you, wearing your colours. At worst you'll have a bunch of rabid, juvenile delinquents who smell blood in the water. On this picturesque spring morning, some bright spark in charge of 'activations' had approved 500 inflatable Bunnings hammers to give out to the tikes. Picture me, flanked by one well-meaning but ultimately outnumbered 'bodyguard', walking over the lush green hills and onto the oval, as the eyes of 40 kids holding 40 mallets light up. 'Get 'immm,' one shouts as they go from a pack of eight-year-olds to a cackle of hyenas, whacking the, ahem, life out of me. After 20 seconds of getting clobbered I have to physically move them out of my way with scant help from my wrangler. Pretty happy there were no camera phones that day. We scurry away, taking refuge next to some stinky bins behind the club rooms. Glamorous life. It's agreed Hawka can take the last hour off. It was a similar atmosphere at the EJ Whitten Legends Game about a decade ago, where there were 16 different sets of fans and no real team to support. There is a weird energy in the air. All 16 mascots emerge from the players' race at half-time and make our way around the boundary to cheers and jeers. There's always a good level of banter and camaraderie at AFL games but this crowd was particularly hostile. (Sidenote, I love shocking people as Hawka.) My standard jump-scare move is to wait until they're not looking, leap onto the fence with my hands (wings?) and put my menacing face within an inch of theirs. Works every time. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The Legends Game was a different beast though. On this evening a cheeky rascal (I'm being nice) pitched himself over the fence and ripped my head clean off, the chinstrap chonking against my chin as I was unmasked. Kids shrieked. Mothers shielded their baby's eyes. A crow cawed. It took all my strength and a genuine tug-of-war to hoist myself over the fence, reach into the third row and wrest it back off him and three of his smartarse mates. There was no way I would've retrieved it if it had gone further into the crowd. I was already imagining a YouTube clip going viral the next day: 'Keepings Off Mascot as Hawka Loses His Shit.' I got my own back shortly after it was agreed the Clark Rubber mascot (no clue as to why he was there) would win the half-time mascots race. We were told to throw the race by play-wrestling, doing silly dances and running in slow motion instead of making a dash for the finish line. Bugger that. I needed a win. Hawka might be nodding his giant head at the instructions but he has no intention of following them. 'Ready, set, GO!' shouts Dipper. Bang. I'm off. Dipper's face goes from jolly to confused. I scamper over the line, comfortably beating my dopey, non-biodegradable adversary. 'And the winner is … Hawka!?' I run over to high-five Robert DiPierdomenico, getting plenty of boos while throwing my wings into the air victoriously. I've got many more stories of perilous run-ins including a ripper with Eddie McGuire but Hawka needs to keep a few secrets. I'm not even really meant to talk. All I ask on behalf of mascots worldwide is have a bit of fun with us but don't go too far. Hawka will eat your head, just don't punch him in his.
