JOHN Worsfold has paid tribute to former Eagles champion Ben Cousins, saying it was a privilege to play alongside and coach the retiring Brownlow Medallist.

Worsfold played 28 games with Cousins between 1996 and 1998 and coached the four-time club champion in 116 matches, including the 2006 premiership.

He said Cousins would be remembered as a "Brownlow Medallist, premiership player [and] superstar" and one of the great players to represent the club.

"Just a special player, just one of the great players," Worsfold said from Subiaco Oval on Tuesday.

"There's always great players running around that you just love watching and I think he was certainly one of those.

"He was a good player to coach and certainly we'll all remember him as one of the great players of the West Coast Eagles."

Cousins played 238 games for West Coast between 1996 and 2007 after being taken as a father-son selection in the 1995 national draft. His father Bryan played for WAFL club Perth and won the 1984 Sandover Medal.

Starting his career as a small forward, Cousins won the 1996 Rising Star award but soon established himself as one of the competition's elite midfielders.

He finished top-three in West Coast's club champion award in seven of nine seasons between 1998 and 2006, winning the award four times, including his Brownlow year of 2005.

Worsfold said it wasn't Cousins' work ethic that made him great, but the whole package.

"Most of the great players have unbelievable work ethics, and then a lot of players that aren't so great have unbelievable work ethics," he said.

"So that's not something unique; but the package of talent, work ethic, unique skills of hitting the ball flat-out and taking it clean under pressure."

Worsfold said there were too many strong memories of Cousins the player to list, but his willingness to take control of tight games was a trait that stood out.

"There's some games where he just took it on himself to make sure the team was going to win," he said.

"Certainly one at Optus Oval, in the last quarter he just did all he could to make sure the team was going to win. There was a few occasions like that."

Cousins was sacked by West Coast late in 2007 after a troubled period that saw him stripped of the captaincy in early 2006 after five seasons and arrested in 2007 for possessing a prohibited drug. Those charges were dropped.

Worsfold said he would always be available to the recovering drug addict, but he was unsure what effect retirement would have on the 32-year-old's ongoing battle.

"He's got a lot of support around him, [and] I know all his family and friends will support him any way they can and wish him well," Worsfold said.