Once hailed as the most formidable midfield duo in the AFL, Ben Cousins and Chris Judd’s paths have diverged dramatically since their 2006 championship glory. Nearly two decades later, their post-football lives have taken distinct turns.

Reuniting in Perth this week, the former West Coast Eagles stars were captured in photographs shared by Bec Judd. The images celebrated their legendary Grand Final win, featuring the two Brownlow Medallists alongside other past teammates.

These pictures offer a glimpse into a rare reunion of two athletes whose careers were once in lockstep but have since taken markedly different directions.

Following his time with the Eagles, Ben Cousins attempted a comeback with Richmond Football Club after a 12-month suspension. However, his personal battles with addiction became a persistent shadow throughout and beyond his playing days.

In recent years, Cousins has been on a path of rebuilding, working through multiple rehabilitation stints and spending time away from the spotlight. At 46, he now appears more frequently in public, signaling a positive shift in his journey.

The duo played 123 games together, forming one of the AFL’s most dominant midfield partnerships during the 2000s era

Images shared by Bec Judd showed the pair celebrating their 2006 premiership with former teammates in Perth

Judd and Cousins were reunited in Perth as part of the West Coast Eagles 40th anniversary celebrations

Adding to his personal progress, Cousins recently underwent surgery to alleviate severe discomfort caused by a hernia, marking another step in his ongoing recovery.

‘I’m a little tender actually. I went in for a hernia op on Friday – not much fun,’ Cousins told Triple M.

‘I had a little bubble or lump pop up where it probably shouldn’t a couple of months ago, and I’ve been in denial.

‘I hadn’t gone in and had the ultrasound and I thought I’d put it off until the end of the footy season, I’d hang on for 12 more games – you’d swear I was still playing.

‘But I went to the State of Origin on Wednesday night, it was a great game, got home, and then I went in to put my daughter to sleep, and I sat on her bed, and then out of nowhere, this pain came.

‘I may have been in as much pain before in my life, but I have never been in more. I was ready to pass out, all this sort of stuff, couldn’t talk.

‘I did go down like Autumn leaves.’

Judd’s trajectory, by contrast, took him from AFL superstardom into the corporate and finance world.

Cousins’ well-documented struggles contrasted with Judd’s successful transition into finance following their dominant era at West Coast Eagles

Cousins rebuilt his life after addiction battles, while Judd established himself as an investment manager and business figure

The duo played 123 games together, forming one of the AFL’s most dominant midfield partnerships during the 2000s era

After retiring in 2015 following a decorated career with West Coast and Carlton Football Club, the dual Brownlow Medallist transitioned into investment management and business.

He is now the founder and manager of the Cerutty Macro Fund, launched in 2023, where he focuses on macro-investing and identifying long-term trends across sectors including artificial intelligence infrastructure, water scarcity and commodities.

Judd also hosts the ‘Chris Judd Invest’ podcast, where he interviews leading Australian fund managers and discusses market insights, while continuing to work as a private investor.

His off-field career has also included roles on corporate boards, including sportswear brand Jaggad and his former club Carlton, where he served as a director between 2017 and 2021.

The reunion in Perth brought the two former teammates back together publicly, years after their careers split in dramatically different directions.

Together, they played 123 games and were central to West Coast’s 2006 premiership, a one-point victory over the Sydney Swans that remains one of the most memorable Grand Finals in AFL history.

While their on-field partnership delivered one of the club’s greatest eras, their lives after football have unfolded along markedly different paths, a contrast highlighted again as they stood side by side in Perth.