The Brownlow Medallist was due to face Fremantle Magistrates court over allegations he was in possession of methamphetamine in June.

In December, the 38-year-old was fined $2000 after admitting to two counts of possessing methamphetamine and two breaches of a violence restraining order - taken out by his ex-partner.

Cousins, who was supported by his mother in court, told the magistrate at the time he was seeking treatment for his drug problem.

"I am doing things about it...I can honestly say I am in a better place than I have been for some time," he said.

"I know it's been an ongoing problem, I've been battling this for years... I am getting treatment."

At the time the magistrate warned Cousins if he breached his VRO he could face jail time.

"Your record will fast catch up with you - that would be the greatest fall from grace of all time," he said.

Police prosecutors asked Cousins be sentenced to a suspended term of imprisonment and placed on a community order to make him accountable to the court for his drug rehabilitation.

The magistrate, however, decided to go with the less serious penalty of fines, taking into account the 38-year-old's recent efforts to seek help by engaging a private psychiatrist.

"The course you are going down is sufficient, to ask you to do more is setting you up to fail," he told Cousins.

The magistrate also noted Cousin's two breaches of a VRO, taken out by his former partner, Maylea Tinecheff, related to his desire to see his two young children.

"You are no use to your children if you are completely wrecked because of drug issues," the magistrate said, adding he faced a "premature death" if he continued down this path.

The popular former West Coast captain has battled drug addiction throughout his AFL career with the Eagles and Richmond and after it ended in 2010.

The 38-year-old was detained by police, and then hospitalised, in late June after interfering with traffic on Canning Highway in Como while in a dazed state.

At one stage he was banned for a year from football while contracted to the Eagles and had several run-ins with police after Richmond threw him a lifeline in 2009.

The 2005 Brownlow medallist was spared jail last year for a bizarre episode in which he trespassed at a Sikh temple in Canning Vale.

In the subsequent court case, a lawyer for Cousins said his client had been mentally ill at the time of incident, had been hospitalised rather than locked up and had taken a fencing job in Collie.

When former Eagles teammate Chris Judd launched his autobiography Inside last October, he said Cousins seemed to be "doing well" when they caught up recently.

Even West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett, on the eve of the club's 10-year premiership celebrations, touched on the Brownlow medallist's battle, saying he would forgo that 2006 success in exchange for the good mental health of Cousins and other troubled ex-Eagles from that side.

Cousins' on-field career garnered just about every honour imaginable, including six All-Australian jumpers and his 2005 Brownlow triumph.

But there was just as much drama off it, with West Coast forced to take the captaincy of its favourite son after he famously avoided a booze bus by jumping into the Canning River.

He was eventually sacked by the club in 2007 after several failed stints in rehab and finished his career after two seasons at Richmond in 2009 and 2010, for a total of 270 career AFL games.

The AFL has offered to pay for a drug rehabilitation program for Cousins.

It's understood AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan made the offer to Cousins' father Bryan several months ago - and that the offer still stands.

For anyone seeking crisis support or needing help, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au

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