FORMER St Kilda coach Grant Thomas says he is “really surprised” that the Saints decided last night to reject fallen Eagle Ben Cousins.

The Saints board made the unanimous decision at a two-and-a-half hour board meeting last night.

The Saints had been seen as Cousins’ last hope of playing in the AFL next year after several clubs – including Collingwood – had publicly stated that they would not be taking the 30-year-old in either draft, although Brisbane still haven’t declared their hand.

Thomas said he had expected the Brownlow Medallist to be at Moorabbin next year.

“It’s been a painfully long process, and they’ve taken an inordinate amount of time to come up with the decision they’ve come up with, and because of that, that’s frustrated a lot of St Kilda people, and maybe even the playing group, because expectation rises, and I think everything was pointing towards St Kilda selecting him,” Thomas told SEN radio.

“I was surprised last night – I would have thought it was near a certainty that St Kilda were going to choose him the way they’d been talking.

“I don’t know what happened at the board meeting, and I don’t suppose we’ll ever find out.

“It’s been an interesting decision.”

Cousins’ journey has been painted by some as a shining example of the powers of rehabilitation, but Thomas said it was now looking more like a dire warning about making bad decisions.

“It’s a more compelling message than the other way – I just think the other way, the way some young people think these days, they probably think ‘oh well, that’s good, if Ben can do it, you can have a crack and get over it’ – and that’s only if you get caught – without being too flippant about it.

“It doesn’t matter how good a football player you are, it’s how you conduct yourself, and it’s the respect you have, and the influence you have, and the decisions you make during your career.

“It’s all about who you mix with, it’s all about the decisions you make, and I think there’s a lot of messages there for young players.”

Thomas said he could see how easily a club could initially think that taking Cousins would be a good idea.

“I think Ross (coach Ross Lyons) has been poring over this for some time, and I think it may have seemed like a good idea at the time.

“Imagine having Ben Cousins ripping the ball out of the middle at Telstra Dome and ramming it down (Nick) Riewoldt’s throat.

“You can get seduced by that.

“But I think that when you cut that away and start to think more deeply about the ramifications, the effects, the influences within your team, the destabilisation, the potential to have a media focus that would be unprecedented in the AFL, a documentary coming out, I think all those things … while someone like a Sheeds (former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy) would have reveled in it, I don’t think Ross would have enjoyed it.”