News that Ben Cousins was front and centre as a group of Richmond players ran amok at their Sydney hotel on Saturday night should lead to some quick and decisive action at Punt Road.

Quite simply, the Tigers shouldn't just suspend Cousins for a week but instead show him the door.

He is a distraction, perhaps even an embarrassment and from the outside looking in, it is unclear how it helps Richmond to have him around.

After yet another 10-goal thrashing on the weekend, coach Damien Hardwick once again explained once again what the mantra is at Richmond this year.

"We're under no illusions as to how far we are back and we know we've got a long way to go," said Hardwick, who clearly has the patience of Job and who probably, if he had his druthers, would have delisted Cousins at the end of last season.

But it raises the question about Cousins and his worth to Richmond. If he's not going to be part of the next Richmond premiership team, then what is the point of keeping him on the list? Surely Cousins' place in the side could be handed to a younger player.

It is not like his footy is head and shoulders above that of his teammates. His form has been middling at best, he appears to lack the condition of last year and it would be fair to argue that in Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and the emerging Dustin Martin, the Tigers already have three better midfielders. When Nathan Foley returns from injury, that figure will grow to four.

Last season, the only statistical category in which he finished in the top five was handballs received. This year he has averaged 16 touches in his two matches to date. Hardly the stuff of an elite midfielder and certainly not what he was expected to bring to Richmond.

If the reason for keeping Cousins is the veteran savvy he provides off the ground, then again, there hasn't been much evidence of it, unless running wild in the Sydney Intercontinental Hotel counts as part of his key performance indicators. So what sort of 'leadership' is it that he's providing? Not the type that Mr and Mrs Connors would have hoped for when their son Daniel was drafted by the Tigers.

For all that, there is probably one reason why Cousins is still at the club. Football, and the daily and weekly disciplines it requires, keeps the recovering drug addict occupied for a decent chunk of the week.

Which is probably why the Tigers won't move on Cousins, even though they should. If it wasn't for footy, who knows what sorts of scrapes - and worse - he would find himself in?

Sadly for the Tigers, the circus act that Ben Cousins has become will continue to dog Richmond and its supporters until the end of the season. The Tigers have a slow rebuild ahead of them and having him around is only holding them back.