The Melbourne Storm will hold its inaugural mental health round when the Canberra Raiders visit AAMI Park on June 21.
The initiative has been introduced to spread awareness surrounding mental health and bring emotional vulnerability to light, and the strength to speak out when struggling.
The NewsWire is revealing that there will be free mental health check-ins, fundraising and pins available to purchase, where all proceeds will be donated to Beyond Blue, an independent Australian not-for-profit organisation.
“We know that when it comes to men's sport and men in general, we're tough on the field. But for us, the importance of this round is saying that we're tackling tough together,” Storm chief executive Justin Rodski said to the NewsWire.
“This is about saying that tough isn't just what you see on the rugby league field; real strength is checking in on your mates and speaking up if you need to.
“We want men to feel comfortable to talk about when they're going through challenging periods in their life, we want men to be proud of being vulnerable around feeling down at times in their life and to then be able to share that with each other to ensure we can work through this together.
“Footballers appear tough on the field, but we don't want them to think that their toughness means they can't talk about what's going on in their life.
“If we can help to encourage men – and women around men – to have the conversation to speak up, talk about their feelings, be vulnerable and see that as a sign of strength, I think that's going to be a great start for everyone in life.”
The reports of the special event held at AAMI Park have surfaced just days after former NRL star Kane Evans revealed his hidden battle with mental health, drug and alcohol problems, and coming to terms with his sexuality.
The NRL community immediately threw its support around Evans, which is a strong indication that the initiative the Storm has thrown together will be well-received and a positive step in the right direction to breaking down stigmas around mental health.
A handful of Melbourne Storm stars have shared their personal journeys with mental health in a powerful message to fans.
Star winger Will Warbick told NewsWire of his battle his depression and the effects it can have on you if it becomes bottled up inside.
“I've seen the best of it and the worst of it,” Warbrick explained on growing up and seeing what suppressing your emotions can do.
“I know people that struggled with it, so it's a serious topic and I think it's good that people and clubs with a platform are trying to shine more light on it so it gets the attention it needs.
“Because some things need the attention if we're going to try and make things better.
“I'm pretty vulnerable about it. I've been diagnosed with severe depression before and that was something I was diagnosed with at a pretty young age.
“I got the help I needed and I started seeing counsellors and speaking to psychologists.”
The cross-code Olympian is asking people not to experience it alone, and speak to a loved-one or a professional.
“That was something I had bottled up for probably 6-12 months, and it got the best of me,” he said.
“I was pretty young so I had no clue what I was going through, nor what mental health and all these words were. They were just all words to me, and I couldn't quite understand the feelings I was feeling.
“I actually had to go see a doctor and speak up. That's when I was educated in a way about this stuff. And only then I was able to get the help I needed.
“That was one of those things you try to tackle on your own, but that's not the way to do it. You need to be able to ask for help, but you can only ask for help when you recognise you need it.”
Storm enforcer Josh King has also opened up on the early parts of his career at the Knights, and his adjustment into the limelight having a deep effect on him.
“I'm happy to go get smashed every day of the week, but the mental side of it really had me at my knees for a little while there,” King said.
“I think at one stage in your life, you're going to go through a time where you're struggling mentally a bit and end up in a dark place.”
“I probably had that in the early stages of my career in rugby league in Newcastle when we weren't winning too many games and I was only a new fella that probably got thrown in there early and copped a fair bit of criticism in a place where I didn't really know if I even wanted to play footy professionally at that point in time.
“That's where it first started for me in trying to recognise that I was a little bit detached from what I was doing and a little bit unhappy in life, and then trying to be able to put things in place to help that and get yourself back on the right track.”
“I've come through a period where I was never under the impression it was frowned upon,” he said.
“I know that's the stigma, but when I first started playing high-level rugby league, it forced me to start working on this stuff because it just put me in such a high-pressure environment where things like anxiety showed up more than if I wasn't a professional athlete.
“I'm actually thankful for that because a few tough times around footy caused me to seek out means of working on my mental health and talking to people and being more proactive with the stuff which I'm hoping will set me up for life with a good foundation and good strategies going forward.”
