RICHMOND cult hero Jake King has vowed never to abandon his troubled ex-teammate Ben Cousins, revealing how he travelled to Perth recently to check in on his welfare.

The former AFL hard man has maintained a close friendship with Cousins since the pair played together with the Tigers in 2009 and 2010.

King said he would always be there to assist the former Eagle and Tiger in whatever way he can, as well as provide support for his family, particularly his children.

Jake King is the special guest on Open Mike. Source: Supplied

Round 18

“I speak to him every few weeks, I saw him a couple of weeks ago,” King said. “I flew to Perth to make sure he is going all right.”

“I guess he is still doing it a little bit tough. It has been a tough road for Ben and that is a situation where it doesn’t go away tomorrow.”

King spoke about Cousins as well as his own controversial friendship with ex-bikie Toby Mitchell in an episode of Open Mike, to be screened on Fox Footy at 8.30pm on Tuesday night. He insisted he “sleeps well at night” when quizzed about the company that he keeps.

Asked if he spoke to Cousins about drugs, King said: “It’s not for you to know ... if you had a fault and I announced it to the world, I don’t think you would be happy.”

“All we can do is be there and make sure if he needs some help, that you are a physical presence (for him),” he said. “It is not just a phone call. It is actually making sure he is physically OK; it is making sure that Bryan and Steph (Cousins’ parents) are OK; that his kids are going OK.”

“It is not just ‘yeah he played at the club, we looked after him then’. My mindset is when they are a mate, I treat them like family and I will do everything I can, and so will everyone else close to Ben, to make sure he is OK.”

King said it was about being “a mate, not a counsellor.”

Jake King and Toby Mitchell watch the Lingerie Football League in 2013. Source: News Limited

The footballer known as ‘the Push-up King” retired from football in 2014 after a serious toe injury brought an end to his 107-game career, but he has still attracted headlines for his friendship with Mitchell, with whom he owns a tattoo shop.

“I have no problem with anything I have done in my life ... the only time I’ve worn handcuffs is for the right reasons,” King said with a smile.

“He (Mitchell) is a good friend of mine. I don’t care what other people’s opinions are because, to me, he is a mate. I class my friends as my family.

“(Some people) find it intriguing because I think most people don’t understand it.

“The people who don’t understand it, no offence, a lot of the time it comes from people who have had things given to them on a silver platter, and (have) not had to work for it.

King with young Tiger fan Nate Anderson. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

“When you have had to work your a--- off, and had to work so hard when people doubt you ... they do it without providing help.

“My friends provided help, my family have provided help. They are the ones I have leant on for guidance and support, so for me, it is pretty simple.”

He also spoke passionately about a young Tiger fan, Nate Anderson, who lost a leg to cancer, and whom he and the club have bonded with in recent seasons.

King and the club organised to fly Anderson and his family to a match in 2014 in a heartwarming gesture, and they were back at the club earlier this season.

“Kids are a big weakness of mine,” he said. “He has had his leg amputated, but he is actually fit and healthy now.”