THE AFL is considering a report that Ben Cousins' health and welfare will be best served if he is allowed to resume his career with the West Coast Eagles.

The West Australian has reported that former Eagles chairman Murray McHenry has sent a submission to the AFL suggesting the 2005 Brownlow Medallist's "best pathway to continue his drug rehabilitation" is at West Coast.

According to the WA, McHenry claims "keeping Cousins within arms reach of his family and long-time football friends would be crucial to him winning back both his health and respect".

And the push is apparently gaining momentum with several football powerbrokers throwing their weight behind the idea and making noise to the AFL.

The AFL commission will decide on Cousins in Sydney on Tuesday, and the West Australian says there has been a "a groundswell of support" for Cousins to return to the Eagles.

The report said: "Bryan and Stephanie (Cousins' parents), were receptive to the plan during recent private meetings (McHenry) had with them".

And it is believed "West Coast chairman Mark Barnaba, chief executive Trevor Nisbett, captain Darren Glass, Cousins and his parents" have all seen a copy of the submission.

Barnaba told the WA that the West Coast board would discuss the submission but apparently the topic was not brought up when the Eagles board recently held a meeting in Broome.

"Murray remains a very good friend of the club and we have enormous respect for him and his views so we'll consider it," Barnaba told the West Australian.

"We're certainly supportive of Ben regaining entry to the AFL and many of the senior people of the club have met with him independently, including me, and strong relationships remain.

"There's no lack of good will between the club and Ben. I only want the best for him."

The AFL will not discuss Ben Cousins' playing future until the commission meets next week.

But Eagles assistant coach Peter Sumich has already suggested that he and coach John Worsfold would not say no to Cousins if he wanted to return to the club.

AFL Players' Association chief executive Brendon Gale said he had met with Cousins' manager Ricky Nixon and he was aware of support for the plan for Cousins to return to West Coast.

"We believe Ben has a right to re-nominate for the draft and we support that right," Gale told the WA.

"We are extremely hopeful that a club will draft him because we believe the environment of a football club will be extremely important for him at this time with the structure, regimentation and sense of common purpose.

"If that club is the Eagles, then that's fantastic."

In the report submitted to the AFL, McHenry writes: "My feeling is that given time over again, a different and calmer decision to possibly stand him down on the long-term injury list rather than sack him may have been safer and more befitting and I believe this can now been done in retrospect on a tri-party agreement.

"I would hope that West Coast would also consider this the right option to reverse his dismissal as Ben remains a powerful part of the club's family fabric that football has always tried to promote. If part of a club's role is to care for a sick player, which I believe is the case here, then that club should again offer that care despite the fact that he has let them down.

"Many people, including the West Coast players, have been hurt by what Ben has done. But I truly believe that hurt has now turned from blame to care. There's a big difference in where we are today compared with where we were this time last year.

"Any club which opens its arms to Ben is taking a risk, but I don't believe anyone can offer more of what's best to him in terms of his rehabilitation than West Coast. In order to now offer support, the best thing for Ben would be to leave him near his family, back at a club that knows him inside-out and with the football tool to help him regain the far-reaching respect he once had and again craves."

McHenry suggested that shifting Cousins to a new club in a different state could be extremely harmful to him.

"If you decide to reinstate Ben as a player and he moves to another club, my fear is that he will become a "gun-for-hire" where any remote failure will be met with an unfairly high level of public castigation," McHenry said.

"The expectation from the public will be phenomenal and any set-back will not be softened by the closeness of support of those who have both known, loved and cared about him for a long period of time.

"Any other decision would make Ben overly susceptible to the long line of critics in waiting as well as the demons of his former addiction."