RICHMOND has distanced itself from any speculation surrounding former West Coast captain Ben Cousins, saying it has not even considered recruiting the 2005 Brownlow medallist to Punt Road.

Rumours have been rife in recent days about Richmond's possible interest in Cousins, who last week flew to Los Angeles for further treatment at a drug rehabilitation clinic.

However yesterday, Tigers football manager Greg Miller said the club had not even considered the issue of recruiting Cousins, who was deregistered by the AFL after being sacked by the Eagles this month.

"Ben Cousins hasn't been discussed at match committee and it hasn't been discussed at board level," Miller said yesterday.

While Miller did not unequivocally rule out selecting Cousins in any forthcoming draft, he showed little interest in selecting the premiership midfielder.

And the entire debate could be pointless with the AFL Commission reported to be considering charging Cousins with bringing the game into disrepute when it meets on November 19 and 20.

"It's not even worth discussing," Miller said. "Why would we even think about it … ?"

The AFL Commission meeting will also consider whether to penalise Cousins' former club, West Coast, which had been warned earlier this year that any further indiscretions from its players could mean fines, draft penalties or even the loss of premiership points.

Sydney, now habitually linked to any big-name player who is out of contract, has ruled itself out of contention for Cousins' services.

The Swans were thrown into the debate when Geelong president Frank Costa last week suggested Cousins could seek anonymity in Sydney and resurrect his career there.

Sydney chief executive Myles Baron-Hay definitively ruled out such a venture on Thursday, saying that should Cousins nominate for the draft, the Swans would not be taking him.

Cousins left Perth last Thursday, bound for California and further drug rehabilitation. As he prepared to fly out, he told reporters he wanted to return to football.

"I'm training every day in the hope that I get an opportunity," he said.

"That's all I can say about that at the moment, so you know hopefully that gets sorted out while I'm away."

Richmond, which holds the No. 1 pick in the pre-season draft to be held on December 11, has been linked to Cousins with speculation the Tigers could place him on the long-term injury list for the 2008 season and he could return in 2009 at the age of 30.

The selection will allow the Tigers to take the best uncontracted player in the country, and should Cousins make his way into the draft he would certainly be that marquee player.

Miller said the Tigers were still considering all their options in regard to the No. 1 selection.

"We will be looking to get the best possible player in the pre-season draft," he said. "Maybe that will be a junior, someone who has been overlooked in the (national) draft."