Saints Out Of Cousins Race!!!

BEN COUSINS' football future is in limbo after St Kilda decided against recruiting the former West Coast star.

The Saints have issued a media release, saying the board and executive had made the decision after a five-month review.

The club's board met this afternoon to consider a football department report on the Brownlow Medallist and former Eagles captain.

Cousins, a self-confessed drug addict, received permission from the league last week to renew his AFL career.

The league de-registered him a year ago for bringing the game into disrepute.

St Kilda's decision means the Brisbane Lions now appear the front-runners to recruit Cousins.

New coach Michael Voss visited Cousins in Perth on the weekend.

"We owed it to ourselves to undertake a rigorous and thorough review and have now made our decision," Saints chief executive Archie Fraser said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

"This is a decision that we didn't take lightly and we still believe that for the right club, Ben could well be a great opportunity."